This Is about Us!

When Jesus taught using parables, as he sometimes did, some who listened were confused. Others understood. There were still others who were offended. Today on Truth for Life we'll examine a parable that casts scrutiny on the religious leaders in Jesus' day.

A group that was more accustomed to judging than to looking in the mirror. Alistair Begg is teaching from chapter 12 in Mark's Gospel. And the chief priests and the scribes heard and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

And they were left, as we saw at the end of chapter 11, just sort of shamefacedly looking at one another and realizing what a dreadful mess they had made of things. Then Mark tells us that Jesus immediately went on the offensive. And they had come to challenge him, and as he has them in that posture, he then proceeds to tell them a story, to tell them a parable. And when verse 1 says, "...and he began to speak to them in parables," what Mark is saying is that this was the manner of his approach. He decided on this occasion to tell them a story that was allegorical, that they would be able to get an understanding of, and his purpose in doing so was not to cloud the issue but was to clarify the issue. He is telling this story because he recognizes the importance of people coming to understand it.

So what I'd like to do in the time that we have is to look, first of all, at the parable, consider, then, the punchline, and then make a note of what I'm going to refer to as the postscript. This may seem strange to us on first reading, because it seems so far removed from the environment in which we live our lives—a technical world that is framed by everything, really, that is other than a kind of agrarian culture. But for the people of the time, they were very familiar with this kind of scenario. Historians tell us that large tracts of land, both in Judea and in Galilee, were owned by foreigners, so that there were these foreign landowners, absentee landowners, who would lease out their property—in this instance, in this parable, they would lease out their vineyard to tenants who then agreed to work it in the absence of the owner. The owner then had a legitimate right to payment, and often the payment was given to the owner in the form of the produce of the property—not in its totality, for the tenants had to make something as well, but certainly a significant amount of it.

Apparently—whether this is true today or not, I don't know—but apparently it would take some four years for a vineyard to be earthed properly and to be able to produce significant fruit. And so that would be enough time for these tenant farmers to get an understanding of the potential profitability of the land and also, perhaps, to get a bit of a sense of their own importance and of their desire for and their designs for the property, which clearly they had only an interest in as tenants. In verse 2, when you read the phrase, when the season came, he sent a servant, that is attributable to what I'm saying, that the time came when the product would be available, and so in that season of time the owner sends a servant to have for him what is required by the contract. But instead of that taking place, these tenant farmers resist the claim of the owner, and they do so by insulting the servant that he sends and assaulting the servant that he sends. And you will notice that even in the first instance, when the time came, he sent to get some of the fruit of the vineyard, and they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Now, in terms of background to the parable, there is not simply the understanding societally, if you like, but there is also the understanding which lies behind it in terms of the Scriptures. And it is for this reason, primarily, that the religious leaders perceive that the parable is about them.

It is because of this that they're able to say, you know, he's telling this against us. Now, without belaboring the point, let me turn you to Isaiah chapter 5. And in Isaiah 5 we discover that the prophet of God is addressing the people of God as the vineyard of God. And you have it just in a phrase in verse 7, if you turn to it, for the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel.

So the picture becomes clear. The vineyard is Israel, the owner is God, the servants are the prophets, and the Son is Jesus. You see, it is because these fellows know their Bible, it is because they understand the Scriptures, that they are able to realize very quickly that what Jesus is doing here is not simply telling a story out of the blue, but he is actually employing a parable in order to confront them directly with what it is they're doing. And what Jesus is saying to these fellows in a veiled way is not only, I am the Messiah—and he comes as close to saying that here as anywhere we've seen so far—not simply a declaration of his personhood, but also an acknowledgment on his part that he knows what these characters are up to.

And so, in telling this story with them present, he is actually looking into the faces of the people he is describing, so that what is obvious to us as the reader now is becoming apparent to them in the immediacy of the telling of the story. And the tenants in this parable depict the way in which God's prophets were opposed and ill-treated when they went to speak to the people of God. And that's, incidentally, why he heaps one on another, and in verse 5 it says, "...and he sent another, and him they killed." And then notice the phrase, "...and so with many others."

So with many others. Some they beat, and some they killed. Now, what he's doing here is he's saying to these fellows, You know the history of Israel, and you know that what has happened—that God has sent again and again his prophets to his people, and they have revolted against him. And the people of God had done these things. Later on, he says to them, he says, You know, you make a big fuss about building monuments to these characters, but in actual fact, you are as involved in this process as any of them ever were. It's one of the great, amazing things, if you take time to read the Bible, that as God speaks again and again to his people, they resist him forcibly. And the climax in the parable comes when, you will notice there, the tenants said to one another, This is the heir.

Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. Well, you will notice the phrase that is used, He still had one other, a beloved son. This phrase wouldn't be missed on these people either. Remember, in his baptism, the voice of the Father had come from heaven, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. On another occasion, This is my beloved Son, listen to him. The very phraseology here in Greek may also be equally translated, This is my one and only. This is my beloved Son. This is him.

This is the one. And in the parable, the unthinkable is done, that the owner says, Let me send my beloved to him. And in sending the beloved, they kill him. Well, I can't imagine just how uncomfortable it was.

If ever there was a case of, If the capfits wear it, this is it. They all must have stood there looking at one another, unable to talk to one another, except by means of their eyes. Furtive glances, quizzical expressions, and by means of their eyes, identifying for each other the fact, He's on to us.

He knows exactly what we plan to do. This parable is about us. I would suggest to you that that's the key to understanding it.

If we misplace that key, then we very quickly can go wrong. But what, then, is the punchline in this? Well, the punchline is essentially in the second half of verse 9. Jesus says, What will the owner of the vineyard do? He's still telling the story here. He's still telling the parable. He says, What will the owner of the vineyard do? So let me tell you what he will do. He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Now, which do you think would be the most staggering aspect of this execution of judgment for these individuals?

I don't think that it would be the notion of capital punishment. They had a significant enough sense of justice. They knew the Ten Commandments. If this has been going on, if these characters have been killing people, then there is no doubt about the fact that the owner then has every legitimate right to bring the full weight of the law down upon them. He will then come and destroy these tenants.

But here's the real wrong. And give the vineyard to others. And this they couldn't stand. You see, this makes sense, actually, doesn't it, of what we saw earlier in the cursing of the fig tree? Because the cursing of the fig tree was a drama. It was a statement concerning the people of God. God had issued a judgment on his people. And so, in fact, what you have here in the parable of the tenants is in some ways an explanation of the judgment of the fig tree. It will be taken from them and given to others.

What does this mean? Well, it means that God now will bring to bear upon the unfolding story of redemption the creation of a new Israel that will comprise both those from a Jewish background who believe in Jesus as Messiah and those from a Gentile background who believe in Jesus as Messiah. 1 Peter chapter 2, he says this is a stone of stumbling, it's a rock of offense. People stumble over Jesus, don't they? They're just offended by Jesus, because Jesus stands there towering over the affairs of time. Jesus stands there saying, I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me. Jesus stands there, and he says, I am God incarnate. Jesus stands there and says, At my name every knee will bow and every tongue confess. He is a stone over which men and women stumble.

They stumble. They cannot stand such a notion. But, says Peter, well, you folks, you haven't stumbled off him.

You've actually come to trust in him. And you are a chosen race. That's an Old Testament picture. A royal priesthood—it's a Jewish picture. A holy nation—Jewish. A people for his own possession—Abram, Genesis 12. That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Here you go. Verse 10. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. So the others to whom he's going to give his vineyard consists, then, of the church, of all who have repented and believe the good news. The Gentile has been grafted in, and the day will come when there will be a great resurgence of Jewish people who then are embraced within the unfolding drama of God's purposes.

It is a wonderful story. So it's not so much that he's saying, I've rejected the Jews, and I've gone with the Gentile thing. What he's saying is, I've rejected those who stumble over my son, those who come to trust in him, from every background, from every nation—tribe, language, and tongue. Are the others to whom I am giving this vineyard?

Do you get that? And let me just say this in case I don't have a chance to. The prophets had gone to the people of God again and again and again.

Instead of them responding, in large measure they beat them, treated them shamefully, stoned them, and killed them. Jesus has now come as the Son to his people. What does John tell us in the prologue? He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. But to as many as received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become the children of God. Do you get this? When the pursuit of God in the pleadings and the promptings of his spirit are not responded to in faith, they put the individual who rejects the pleadings and the promptings in a far more different and dangerous position.

Let's bring it right up to date. You come to Parkside Church. You listen to the Bible.

You read it for yourself. Unless the wooings and the warnings of God's Word soften your heart and bring you to faith, they will harden your heart and turn you against him. That is why the pleadings and these promptings have come again and again to you. Listen, my dear friend, if they do not soften your heart and bring you to faith, they will harden your heart. And these characters were irritated and hardened. They were not impressed and converted. They wanted just to be told, You're in an exclusive club.

