Lesson 20: Patience and Forbearance through Jesus
Question 4
The vinedresser entreated the owner on behalf of the tree. He said, “Give me one more chance with this tree. Let me do some work and amend the soil. And if my work isn’t successful, then you can cut it down.”
Now rather than debating all the potential meanings of this parable, I will ask you to focus today on the patience of God and the intercession of Jesus, as it is illustrated here for us in this parable.
We can see the patience of the owner of the vineyard from the beginning; after all, he waited three years for that tree to bear fruit. It isn’t as if the owner was harsh or unreasonable. And yet, the vinedresser asked for more time. The vinedresser did not argue that the tree was worth saving or that the owner was wrong to expect fruit. No, the vinedresser knew that the tree deserved to be cut down; but he interceded based on the work that he, the vinedresser, planned to do.
Dear friend, we have a very patient Father in Heaven (the owner); but He is also just. God gave His perfect law, and every one of us failed to fulfill it. We were dead in our sins and fruitless. But God, in the person of Jesus (the Vinedresser), devised a way for us to be transformed from worthless people who deserved to be cut down into glorious and fruitful trophies of His grace.
Just think of this: Jesus came to you and did all the work: He did the suffering, became sin, took on all God’s wrath, sowed His own body into the ground, all so that you could receive life and bear fruit. Because of Jesus and His work, God spared you and I. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Question 4. Have you experienced the patience of God in your life which led to your salvation and now your ongoing transformation? Please share.
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