In the vineyard of the Lord

Several times in the Gospels, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16; Matthew 21:28-44; Mark 12:1-11; Luke 13:6-9) In 1569, the height of the Lutheran Reformation, Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586) painted “The Vineyard of the Lord” (Der Weinberg des Herrn).

Cranach, along with his father, Lucas Cranach the Elder, is one of the most important German painters of the Reformation era. He and his father were staunch supporters of the teachings of Martin Luther and the other Reformers.

The painting is hanging in Martin Luther’s parish church of St. Mary’s in Wittenberg. Cranach created this painting in memory of the Reformer Paul Eber, who lectured on theology in Wittenberg.

“The Vineyard of the Lord” depicts a vineyard divided by a fence. The vineyard is the biblical metaphor for the Christian Church on earth. At the left of the vineyard are representatives of the Roman Catholic Church destroying it. At the right is Luther with a rake and other Reformers taking care of the plants by watering them and pulling out the weeds.

Cranach is explaining the meaning of the Reformation by portraying the Catholic clergy and the Lutheran reformers as laborers in the vineyard of the Lord. It is a visual parody of a statement that Pope Leo X had made in response to Luther’s posting of his Ninety-five Theses. The pope excommunicated Luther, tossing him out of the Church, exclaiming famously, “The wild boar from the forest seeks to destroy the vineyard.”

The pope was claiming that Martin Luther was a “wild boar” who had arisen to destroy God’s Church. Pope Leo said that it was his duty to protect the vineyard of the Lord from the ravishing of the wild boar.

However, Cranach sets the record straight. He demonstrates who is actually destroying the vineyard and who is taking care of it.

He succinctly explains the entire meaning of the Reformation in one image!

On the left side, the vineyard has withered from neglect and mismanagement. The pope, cardinals, bishops, priests and monks are hard at work … ripping out the vines and throwing rocks into the well. They are destroying the Good News of Jesus Christ with their false doctrines of the worship of Mary and the saints, purgatory, penance, indulgence, etc. They have ripped out the true salvation story contained in the words and person of Jesus Christ, who is the Vine to whom we are connected by faith (John 15:5). They have thrown rocks down the well of he who is the Water of life (John 4:13).

On the bottom left, the pope is trying unsuccessfully to collect wages from Jesus.

On the right, the vineyard is flourishing under Lutheran cultivation. Twelve reformers associated with Wittenberg, ranging from Martin Luther (d. 1546) to the young Matthias Flacius Illyricus (d. 1575), clear the land and prune and irrigate the new, healthy plants.

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Martin Luther, in his black professor’s gown, is raking the soil in the foreground.

The man pouring clear water from the well into the vineyard is Philipp Melanchthon, the author of the Augsburg Confession.

John Bugenhagen, Luther’s confessor and a contributor to the Augsburg Confession is in the center wearing a light-colored robe as he tills the soil.

Cranach was correct in using color to expose the dark false theology of the pope and his bishops, priests and monks.

But before we become self-righteous in our right theology, perhaps we need to see where we fit into the left side of the painting?

Do we ever demand Jesus to pay us with physical blessings?

Do we ever destroy the purity of Christ’s living water by leaving room for our own interpretation that fits our “brand” of Christianity?

Do we ever tear up the vineyard by living the exact opposite of how Christ has taught us to live?

Do we value our connection to the Vine, or is Jesus just something we conveniently stay connected to when times are difficult?

It is very easy to start sliding to the left side of the painting!

What a blessing, then, that Christ still allows us to serve, work and tend on the right side of the painting!

What a treasure of grace that God has called each of us as believers to work in the Vineyard of the Lord! He has connected us by faith to his Son, the Vine. It is through Jesus that we receive the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with our heavenly Father, and eternal life in heaven. The Holy Spirit grants us blessing after blessing through His Word and Sacraments. It is through these Word and Sacraments that we bear the fruits of faith.

He covers our self-righteousness with His divine righteousness. He still grants us daily blessings despite not deserving them, and even having the audacity to demand them. He purifies the poison we try to inject into His Word by preaching more Word and more truth and more purity. He gently places us back into the vineyard after we try so hard to rip ourselves out of it. And though we do not always value being attached to the Vine, Jesus always – always – values being connected to us.

On top of all that, Christ calls us to be workers in his divine Vineyard. Not to rip out what he has planted. But to care for the tender shoot of the mother who is grieving her stillborn child. To tend the little girl in Sunday School so that she may grow in her faith and understanding. To look after the teenager who is struggling with his addictions. To minister to the World War II veteran who is in hospice care.

May God correctly chastise us when we end up on the left of his vineyard.

May we thank God for the privilege of being his faithful servants on the right of his vineyard.