The Parable of the Ungrateful Tenants, Part 2. Mark 12:6-12.
“He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally, he sent him to them saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. ‘” And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.” What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. “Have you not read the scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
Dear Household of Believers,
Jesus concludes the parable with an obvious pointer to himself, even though no one may have understood this at that point.
Recourse (v. 6). As a last resort, the landlord (God) sends his beloved son (Jesus). The message is clear. A son is the personal representative of the father. This is not business anymore. God is reaching out to the nation of Israel from his heart.
Rebuff (v. 7-8). The tenants (Israel) not only reject the son as an emissary, they decide to put him to death so that they can have the vineyard to themselves. In this twist, Jesus implies that personal interest was the chief motivation for his murder.
Retribution (v. 9). The outcome of this unfortunate scenario is that the tenants will get what is coming to them. Not only would they be destroyed, but others would take their place. Israel as it was then was destroyed in AD 70 in a terrible tribulation. Since then, God has the church as his new “tenants.”
Reversal (v. 10-12). Jesus is also warning the Jewish leaders that he is “God’s Project” and they cannot win against him. Legend has it that during the building of Solomon’s temple, the stone was quarried and dressed ready for use. All the stones were cut to fit and no further dressing was needed. If a builder picked a stone and it did not fit the part of the wall he was working on, he would just drop it and pick another. This kept happening to one stone in particular until the construction was completed. The only part remaining was the capstone – the final stone that holds the whole building together. There was only one stone left – the oft rejected one. When the builders tried it, it fit perfectly! Jesus is probably using this imagery as he quotes Psalm 118:22-23, which the scribes considered messianic. It is a clear statement that they may reject him, but he remains the Messiah.
Result (v. 12). The unbelief of the Jewish leaders is incurable. The only reason they do not arrest Jesus at this point is that they feared that it would work against them. Nothing Jesus said has registered. It is as though they are hurtling ever faster to their doom, plowing through every obstacle, as if they have an appointment with disaster. This ought to be a warning to us. If the truth no longer motivates us to change, we must ask ourselves, “Do I have an appointment with disaster?”
Your Loving Pastor Chris.