Five Powerful Words from the Last Week of the Life of Jesus
REJECTION
Mark 12:1-12
Introduction
Last week we heard Jesus give the third passion narrative - a clear description of what was to happen when they got to Jerusalem. On the way he stops and heals Blind Bartimaeus. Mark 11 records the Triumphal Entry as he enters Jerusalem as the Messianic King. In the second half of Mark 11 Jesus delivers a message of judgment against the Temple, sparking more outrage and plans to kill him.
Today we begin a new series of messages called FIVE POWERFUL WORDS FROM THE LAST WEEK OF JESUS’ LIFE. Our text takes place about three days from the death of Jesus. In Mark 12 we are allowed to peer into the dark days ahead through the eyes of a parable…more of a preview. This parable is violent, brutal, and covered in blood. It does contain a message of hope, but it is buried in the rubble of Old Testament prophecy and we will have to look for it.
Let’s Begin by Reading and thinking through The Parable of the Tenants.
MARK 12:1-9
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country.
2 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.
5 And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
Identity of some of the allegory meanings:
-Owner of the vineyard - God. Considered to be ‘away’. He has given the care of the vineyard to the tenants.
-Vineyard itself is Israel. God created the vineyard and gave responsibility of care to the religious leaders.
-Tenants are the religious leaders of Israel. They have no doubt that he is talking about them. Vs 12: they perceived that he had told the parable against them
-Servants are the prophets. The prophets are called Servants in the OT. They were sent to bring the message from the owner!
-The Son is Jesus.
This parable is told in some stages that lead to a question (Williamson)
1. Rebellion - (Mark 12:1-5)
God Generously provided a wonderful functioning vineyard! This reminds me of the Garden, we started with everything we could need. This picture is taken from Isaiah 5, a different parable of the vineyard, but there also the vineyard was Israel. God entrusted this beautiful vineyard into the hands of the leaders of Israel.
The tenants rebel against the owner by rejecting, beating, and killing a succession of servants sent to get payment for the use of the vineyard. The faithful servants represent the faithful prophets. Their stories are brutal. Jeremiah was put in stocks. Isaiah was sawed in two. Zechariah was stoned to death in the temple. Nehemiah 9:26 ESV says, “killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.” Mark tells us about John the Baptist being beheaded.
Many times God sent opportunity for the tenants to pay what they owed. But they responded with a rebellious spirit.
2. Response (Mark 12:6)
God’s initiative of Grace in Jesus Christ. It is not the normal response to rebellion, nor the action expected. He sent his son. He is a “beloved” son - called this two other places in Mark’s Gospel - at his baptism, at the Transfiguration. I cannot imagine the grace of God in sending his son….in the face of such rebellion, but this is who He is.
God is patient with us. He gives us many opportunities to live for Him, His grace, his mercy, his forgiveness.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
We spend a lifetime falling short and getting back up, and He never leaves us.
3. Rejection (Mark 12:7-8)
The rejection of God’s grace in Jesus Christ by Israel’s leaders is brutal and heartbreaking.
His being murdered and thrown over the vineyard wall is a direct reference to the cross, coming in just a few days.
This story is soaked in blood, and ultimately the blood of Jesus. In that way it is a preview of the days to come … the rejection of the Messiah at the hands of the religious leaders … his death at the hands of the Romans.
4. Rhetorical Question (9) - What will the owner of the vineyard do?
When all efforts have been exhausted, the tenants will be destroyed and new tenants will be placed. God is patient, graceful, but also Just. In the end, this is a parable of justice. When the tenants murder his son, the owner
is left with no alternatives. In spite of all, the owner’s son experiences ultimate rejection. God may bear with us a long time but in the end he acts.
5. Rejection or Acceptance?
Mark 12:10-11 Have you not read this scripture: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Jesus reaches back to Psalm 118:22,23 . That which was rejected became the most important of all. Luke quoted this in Acts, Peter in 1 Peter 2, Paul in Romans and Ephesians. The image of Jesus as the rock upon which our lives are built is a powerful New Testament image. Jesus asked them if they had read this Scripture? At the end of a blood-filled parable, he offers a solid foundation for faith - and it is up to them to accept or reject. It is up to us to accept or reject. They wanted to arrest him then, but could not. Their rejection is evident.
Our question today, as we peer into the coming chapters that tell us of the last days of Jesus’ life, will we accept or reject Him?
If we accept Jesus as the foundation stone of our life… We dedicate ourselves to learning from him. We follow Him in our life and faith, through good times and difficult times. Here we are challenged to respond to a God who is generous, trustworthy, patient, and just.
If we reject Jesus, we have no hope for eternity - no alternatives - no way to save ourselves - we’ve turned away from everything God has done to love and save us.
Conclusion
When I think about Jesus in this passage I see two more qualities:
-He knew he was going to die. The cross did not come to him as a surprise. With great courage he continued to Calvary.
-Jesus was sure of his ultimate triumph. He knew he would be maltreated and killed, but that would not be the end. He will be the stone that either. Offers a firm foundation for life and eternity. Or causes unbelievers to stumble and miss what He wants to give us.
The first powerful word from the last week of Jesus’ life is REJECTION.
Spurgeon: “If you reject Him, He answers you with tears. If you wound Him, He bleeds out cleansing. If you kill Him, He dies to redeem. If you bury Him, He rises again to bring us resurrection. Jesus is love manifest.”
___________________
To receive sermon notes in your email inbox, subscribe here:
https://forsythesermons.substack.com/
To receive emails from John Dobbs on topics of faith, books, photography, and miscellany:
https://johndobbs.substack.com/
To receive a daily picture, passage, prayer, subscribe here:
https://holylens.substack.com/
To watch videos of sermons from Forsythe Church of Christ:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ForsytheChurchofChrist
Our church website is http://facoc.org
___________________
Questions For Discussion Mark 12:1-12
1. In the parable of the tenants, what is the most surprising thing to you? In what ways does this NOT sound like a story Jesus would tell? Does it tell us something about Jesus’ outlook?
2. Read Isaiah 5:1-7, a parable about a vineyard, and compare/ contrast it to our parable today.
3. The vineyard / owner sending servants motif is a bit foreign to us. How would you describe rebellion against God in today’s world? What does it mean to be rebellious?
4. We spend a lifetime falling short and getting back up, and He never leaves us. How can we know we are saved?
5. Verse 9 says, “He [the owner] will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.” In what way(s) did this come to pass?
6. Read some of the other passages that reflect back to Psalm 118:22,23 in the New Testament: Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6-8. Why is this such a powerful image for the Christians in the first century? Why can it be a powerful image for us today?
7. The religious leaders understood this parable to be a teaching against them. Verse 12 says that they feared the
multitude. What does this tell us about how the crowd felt about Jesus at this point?
___________________
Resources
Akin, Daniel. Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Mark. Holman, 2014
Barclay, William. Daily Study Bible Series, Revised. Westminster, 1975.
Williamson, Lamar Jr. Interpretation: Mark. John Knox Press, 1983.
