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BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for WomenAuthor: Pamela Crim Daily Devotional for Women
Daily Devotional with Pamela Crim BIG Life Mentor Language: en Genres: Christianity, Education, Religion & Spirituality, Self-Improvement Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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2183 Parable of the Evil Farmers
Thursday, 20 August, 2026
Today we will study a parable that seemingly has nothing to do with us. It’s easy to assume Jesus just told this story so the Pharisees who were in the crowd realized how bad they were. But haven’t we learned if Jesus told a story then, it applies to us today? Haven’t we discovered so far in our study of the parables that Jesus’ stories are layers and layers deep? So, as we read this next story, as yourself this question – “Am I faithfully tending what God has entrusted to me in this life?” Remember this is all on lease and God’s going to ask for it back. Even your very life! Matthew 21: 33-45 Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’ But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him. When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers? The religious leaders replied, ‘He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.’ Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’ I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. Okay, let’s pull out a few things and apply them to our lives today. The vineyard belonged to the landowner. The farmers were only leasing the vineyard. Notice how much work the owner did before the farmers ever touched the vineyard. He planted it. Built the wall. Dug the winepress. Built the tower. Then he LEASED it to the farmers. They didn’t create the vineyard. They didn’t buy the vineyard. They didn’t make the vines grow. They didn’t own the harvest. They were managers of something that belonged to someone else. And THAT IS US! Your life is a vineyard God has entrusted to you. Your body, your marriage, your children, your friendships, your home, your career, your money, your gifts, your talents, your time, your opportunities … None of it is ultimately yours. It’s been ENTRUSTED to you. Think about your children – are they really yours? Did you knit them together in your womb? Did you create them yourself? Did you design them? Is it you that breathed life into them? No, they are and always have been God’s. He’s entrusted that child to you to raise, to guide, to love. All of this is on lease. God has chosen you to steward what is HIS for the short span of your lifetime. So, Sis – how’s your stewardship going? We’re so quick to ask, “What do I want to do with my life?” But girl, this life isn’t even yours! You’re stewarding this time and these opportunities given to you by God. The question is, “God, what do you want done with what you’ve given me?” Jesus says the Kingdom would be given to those who would “produce the proper fruit.” God isn’t simply looking for people who hang out in the vineyard. He’s looking for fruit. You can be in church and produce no fruit. You can know Scripture and produce no fruit. You can have great success, look incredibly good, be totally impressive and produce no fruit. What fruit are we talking about? Ahhhh yes, remember back to our Fruits of the Spirit study together. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. If you’re stewarding the vineyard of your life well, then girl, your life should look different! People should see evidence that Jesus is growing in you! We are not people riddled with anxiety and fear. We are not impatient, irritated, grouchy souls. We are not negative, impulsive or judgmental. NO – that’s not what Jesus grows. The world grows that, but we are called to be different, empowered by the Holy Spirit to produce a radically different fruit in our leased vineyard. My friend, your life is producing something. What is it? Now, this story takes a turn. A turn that is a personal conviction on our tendency to claim “mine.” The farmers eventually say: “Let’s kill the heir and get the estate for ourselves.” They didn’t want to just work the vineyard. They wanted to own it. Dang – don’t we do this? God gives us something to steward and we get all clingy and bratty claiming “mine”. This is my time. This is my money. This is my body. They are my children. These are my plans. This is my life. Here’s the real problem with that – when we start believing it’s OURS, we have a real problem when God asks for his share. And that’s the real heart issue Jesus is exposing in this parable. Where have you taken what God has temporarily entrusted to you, claimed it as solely yours, and now you want to maintain control over it? You’re essentially telling God to stay out of your vineyard, forgetting IT’S HIS! In Jesus’ story of the Evil Farmers, we see the vineyard owner repeatedly sends servants in to visit and collect his share. The tenant farmers reject the servants. So, the owner sends more messengers. Eventually he sends in his son. We read this and immediately know how this plays out. That’s our Jesus. They kill our Jesus. God always knew that would happen. But here we see his patience. He sends messengers and reminders, giving the tenant farmers more time and more opportunities. Oh how God repeatedly comes after us. He sends us just the right sermon when we need it. Just the perfect devotional at the right time. Just the right conversation with the right friend. He interrupts us with his presence. What’s really happening is God is trying to get your attention. He loves you so much that he’s coming at you in every way to send you the message about his vineyard. Hey, this life you’re living belongs to God and he expects you to produce fruit. Again and again, he shows you mercy. What has God entrusted to you that He is now asking you to surrender back to Him? Maybe it’s your time. Maybe it’s control. Maybe it’s your money. Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s your body. Maybe it’s a gift or a dream that started with God but has slowly become about you. God doesn’t ask you to give Him what He never gave you. He’s simply asking for the fruit from the vineyard He entrusted to you. The religious leaders rejected Jesus. But Jesus says the very stone they rejected becomes the cornerstone. A cornerstone determines the alignment of the entire building. That’s a beautiful picture for us. Jesus isn’t supposed to be an addition to your life. He’s supposed to be the thing your life is built around. Not: “Where can I fit Jesus into my plans?” But: “How do I build my plans around Jesus?” Not: “How can Jesus help me achieve my dream?” But: “Jesus, what dream are You building in me?” God doesn’t give you things so you can possess them. He entrusts things so you can steward them. Everything and everyone you have and love today is on lease from God. You have it for just a little bit of time to care for, nurture, and help grow. What does the owner want you to do with those things today? When you really consider what the owner wants, it changes how you parent. How you spend. How you work. How you respond. How you show up. How you make decisions. WHAT DOES THE OWNER WANT? TEND what God has entrusted to you. PRODUCE the fruit God is looking for. RETURN to God what already belongs to Him. SURRENDER your life to the Jesus. You are not the owner of the vineyard. You are the steward of it. Everything you have is something God has entrusted to you for a season. And one day, the Owner comes looking for His harvest. How different would your life look today if you truly lived like God owns everything and you’re simply his steward? If the Owner walked into your vineyard today and asked for His harvest, what would you have to give Him? Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com
