God and His Tenants
Mark 12:1-12
1Jesus 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’[a]?”
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.
The Bible has many stories that include a garden. They are all connected to very important issues:
Garden of Eden. Promised Land. Garden of Gethsemane. Heavenly pictures. And our story here. John 15 vine and branches.
God is the Creator.
People are responsible.
God has expectations.
People are to meet them.
Blessing/Curse/Judgement/Reward are all a result of gardening
- The Big Picture in Creation
- God Has Expectations for His Creation
Expectations are related to purpose.
A garden/ vineyard has a purpose. It is a particular expression of the creative nature of God. It is different from surrounding areas. It has had plants ordered for two purposes:
- They are ordered so that they might bear fruit in a more efficient way.
- A garden/ vineyard is beautiful. It is free from the profane, mundane and wasteful.
There is a wall: passive protection.
There is a watchtower: active protection
There is a winepress: preparation for abundance of fruit.
There are tenants: People are to function inside of God’s creation as caretakers of His garden. In Genesis 1 we are told to rule over creation. But as caretakers/ rulers we are in partnership with God who is the owner of all of Creation. And His expectation is that the vineyard will produce fruit, joyful fruit!
- God Partners with People to Get Fruit
God partners with Adam and those like him down to Noah.
God partners with Noah
God partners with Abraham: He promises Abraham what the people sought to gain for themselves at Babel. God makes a Covenant with Abraham. And from Abraham…
God partners with people through Moses and the Covenant at Sinai.
And God partners with Jesus. In Jesus God fulfills the Covenant at Sinai and the Covenant with Abraham so that all who are in Christ are recipients of the blessings promised in those covenants as well as the promises of eternal life and the Resurrection of the dead!
John 15: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
- People Turn Out to be Bad Partners
God sends emissaries to the vineyard to collect “some of the fruit.” God is not after all of the fruit, neither is He unfair.
But the tenants, who are not owners, refuse the emissaries and treat them in increasingly harsh ways. This is obviously a reference to the Old Testament prophets who have trouble with political and religious leadership. John the Baptist and Jesus are the latest examples here, but the Apostles will also experience this beating.
The problem with the vineyard is the tenants.
- Jesus Applies This to Israel
You can see this throughout their history!
- They were trouble in the wilderness
I Corinthians 10: For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
- They were trouble in the Promised Land
The times of the Judges with lasted over 500 years was an up and down period where they struggled with enemies that they were to have defeated and driven out, but they will not obey God consistently.
The times of the Monarchy which lasts about 500 years is filled with idolatry before the exile. Saul is a selfish insecure psychotic king. David is good, Solomon is good, but they are definitely flawed men. Israel is at its political zenith during their reigns, but immediately splits into two after Solomon. And from there, they are back to the Judges. Some kings are OK, most are not great, some are downright horrible. And these are the leaders of “God’s Chosen People.”
The Assyrians defeat the northern ten tribes with Judah and Benjamin miraculously being delivered by God.
The Babylonians defeat the remaining remnants of Israel a couple hundred years later.
Israel is ruled by various folks during the time of the Greeks and now during the time of the Romans they seek to return to the greatness of David. And Jesus appears as a prophet like Moses and a King like David.
Acts 7: 51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
- They are trouble today
This is what Jesus reflects back to them with reference to their present conflict. In John’s gospel, we see all the way from chapter 5 to chapter 12 the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders is highlighted. In almost every chapter the Jewish leaders directly oppose Jesus. They seek to kill Him over and over again.
In Luke’s gospel at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in chapter 4 the Jewish leaders seek to kill Jesus. It is a regular theme. This, in my opinion, is a major reason that Jesus often tells people to not tell about the miracles that He is doing. This is why Jesus does the majority of His ministry in areas around the Sea of Galilee. He is avoiding Jerusalem. And when He goes to Jerusalem He lasts less than a week before He is murdered!
In the parable, the prophets are servants and Jesus proclaims Himself as the Son!
III. Jesus Claims to be the Son
- The rejected Son of God
“The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone”
We already saw that this is connected to the praises of the people on Palm Sunday:
Psalm 118:
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[b]
27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
- His conflict with leadership explained
Jesus is the final messenger sent by God to the Jewish people with an expectation of receiving the fruit desired from the vineyard. They seek to kill Him. They could see this and then repent. They could see this and seek to kill Him because He deserves to be killed. One of them is right. They both can’t be right. Jesus has always been this way. Because of Who He claims to be and because of His ministry claims, He is unique!
John 14 as an example:
#1
“You believe in God, believe also in Me!”
#2
“2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
#3
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Therefore the exclusive nature of His work:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- I am the way, and the truth, and the life: John 14:6
- I am the resurrection and the life: John 11:25, 26
- I am the light of the world: John 8:12
- I am the good shepherd: John 10:11
- I am the bread of life: John 6:35
- I am the door: John 10:9
- I am the gate for the sheep: John 10:7, 9
- I am the way, and the truth, and the life: John 14:6
- I am the resurrection and the life: John 11:25, 26
- I am the light of the world: John 8:12
- I am the good shepherd: John 10:11
- I am the bread of life: John 6:35
- I am the door: John 10:9
- I am the gate for the sheep: John 10:7, 9
- God’s will is being done
“The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes”
Isaiah 53:
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Psalms 22:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
“The Jewish leadership look for a reason to arrest Him.
And God’s will is being done!!
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