You're okay, because you've come from the right background," and so on. Jesus says, No, here's the story. The owner sent his son. They killed him too. And here's what's going to happen.

Well, the postscript is there, isn't it? In the quote from Psalm 118, Jesus has begun his parable by making sure that it is grounded in the Bible. Every good preacher should. Hence Isaiah 5. And now he directs his listeners, as he comes to a conclusion, once again to the Bible. And there you have the quote, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. And he says to them, Have you not read this Scripture? Of course they've read this Scripture! There might be some gentle irony in it, insofar as it is from this very Scripture that the people were singing and chanting when Jesus had made his way into Jerusalem. So he's able to say, I know you've heard it recently, but I wonder if you read it recently.

And when you read it, did you get it? Here is a stone that in the building of the temple of Solomon, somebody said, Well, that stone's no use. You couldn't use that for anything. Let's put it over there.

Put it out there. Here's the masonry contractor, looking at all the possibilities. He says, That one is a dud.

It won't be of any use to us at all. The stone that the builders rejected has become the absolute keystone in the whole system. See what he's saying? You rejected Jesus?

That stone was absolutely crucial in the construction of the temple. And Jesus, whom you despise and reject, is actually the one in whom everything holds together. And then he quotes the balance of it. He says, And this was the LORD's doing, and is marvelous in our eyes. We've been reading Mark's Gospel, haven't we? And when we think about the LORD's doing, think about all the things that we've learned of God doing in and through Jesus.

They're marvelous. Think about what we've learned about the values of the kingdom, turning human evaluation upside down, setting materialism in its place. What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lost his own soul? The amazement at the inscrutable ways of God. And not least of all in the fact that he hasn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. What makes it so staggering to me— and I'll wrap this up now—but what is so chilling, I think, to me is the fact that these religious leaders, with all of their knowledge of the Bible, the Old Testament Scriptures, they find themselves within touching distance of God's final messenger. But you will notice in verse 12 that they go on their cowardly way blinded by their animosity to the truth. They go on their cowardly way blinded by their animosity to the truth. Jesus is going to die for his conviction. These characters are unprepared to die for their conviction.

They're cowards. In the parable, the tenants killed the son because they recognized him, not because they failed to. And I find in talking with people that people reject the claims of Christ not because they misunderstand them but because they understand them too well. Now, you mean to tell me—that's what they always say—you mean to tell me that Jesus Christ is the only Savior? Yes.

Because he is the only one qualified to save. Do you know of anyone else who died for sins and was raised for your justification? No. Do you mean to tell me that Jesus is the judge of all the earth and he will do right?

Yes. That he is set a day when he will judge the world. That day is fixed. That day will be a fair day.

And that day will be a final day. People say, Well, I'm sorry, but I just flat-out cannot accept that at all. Do you mean to tell me that I have to give up myself and my life in order to become his disciple? If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him take up his cross, die to himself every day, and follow me. No, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. That's just far too much for anybody to ask. And so the son is rejected, not because the claims are misunderstood but because the claims are so clearly understood.

How about you? If you're listening to Truth for Life, that is Alistair Begg with an urgent warning. The religious leaders in Jesus' day failed to recognize that Jesus was the long- awaited Messiah, the one the Old Testament prophets had spoken about.

They were unable to see that he was not only the Messiah but that in fact he was God who had come to earth as a human. And the book we want to recommend to you today is a book that takes a thorough sweep through the Scriptures to examine the biblical evidence that leaves no doubt that Jesus is in fact God. The book is titled 100 Proofs that Jesus is God. And today's the last day we're offering this book, so be sure to ask for your copy when you give a donation to Truth for Life. You can do that using our mobile app or online at truthforlife.org slash donate. While you're on our website there's still time for you to download your free copy of an e-book from Alistair called The Hand of God, Finding His Care in All Circumstances. The fact that we are followers of Jesus doesn't mean we'll live problem free lives and obeying God was certainly not an easy road for Joseph in the book of Genesis. In the book The Hand of God, Alistair takes a close-up look at Joseph's life, his story, to show us that God is always at work intimately and sovereignly behind the scenes for his purposes and for the good of his people.

And the e-book is completely free but it's only available during the month of July. You'll find it at truthforlife.org slash hand. I'm Bob Lapine. I hope each of you who listened today have heeded Jesus' urgent warning to be reconciled to God. I hope you'll pray for those who are not yet reconciled to God. Tomorrow we'll hear about one of God's incredible promises. I hope you can join us. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.