The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 5:1-7, The Song of the Vineyard

The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 5:1-7, The Song of the Vineyard. 

WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).

• “Listen to what I sing on behalf of my beloved friend. It is a love poem about his vineyard: ‘My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He plowed that field and cleared it of stones, and then he planted it with the choicest of vines, the finest grapevines he could find. He built there a hut for watching over this vineyard. He dug out a winepress where he could squeeze out the juices of his grapes. And then he waited patiently, thinking his vineyard would produce sweet fruit, but instead it yielded bitter, sour grapes… For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting; and He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!” (5:1-2, 7).

The Singing Prophet. As so many of the Hebrew prophets, Isaiah was a singing prophet. He often sang the words of the Lord to the people to make it more memorable. This passage is one his more famous songs, “The Song of the Vineyard.” This is a direct allegory, in which God is Isaiah’s beloved Friend. And God is the careful and loving owner and farmer of a carefully cultivated vineyard, with the vineyard itself representing Israel. Israel was commonly pictured as God’s vineyard by other prophets as well, such as Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Psalm 80:8 also points out that Israel was “a vine out of Egypt” brought by God Himself to plant in the Promised Land. In Isaiah’s song, the fertile hillside is Mt. Zion, and the watchtower is Jerusalem, where the owner lived and watched over His vineyard. In the song, the stones of stumbling were cleared away and the vineyard was lovingly planned out and tended. But after all the owner God did to produce a wonderful vineyard (Israel), the choice grapevines (the Chosen People), unexpectedly produced sour, bitter, wild grapes. God is saying that the Promised Land has failed to produce the sweet grapes He was hoping for, with spiritually juicy qualities such as justice, righteousness and faithfulness.

Sour Grapes. In chapter five, the Lord identifies through Isaiah why Israel will be judged as He unpacks their many disappointing failures… exploiting others through sheer greed; love of pleasure and drunkenness; intentionally doing evil acts through their indifference to the Lord; taking pride in their sin while mocking God; perverting truth; dishonesty and conceit; perverting justice. God outlines in this chapter many of Israel’s sins and it’s easy to see why the Owner of the vineyard would be disappointed with all those sour, bitter grapes in His vineyard. The Lord seemed especially displeased with the chosen people’s ignorance of moral standards as if He has not made those standards clear… “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who replace darkness with light, and light with darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (5:20-21).

Jesus Expands Isaiah’s Song in Two Parables. There were two parables of Jesus that were variations on this same theme in Isaiah’s “Song of the Vineyard.” Jesus clearly loved this song of Isaiah’s and wanted to build on it and bring it up to date for His messianic purposes.

• The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree in the Vineyard. “And Jesus told this parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” (Luke 13:6-9).

THE CONTEXT. a. The early parts of this chapter in Luke refer to Jesus’ call for national repentance. This parable, more allegorical than most of his parables, continues that theme of repentance, only the story is directed toward the Jewish leadership, the pious ones, especially in the Temple. This parable is not referring to the Jewish nation (the vineyard) as a whole, but to its fruitless leadership.

b. Jesus is referring to some well-known biblical symbols in this parable. A vineyard has already been established many times in the Hebrew Bible as a symbol for the nation of Israel. Later on in Luke 20, a vineyard was a symbol for the kingdom of God. Upon hearing the word vineyard, every faithful Jew would immediately think of the Jewish nation.

c. It’s clear as  bell to the audience: the vineyard is Israel, the owner is the Lord God. It might have been clear to some that Jesus Himself was the vinedresser, the gardener. So some would have begun picking up on the idea that they perhaps were in the Messianic Age.

THE FIG TREE. a. This is the symbol for the Temple, the religious leadership of Israel in the midst of the vineyard, which is not bearing the fruits of repentance and spiritual union with God. It would have been sensed immediately that the parable was told against the religious authorities, as in Luke 20.

b. The fig tree was generally regarded as the most fruitful tree in that region. It had three harvests each year, and had ripe fruit ten months of each year. The fig tree was so valuable and esteemed that it would be unthinkable to cut one down unless it was barren for many years and thus considered hopeless.

c. To dig around the tree and fertilize it was common gardening practice. If it was barren, it would indeed deteriorate the soil and take up usable space. Also, the fig tree absorbs more than its share of nourishment from the ground, and so often deprives the surrounding vines of what they might need. It would be the gardener’s duty to cut a fruitless tree down if such was the case.

