The CROSSroads: Personal Lessons from Mark's Gospel by Rev. Mitch Schultz

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:34:22utc

Lesson Thirty seven: NO! IT'S MINE! (Mark 12:1-12)

"Come let's kill him and the inheritance will be ours." (vs.7)

Several weeks ago I overheard two of my children negotiating over the ownership of a toy. No, in reality they were arguing and grabbing it if truth were told. I usually permit these sort of situations to go some distance hoping that they will use their diplomatic skills to sort out some compromise. But alas, it was not to be so I was forced to intervene to play the peacemaker - a role that inevitably leaves me with one enemy - the one who did not get their way. As I cautiously approached the war zone thebattle cry "it's mine! no it's mine" carried clearly through the air. When I finally managed to call for calm I discovered that one child had loaned something to the other while the other claimed it was given. I was tempted to play Solomon to end this dispute but concluded that cutting a stuffed animal in half could be quite messy.

This latest parable of our Lord's that Mark records is intended to settle a squabble between man and God. In this case Jesus has in mind particularly those religious leaders of Israel with whom he has been contending since his arrival to Jerusalem. The parable is about a vineyard, the vineyard owner and those left to tend the vineyard. From the very beginning God has left man in charge of his vineyard but the vineyard has alwaysbeen his. Psalm 24:1 proclaims, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Despite the earth being God's, man in his sinfulness claims what is God's and seeks to rule in his place. In the Old Testament God sent his envoys to remind and warn his people that he was the owner. These messengers, like the servants sent in the parable (the prophets) were rejected, beaten and many were killed. God finally goes thedistance and sends his own Son but the true extent of their wickedness emerges when it becomes apparent that they are willing to even kill God in order to rule in his place.

The vineyard Jesus makes reference to here is a familiar image to Israel. (See Psalm 80:8-16 and Isaiah 5:1-7.) Warren Wiersbe in his commentary on Mark makes a particular link to Leviticus 19:23-25. He says, "a farmer would not use the fruit until the fifth year... In order to retain the legal right to the property, the owner had to receive produce from the tenant, even it was only some of the vegetables that grew. This explains why the tenant refused to give him anything; they wanted to claim the vineyard

for themselves."

We assume in Jesus' parable that the son is sent in the fourth year. By killing him the tenants not only sought to reject God but also reject his claim of ownership over the vineyard. This sort of anarchy is what one writer calls "the deep aim of the depraved heart." To reject God and even to kill him to be one's own god shows how horrible and despicable we really are.

It would be tempting here to allow the use of this parable to settle permanently on these religious leaders in their contention with Christ and never to touch us. There are several things we will need to consider before we assume that we can exempt ourselves from any application from the story.

Firstly I want to comment on God's grace as it is demonstrated so clearly in this story. Think for a moment of how good God has been to you. He has placed you upon this earth and has given you the privilege and honor of living in and caring for his vineyard. God in his grace and love has first created you and then placed you in his wonderful world. Look around you for a moment. Consider what you have and who you are. See what I mean? Isn't God good? We do not deserve to be here, yet because he loves us and wants us to enjoy him, he has given us the pleasure of living in his world.

Secondly, let me ask you a probing question. In what way does your life show that you are owned by God? If someone were assigned to watch you for a week what would they conclude? Does your life demonstrate that you are the tenant, or does it reveal a rebel who is wrestling control from God? Often it might appear to others that we are squabbling with God. Rather than sacrificially saying "Here Lord it is all yours", we can be overheard crying out, "No it's mine". What is your attitude of ownership regarding your children? Your job? Your house? Your car? I am not asking you if you say it is God's. I am asking something more probing. Does your life demonstrate that it all belongs to God? If you have truly allowed God to have control, it will show itself in certain ways.

God went the distance when he sent his Son to this world. When he sent Jesus there was nothing more he could give. There was nothing more he could do to demonstrate his love. "Yet the Stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." (vs.10 and Psalm 118;22). Those who reject Christ will find they have rejected the one who is central to all that is God's; the corner stone himself. Those who reject God's rule will one day in sorrow realize they have rejected God's final offer for reconciliation. He

can do nothing more.

What is the lesson of this parable? Simply this. To reject Christ is to reject God. How do we know if we are rejecting him? It is not in our words alone but in how we treat what is rightfully his. May these thoughts find a corner in our stubborn hearts and may the Holy Spirit, our peace maker, cause us to not rest until we stop screaming "it's mine" and happily say "here, Lord it is all yours."