Connect360: The Surprising Truth About God

• The Christmas lesson in the Connect360 unit “Jesus Storyteller: Timeless Truths From His Parables” focuses on Luke 20:9-19.

The parable recorded in Luke 20 contains a scathing indictment against the failure of the Jewish people to accept God’s greatest gift to humanity—his Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus finished telling this parable, the people were so shocked that they cried out, “God forbid!” They were astonished because Jesus disrupted their nice, neat understanding of the God of Israel. They thought God existed for the sake of Israel, not Israel for God.

Likewise, people who are busy in the Christmas season today may be surprised to learn the truth about Jesus, whose birth we are celebrating. Many Americans claim to believe in God—but what kind of God? For some, he is the nice God they recognize for an hour a week on Sundays and then live the rest of their lives as if he doesn’t exist. For others, religious rules and rituals are an acceptable substitute for knowing God. Jesus meets our greatest need—the need for forgiveness and reconciliation with God. If you receive God’s Son, you will receive God’s forgiveness.

What is God like? He is good. He is patient. But do you know what is most surprising to some about God? He is loving. In the parable, after his servants had been rejected and abused, the owner took an unprecedented, astonishing step—he sent his son. Jesus described the owner’s son as “my son, whom I love.” Those are the same words God assigned to Jesus when Jesus was baptized and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matthew 3:17). The message of Christmas is that God sent his only Son to reconcile our differences with him. So, what did humanity do in response? Did we hurry to welcome God’s Son and fall at his feet in surrender? No, like the tenants in the parable, we crucified the Son of God.

Truth about human wickedness

This parable not only highlights the shocking truth about the character of God, but it also reveals the surprising truth about the utter wickedness of the human heart. The tenants of the vineyard didn’t kill the owner’s son in the spontaneous heat of emotion; they made a calculated decision. They thought that by killing the son, they could claim ownership of the vineyard.

That’s what so amazing about God’s love. I am a sinner by nature and by choice, but God still loves me, in spite of my sin. God loves you enough that he sent his only Son to die for you. The Bible says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Based on a lesson by David O. Dykes, pastor emeritus of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler. To learn more about GC2 Press and the Connect360 Bible study series, or to order materials, click here.