THE PARABLE. a. The owner/God has discovered that a particular fig tree/temple leadership in his vineyard/Israel is fruitless, barren. He’s thinking of getting rid of it. He intentionally planted that tree to bear Him fruit. He planted the Temple and its leaders through Torah, His presence, prophets, interventions, and He expects fruitfulness. He wants a productive vineyard and a fruitful tree in its midst. The gardener/messiah pleads for some additional time of grace. He will give it special attention for a time to renew its life, to make it fruitful. The gardener then agrees that if he can’t renew it in the future, then he will let it be cut down.

b. Jesus knows that the religious leadership is not showing the fruits of repentance. As the Great Intercessor, He is asking the Father for a time of patient forgiveness to renew its spiritual life. Then Jesus says if, after a while, it is not renewed, then judgment is called for.

c. “Let it alone” literally means “forgive.”

d. “Next year” literally means “in the future,” an unspecified time period.

e. Renewal has to come from the gardener’s work. The fig tree will not come back to life by itself. The Jewish leadership can not renew itself. It needs the special attention of Jesus the Messiah, who will act to redeem the leadership, to make it spiritually fruitful.

f. When the fig tree is barren, it affects the surrounding vineyard. The same with fruitless leadership. God doesn’t want the fruitless leadership to effect the Jewish community or the kingdom of God. So He can’t accept this barren status forever. It is not sustainable.

g. It’s fascinating to note the discussion between the owner and the gardener, between the Father and the Son. It seems they are talking about the virtue of mercy and grace in the midst of spiritual expectation. God is longsuffering and patient, but He seems to be saying that the time is now to repent. This grace won’t last forever, evidently.

OTHER THOUGHTS ON THIS PARABLE. a. We can take this parable at the individual level as well. Christ has looked at the world and found us barren, spiritually dead. In His mercy He has worked for our redemption, through His death and resurrection. He has now renewed us to live a life of fruitfulness, especially thinking of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

b. As a Christian community and as individual believers, we are told time and again in Scripture to bear fruit: that a good tree is recognized by bearing good fruit; that if we don’t produce good fruit we will be cut down at the roots; to produce fruit in keeping with repentance; that we were chosen and ordained to go and bear fruit that will last; that we belong to Jesus in order that we might bear fruit to God; that we will please God by bearing fruit in every good work; that the wisdom that comes from God is full of mercy and good fruit. Fruitfulness doesn’t save us, it shows that we are saved. Good fruit isn’t what makes a tree alive, it is evidence that the tree is alive.

c. I want to hold God to a promise He made in Psalm 130:7-8: “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love, rich mercy, and with Him is full redemption. He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” God is without a doubt good to His Word, and He will indeed redeem Israel when the time is right.

d. The parable is open-ended. Does the owner respond in any way? Does the fig tree become fruitful? Does the audience get the point? Were there religious leaders in the audience who were offended? or challenged? or ready for repentance? We don’t know.

e. Where does the current spiritual leadership of the Christian Church stand with regards to faithful fruitfulness? If we are in a waiting time of grace, the Gardener working to bring fruit to the tree, then it behooves us to hold ourselves and the leadership accountable to biblical fruitfulness. Spiritual fruitfulness has nothing to do with popularity, financial success or size of membership. This current time of grace evidently won’t last forever.

f. When in Egypt, Joseph named one of his sons Ephraim. That name means “fruitful”, and Joseph named him that because “God has made him fruitful in the land of affliction.” What an amazing name! Would that we all live up to that name, and remain fruitful by God’s help, in the land of our suffering.

• The Parable of the Longsuffering Vineyard Owner and the Wicked Vinedressers. Isn’t it fascinating that Jesus taught the truth of this song of Isaiah by taking it and building on it, by showing Himself as its fulfillment? This parable is found in three gospels, Matthew 21, Mark 12, and Luke 20, and is too long to record here. Please read on our own.

ALLEGORY. Usually, the parables of Jesus are not strictly allegorical. But this particular parable, as in Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyward, is mostly an allegory, a story in which ‘this’ represents ‘that’. Jesus wanted the chief priests and scribes to take this personally, so that is how he set up the story. The owner of the vineyard is God. The vineyard is Israel. The vinedressers are the tenants, the caretakers of the vineyard, and they represent the religious leadership of Israel. The son in the parable is Jesus. The owner’s messengers are the prophets sent by God.

