Written ~ 02-23-2024
Read Mark Chapter Twelve
Mark 12
As we continue in the Book of Mark, have you noticed how often the teachers of religious law, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and other religious leaders question who Jesus is? They didn’t like the things Jesus preached in the Temple, they didn’t like that He was doing miracles, especially if He performed miraculous wonders on the Sabbath! Everything Jesus did, even though it only proved and fulfilled prophecy and revealed who He was, all the more these religious men in their self-righteousness wanted to arrest and kill Jesus.
In our chapter for today let’s look at verses 12:1-12… this parable is speaking directly to the hearts of those evil men, and they were absolutely furious when they realized Jesus was talking about them in this story…
1 Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
11 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’”
12 The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized He was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
Even if you know what this parable is about, let’s go over it together…
The “man” in verse 12:1 is God the Father in Heaven, the “vineyard” is Israel, the “tenant farmers” are the religious leaders.
God built this beautiful Promised Land for His chosen people, the Jews. Even though they were a rebellious bunch, God wanted them to know Him and to obey Him. In verses 12:2-5 we see that God sent many “servants.” These “servants” were His prophets, they were those who had the sole purpose of spreading warning and exhortation, cautioning the Israelites to turn from their rebellion and to urge them to go back to serving the One and only living God. In the Old Testament, many times we see the prophets being ignored, persecuted and killed. The people of Israel had extremely hard hearts and they wanted to continue in their evil ways. As the years went on, the Law of Moses, the commandments of God were getting muddied. The religious leaders of the time were relentless in the adherence to the Law and with their own man-made traditions built in, they had become a harsh and evil regiment.
In verses 12:6-8 we see what these “tenant farmers” would eventually do to the Son of God. These religious leaders have rejected the Only Son of the Almighty God.
In verse 12:9, Jesus asked the men standing around, “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?”
These religious leaders, teachers of religious law had completely missed from their study of the Scriptures that everything the prophets of old said would happen, was unfolding right before their very eyes. They should have been repentant! They should have realized their grave mistake! But they didn’t! They would not concede to the words of Christ. Instead, they sought to arrest Jesus for the things He had said.
Oh, that we would not miss what the Scriptures are foretelling. I pray we would be students of the Bible with our hearts, minds and souls open to the Holy Spirit. I pray that we would not miss the importance of Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies with exact fruition. I pray that we would give up any rebellion we are harboring and place our lives in the Hands of the Lord and not be like the religious leaders who were determined to get rid of Jesus. If we question who Jesus is, I pray we can have the wisdom and understanding to find the truth through reading and studying the Scriptures.
Father God, even though You knew Your beloved Son would be hated, persecuted, tortured and killed… You knew it was necessary for Him to die on that cross for our sins. And for that love, I am thankful. I am beyond blessed to know my Savior and if You hadn’t sent Him, oh my, what darkness and hopelessness would have guided my life instead. Thank You Father for sending Your Son to die on the cross for the Salvation of the world. I pray that more would turn to Your Son. I pray that this rebellious generation will turn from their selfish ways and seek a life filled with Your Holy Spirit. Send an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and touch the hearts, minds and souls of those who are pushing You away. This prayer is a perpetual thanksgiving for the life You have given me through Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
~AMEN~