You only send a son to rescue a son (or daughter)

Hours before his death, Jesus told a story about a landowner and his workers. His message is subtle but profound: you only send a son to rescue a son (or daughter).

"A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat unde

r the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, "they will respect my son." But those vine-growers said to one another, "this is the heir; come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!" They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard to? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others." (Mark 12:1-12)

First of all, the landowner in this story is really gracious. He is the one who panted, built a wall around the vineyard, dug out the wine press (whatever that means), and

built the watchtower. After he invests all of his time and energy, the landowner only want

s to collect some of the harvest when it is time. All of the harvest is his, but he only requests that part of it be returned to him. Not only that, but the landowner keeps patiently sending his trusted servants to go and collect his portion of the harvest, despite the fact that his servants keep getting abused, beaten, and killed. It's important to acknowledge that a harsh landowner would use his resources to pay a small army to go and destroy the tenant farmers; not so with this landowner. He instead does the unthinkable - he sends his son to go and reason with the tenants and collect his portion of the harvest. Why would he do that?

The only logical explanation is that the landowner

considers his harvest to be as important to him as his son. Because of the risk of sending his servants, the landowner has to know the possibility of abuse and even death to his son is on the table. So why would he risk it? Because you only send a son to rescue a son (or daughter). You and I are the "harvest" in this story. We are that important to the landowner, God the Father. When he looks at us He sees us as a brother (or sister) to Jesus. So of course he sends his son.

You and I have ben rescued and fully accepted into the family. We are His harvest, his sons and daughters. It's who we are.

- Shawn