Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign
[00:00:04] Speaker B: welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day.
It is so good to be with you. Last lesson. The Pharisees were questioning the authority of Jesus.
M. They really didn't like Jesus and were trying to use what he said because against him. In this lesson, Jesus responds directly to them and tells them a parable. He weaves Old Testament language into this parable, connecting it with Scripture they knew till the end of the parable, the Pharisees know exactly who Jesus is talking about. It's them. This makes him very upset, and they want to arrest him. Our passage is from Mark 12, and it's the first 12 verses. Please turn there and follow along as we look at this passage with Bible teacher J. Mark.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Our, uh, study on the previous episode of Hope for Today was the question of authority.
In that episode, we looked at the religious leaders and how they refused to accept the authority of John the Baptist and Jesus.
The opening verses of chapter 12 continue this theme, but Jesus approaches the subject from a different vantage point.
It's the vantage point of privilege. And so I've titled our study. Check your privilege. I invite you to listen carefully as I read Mark chapter 12, beginning with verse 1.
Then he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge about it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
Now at harvest time, he sent a servant to the vinedressers that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty handed.
And he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head and sent him away shamefully treated.
And again he sent another, and him they killed, and many others, beating some and killing some.
Therefore, still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying they will respect my son.
But those vinedressers said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, um, let's kill him, and then the inheritance will be ours.
So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not even read this scripture? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
And they sought to lay hands on him, but feared the multitude, for they knew he had spoken the parable against them, so they left him and went away.
In this parable, Jesus reveals several aspects of privilege and how our, uh, response to them will determine our future.
The first aspect of privilege is the diligence of the planter.
In Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13, Jesus was asked why he used parables in teaching, and he explained that parables were designed to hide the truth from people who refused to believe.
This parable in our text wasn't designed to hide the truth because it was very plain.
The diligence of the planter is the first aspect of privilege. And, uh, there is no question that God is the planter of the vineyard. We learn this from Isaiah 57.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold oppression for righteousness, but behold a cry for help.
Jesus audience was familiar with the writings of Isaiah and Jesus. Words are, uh, uh, a loose translation of those words.
In Mark's Gospel, Jesus adds that the vineyard owner set a hedge around it that was likely a hedge of thorns to protect against thieves and predators.
And then, in addition, he dug a pit under the winepress. And to catch the juice of the grapes after they were trampled, he built a watchtower for security.
He leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and traveled to a distant country.
In other words, he gave the vineyard every possible privilege and advantage so that it would thrive and produce.
The parable shows that God is the landowner and that the vinedressers are Israel as a nation. Although they are addressed and dealt with in the person of their leaders, God gave the nation of Israel every possible advantage to bring forth fruit for his glory.
It makes me think of Paul's words in Romans 3:1, 2. He asked this question, what advantage then has the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision?
Much in every way, chiefly because the oracles of God were committed to them.
And then later on, Romans chapter 9 and verses 3 to 5 contains a long list of those privileges.
Remember, God in person gave Israel the law at Mount Sinai through Moses, including all the commandments they needed to fulfill his plan for them. He set them apart as a special people for himself.
Then we could say he went into a distant country and left them to live out his commands.
What privileges have you received because of the diligence of God, the heavenly planter?
You know, it's easy for us to criticize the Jewish leaders, but hasn't God given us many privileges? Too many of us have Access to the word of God and resources that help us understand it.
We are blessed to see the things that prophets and kings and saints of old wanted to see, but they couldn't.
And yet, how have we treated the giver of all these privileges?
How have we responded to his messengers?
That question leads us to the next aspect of privilege, the disrespect of the tenants.
One common way that tenant vineyards operated during the time of Jesus was for the owner to receive a portion of the fruit.
Now, usually these leases were granted for a year, but occasionally they were granted for life.
And sometimes they were hereditary. In other words, they were passed down from one generation to another, from father to son. And this parable that Jesus gives here assumes a generational lease.
So when the harvest time drew near, the vineyard owner sent one of his servants to the tenant farmers to receive the portion that was his.
And what did they do? We read, they caught the servant, they beat him severely, and they sent him back to the vineyard owner with nothing.
Now, we would think that the vineyard owner would now take severe measures to acquire what was legally his property. But instead, he sends another servant to collect what he was owed. And the tenants treated him disgracefully. They threw stones at him, they wounded him in the head, and they sent him away empty handed, too.