THE VINEYARD. It has been hand-planted by God himself, with special care and attention and purpose. The vineyard itself was never rebuked or criticized in the story. The grapes are healthy, the vines are fruitful. Israel remains a productive possession of the Lord. And this parable is not, as many have claimed, about how God rejects Israel, replacing it with the Church.

THE VINEDRESSERS. a. They were chosen by the owner to take good care of the vineyard, to dress it properly, to maintain its condition, to harvest the produce in season. But they started taking advantage of the owner’s absence, and wouldn’t give produce back to the owner as arranged in their agreement. They would mistreat the owner’s messengers as they were sent by the owner, and then they would send the messengers back empty-handed.

b. They were not the owners of the vineyard, of course, but they began to think they were. They wanted to claim “squatter’s rights,” which stated that if someone has physical possession of the land for three years, that person can claim ownership. They beat up and sent away one messenger after another, and finally killed the heir, so that the ownership of the vineyard would be theirs. The vinedressers obviously had no shame, and were acting out of ambitious self-righteousness.

c. The story outlines a history of Israel. The religious leadership would reject one prophet after another, claiming ownership of God’s direction for his people. Jesus is historically accurate of course, since we know that Jeremiah was stoned, Amos was murdered with a club, John the Baptist was beheaded, and later Stephen was martyred by the church leaders. Finally, in the parable, they killed his beloved Son, thinking that would end all competition for Israel’s religious leadership.

THE SON. a. The son in the story was described as “the beloved son.” This is the tip-off that Jesus is referring to the true Son of the Father, who called Jesus his “beloved son” at his baptism. Jesus is referring to himself as Son, and so the story is clearly messianic. This parable focuses heavily on the son.

b. The son in the story is killed, outside the vineyard, by the wicked vinedressers. In this parable Jesus predicts his death at the hands of the Temple leadership. And Golgotha is definitely outside the Temple environs. He also forecast the destruction of Jerusalem in verse 16. Just as the son is the heir in the story, Jesus is the Heir as well, ready to die for the true and intended heritage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is ready to go all the way to redeem the nation of Israel, extend the reach of the chosen people, redeeming the whole world in the process.

c. Then Jesus quotes another passage from Isaiah, 28:16, (also in Psalm 118:22), referring to himself as the fulfillment of that scripture. He claims to be the stone that the builders rejected, who has become the chief cornerstone. Through this reference, Jesus anticipates both his passion/death as well as his resurrection/ascension. The Son will be rejected, but the Son will end up as the capstone that holds everything together through his conquering of death. Jesus Himself is the stone that will be rejected and killed yet will survive and become the cornerstone.

THE OWNER. a. He is the true hero of the story. “He is in a position of power who can exact vengeance on his enemies, but chooses not to do so.” (Bailey). He shows remarkable patience with his vinedressers. When they mistreated one messenger, he would just send another one to try to solve the problem. One after another. The owner was incredibly forgiving and persistent to try and work things out. But then he made himself vulnerable through the grace of sending his beloved son, alone and unarmed. Surely, the owner thought, this will resolve the issue. The owner revealed an amazingly magnanimous heart. He could at any time have called the authorities and driven out the vinedressers. The owner kept trying to appeal in good faith to the vinedressers. God patiently stayed on the trail of Israel, never forgetting his covenant with them.

b. Finally, the owner decides to replace the vinedressers with another whole new crew. The listeners to the story were aghast. They understood the story as it was being told, and the audience was shocked that God would replace the vinedressers with “others.” The audience couldn’t imagine it and said “May this never be! God forbid!” But the vinedressers/Temple leaders were no longer worthy. Israel would no longer be entrusted to the care of the current Temple leadership.

THE CHIEF PRIESTS. They understood the story. They knew it was told against them. They knew that Jesus accused them of betraying God, of monopolizing religious life, of mistreating prophets sent by God, including God’s own Son, Jesus. They also acknowledge that, according to Jesus, they will be replaced by a more honorable and faithful people for spiritual leadership. That’s why they wanted to lay their hands on Jesus right then and there. But they couldn’t. Jesus was too popular with the crowd. They considered Jesus an important prophet. So they waited for a more opportune time to take Jesus down.