Reject or Respect?
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, I pray to know more of You and of Your Word as I study it here and now.
Read Mark 12:1-12
[1] Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. [2] At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. [3] But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. [4] Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. [5] He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. [6] “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ [7] “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ [8] So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. [9] “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. [10] Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; [11] the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” [12] Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Reflect
What do you think is the point of this parable?Jesus’ target audience for this parable was very clear. Chapter divisions in the Bible (added much later, of course) sometimes hide its meaning, and this is a good example. If you take the chapter break away, it’s much easier to see to whom Jesus was speaking (1,12). We’ve already seen that the fig tree was a common biblical image for Israel. Now Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard. This was another familiar picture of Israel (e.g. Psa. 80:8-18). It’s as though he takes a well-known passage from Isaiah (5:1-7) and then brings a twist to the story. Jesus doesn’t criticize the vineyard for not being fruitful. His complaint is with the ones who cultivate it: the leaders of Israel. For people as familiar with the scriptures as these were, the point of Jesus’ message was clear. And for those who had been at his baptism (1:11) his identity should have been obvious. Once again, the leaders are in a quandary. They know what they would like to do, but fear of the crowd stops them from doing it. Leaders today still face that very same challenge.
Apply
Pray now for anyone you know who is struggling with the idea of Jesus’ authority over their lives.
Closing prayer
Lord, I praise You that You are such a loving, faithful God. It isn’t hard to submit to Your authority.
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