Despite this violent rejection, the vineyard owner sent more servants.
And we read that some of them were severely beaten, others were killed.
Luke's account of this parable indicates that the authority or the rank of those who were being sent increased over time.
That makes sense as we reach the climax of the disrespect that these tenants show to the vineyard owner.
Two things stand out to me in this. First, the determined rebellion and wickedness of those tenant farmers.
Their guilt increased dramatically with each servant that they abused and rejected.
And then the second thing that impresses me is the patience and the forbearance of the vineyard owner. It's astonishing.
He was patient, he was long suffering. He was slow to believe that his tenants were so thoroughly evil.
And then finally, the owner, having a beloved son, sent him to collect the debt because he believed that the tenants would honor him, they would reverence him, or they would respect him.
Did you notice the Son was sent to them last?
The word is eschaton. We get our English word eschatology from it.
Jesus coming to his vineyard ushered in the beginning of the last days, the final age of redemption.
However, these tenants said to one another, this is the heir of the vineyard. Here's our chance. Let's kill him. And then the vineyard will belong to us.
So they took him and they cast him out of the vineyard and they killed him.
Since the vineyard owner had not judged them for their ill treatment of their earlier servants, these wicked men assumed that by killing the heir they would be the sole possessors of the vineyard.
They mistook the vineyard owner's patience for indifference, and it was a grievous mistake. Jesus pronounced a severe indictment on These tenets in Luke 11:47, 51 have you and I disrespected our Master?
Have we taken his patience as a sign of disinterest?
And how have we treated his messengers, His Holy Spirit, our spiritual leaders, and our brothers and sisters in the Lord?
If we have the kind of disrespect that these men had in the parable, then we must repent.
That pronouncement of accountability leads us to the final aspect of privilege. It is the displacement of the tenants.
So what is the proper response of the vineyard owner? In light of this abuse of his servants and the rejection of his authority, he will come and destroy those wicked tenants and give his vineyard to others.
This pronouncement was graphically fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles.
The vineyard has been rented to other tenants, we might say, but let us be careful, lest we too face the same fate.
Jesus knew that the religious leaders were familiar with the Scriptures. So he asked them, haven't you read this passage? The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
These experts in building God's temple had rejected the cornerstone that God had chosen for his own house.
But he had the last word. He set aside the building experts and put his son at the head of the corner.
Immediately the elders understood the meaning of Jesus words in the parable, and they wanted to arrest him. But they were afraid of the people.
They knew that Jesus had spoken the parable against them, so they left him and went away.
Now, lest you and I be tempted to gloat over the displacement of the original tenets, God has a word of warning for us in Romans, chapter 11. And here it is.
Do not be haughty or proud, but fear, for if God did not spare the natural branches, he may not spare you either.
If m we are unfaithful and disrespectful to the vineyard master, then we too are in danger of being displaced.
As Christ followers, you and I have been blessed with many privileges, including every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Christ, God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him to death. Because of our offenses, yours and mine, Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
The diligence of our planter is unmatched.
Are we guilty of disrespecting our Master? Have we mistreated his messengers? Have we spurned his calls for humble, selfless service in the pattern that Jesus gave us?
If we encounter this kind of disrespect in our lives, then, uh, we must repent.
Otherwise, we too may be displaced in favor of those who honor God and will obey his commands.
Each one of us needs to check our privilege.
What is the basis of our relationship with Jesus?
And are we walking with him in loving obedience?
[00:12:55] Speaker B: What a contrast. JMarc's first point was about the planter giving the tenants the best start he could, doing all he could for their success. The next two points were looking at the tenants the exact opposite of the planter. The disrespect and the rebellion of the tenants stuck out to me. How could they be given so much and show such disrespect to the one who gave it to them? What were they thinking yet? How often am I like that when I complain? What do you do when the tenants remind you of of you? We'd love to hear any thoughts you have from this passage. To contact us, please send us an email. Our, uh, email address is hopeeraldsofhope.org and uh, our website is heraldsofhope.org There you will find Contact us under the Partner tab on the top right. Click on that to message us directly from the website. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks again for being with us for today's teaching. The Jewish leaders who knew so much of the Old Testament and were supposed to recognize the Messiah missed him because they were worried about their false religious system.
Yet Jesus continued to reach for them. Incredibly, his heart is for all people all the time. Peter tells us God is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
May God give us the same attitude toward those we are working with.
