A good teacher at home or as a professional uses this form of instruction with examples so children can “see” the point and internalize the lesson. Where do we get this methodology? We get this from Jesus, the Master Teacher, who tells stories so His people “get it” and go with it by living it. Jesus, The Christ, is Savior, Redeemer, King of kings and Lord of lords who has the power to just command and we do it…but He tells stories so we understand what His best is for us. Why? Because of His eternal love for us.

JESUS SETS THE STAGE FOR LEARNING

Jesus begins with the tale of two sons who were asked, one at a time, to go out to work in the vineyard. The first, (probably the oldest), was honest and said, “I don’t want to.” Later he realized he should and did it. The second son, to the Father’s face, said, “Sure, I’ll get right out there.” But never went.

Lesson? Be honest. Don’t tell the Father you want to be His servant and never serve. People like this will not see the Kingdom because you only say you believe but your behavior does not show it. Behave as you say you believe.

Jesus then tells a Kingdom story with a twist that leads back to Him as the Son of God, who received no respect…read for yourself:

Matthew 21, The Message

The Story of the Greedy Farmhands
33-34 “Here’s another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.

35-37 “The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment. The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. ‘Surely,’ he thought, ‘they will respect my son.’

38-39 “But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’ They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him.

40 “Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?”

41 “He’ll kill them—a rotten bunch, and good riddance,” they answered. “Then he’ll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it’s time.”

42-44 Jesus said, “Right—and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles:

The stone the masons threw out
is now the cornerstone.
This is God’s work;
we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!

This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.”

45-46 When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.

Lesson? “Surely, they will respect my son” leaps off the page and is the point of the story for those who thought they were large and in charge of all kingdom matters at that time that Jesus told this story. But isn’t for us today? Are we “large and in charge”? Do we respect the Son who has come to save us, redeem us and set us free from being “in charge” so that we may serve Him with joy, without worry of the results? “This is God’s work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!” says the prophets. BELIEVE IT!

You see, it’s really simple. Jesus is the cornerstone and the capstone of the building of our lives. Our lives begin with respecting and accepting His salvation and continues to be built believing and learning from His Kingdom Stories so that our behavior matures and follows honestly what we say we believe.

Dear Heavenly Father, Your Kingdom stories lead to kingdom living. Thank you for the lessons through your glorious, masterful teaching. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit’s guidance and power to live what we have learned for today. In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.