What More Could Have I Done?

Lesson 11

What More Could I Have Done?

(Isaiah 5, Matthew 21, Romans 3)

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: James 3:10-11 tells us that a spring cannot produce both fresh and salt water. From that James argues that the same mouth cannot produce both blessings and curses. Is James right? Not in my experience. How about your experience? How many good people do you know who have some bad traits? How many bad people do you know who do only evil? Most people are mixed. James understands the mixture problem and argues that what is true of water should also be true of Christians. James calls for a high standard. A Godly standard. The practical difficulty is that most people view others in a “mixed” way and they also apply this “mixed” view to their understanding of God. This week we look at that issue and answer God’s question, “What more could I have done?” Done to convince humans that God’s character is only pure. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible!

2. The Vinter
   
   1. Read Isaiah 5:1. What kind of song is this? (A love song.)
      1. What is being loved here? The owner of the vineyard or the vineyard? (It appears to be both. The vinter is loved, but the love song is about the vineyard.)
   2. Read Isaiah 5:2. Has the work on the vineyard been done with care? (We are told about a lot of hard work. We are told “choice vines” were planted. It seems the work was done with care.)
      1. What might create a debate over the quality of the creation of the vineyard? (It yielded wild grapes.)
   3. Read Isaiah 5:3. Why are the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah called to judge? (The question, as alluded to above, is “Who is responsible for the wild grapes? Why did this farming enterprise fail?)
   4. Read Isaiah 5:4. What is the vinter’s argument that he is not at fault? (He wants to know what more could he have done. Why were there wild grapes?)
      1. How would you answer this? (I would answer that I’m not a subject matter expert, and I don’t have enough information to decide who is at fault.)
      2. What is the vinter’s view of who is at fault? (He says that he knows of nothing more that he could have done. It is not his fault. The odd thing is that he invites others to decide who is at fault.)
         
         1. Or is he asking them to agree that he is not at fault?
   5. Read Isaiah 5:5-6. Is the vinter’s reaction reasonable? (Two things. It is his vineyard, he can do with it whatever he wants. Second, if you had no hedge, no wall, no pruning, and no weeding, what kind of grapes would you expect? (Wild grapes. The vinter says the grapes are now receiving the kind of care that produces wild grapes.)
   6. Let’s go back to Isaiah 5:1. How is this a love song? Who is being loved? (The vinter is the “beloved” who is the subject of the song. The singer tells the vinter, “I love you even though this farming adventure did not turn out as expected.)
   7. Read Isaiah 5:7. What is this song really about? (God and His people. God’s nation is the vineyard and the people are the choice vines planted in very fertile ground.)
      1. What makes these grapes wild? (Instead of justice, they commit bloodshed. Instead of righteousness, they are screaming at God.)
      2. Who is at fault? (The people, not God.)

1. 1. 3. Is God punishing the people? (No. He is only taking away the special advantages (other than rain) that He gave them.)
2. The Leased Vineyard
   
   1. Read Matthew 21:33. Jesus is telling this parable. Does it sound like He is elaborating on Isaiah 5? (The actions of the vinter owner seem to be almost exactly the same. What is different is that owner leaves the vineyard in the hands of those who rented it.)
   2. Read Matthew 21:34-35. What major deviation do we find from the story of Isaiah 5? (The grapes seems to be just fine. They are worth collecting.)
      1. What is the problem? (The tenants want to keep the grapes for themselves, and they are willing to kill to do it.)
   3. Read Matthew 21:36. Was the killing of the first group of servants an error? The tenants saw their mistake and reformed? (No. This reflects the tenants’s consistent character.)
   4. Read Matthew 21:37-39. Who is the “son” in this parable? (It is Jesus.)
      1. What motivates the tenants to kill the son? (They want “his inheritance.”)
         
         1. What do you think this means?
   5. Let’s skip down and read Matthew 21:45. Are the Jewish leaders right? (Yes. And this answers the question about the inheritance. They wanted the adoration, the praise, and worship of the people. That which belonged only to God was want they wanted. That was also Satan’s goal.)
3. Putting the Vineyards Together
   
   1. What was defective in the Isaiah 5 story? (The grapes.)
   2. What was defective in the Matthew 21 story? (Those who were to tend the grapes in the place of the absent owner.)
   3. Putting the two vineyard stories together teaches what lesson? (Both the people of God and their spiritual leaders are defective.)
   4. Go back to the introduction. What do these two vineyard stories say about the nature of God? (He set up all the conditions for perfect grapes. The nature of the grapes and the failings of the spiritual leaders was not God’s fault.)
      1. What more could the vineyard owner have done?
      2. What should we conclude about our fellow church members and our church leaders? (We all fail, but none of this is God’s fault.)
4. The Love Song
   
   1. Read Romans 3:21-24. The conclusion of the two vineyard stories is very discouraging. We are a bunch of rotten grapes, and our leaders are no better. What hope do we have? (The Son killed by the tenants has redeemed all of us who believe in Him.)
   2. Read Romans 3:25-26. What does this do for the reputation of Jesus? (It shows the righteousness of God. It shows that He is just and the justifier of all of us who put our faith in Him.)
   3. Read Romans 3:27-31. What did the evil tenants want that belonged to the son? (His inheritance. We must never claim to be the righteous ones. We must never claim that our views are above God’s views. And justice of God. We must not boast of our works of righteousness. There is only One who is righteous.)
   4. What more could God have done?
   5. Friend, have you been confused about the nature of God? Have you been confused about the nature of humans? We are “wild grapes.” Our spiritual leaders are imperfect. Only God is perfect and He showed His love to us by coming to earth, living a perfect life, dying a tortured death, and returning to heaven as the One who defeated sin and death. Will you, in faith, rely on Him and not yourself? Why not repent of your misunderstanding of our nature and God’s nature, and turn to Him right now?
5. Next week: Love and Justice: The Two Greatest Commandments.