Mark 12:1-12, March 23
Mark 12:1-12
The Parable of the Tenants
I coached high school basketball, and I was notorious to implement full court presses. I had at least four my players knew by heart. We spent more time on defensive pressure than offense, because if you run the press correctly, you’ll get a turnover and an easy bucket. As soon as we’d get a couple of turnovers, the opposing coach would call a time out to show his players how to break the press. I was already one step ahead. I told my players in the huddle that we would come out in a different press. It worked every time. There were games where we’d be up 17-0 in just the early part of a game from turnovers. The game was already over.
Consider the Pharisees running a full court press on Jesus. It’s Passover Week (Holy Week) and Jesus knows what will soon happen to him. The Pharisees are literally pressing in on him, because they want him gone. They are mad at his actions in the temple, they now question his authority, and they are planning a way to kill him. Even though the press is on, Jesus knows their every move, and he shares this parable to reveal what he already knows.
Israel is the vineyard, the farmers are Israel’s officials, and the messengers are the prophets. God is the owner of the vineyard and the one who tries over and over again to get them to respond appropriately, but they refuse. He finally sends his beloved son and they kill him. They put on the full court press and the game is over.
But it’s really not; God is in control despite the wicked actions of the tenants. Jesus will give his life up not because of their pressure, but because he goes on the offensive to defeat their sin and our sin once and for all. He calls out their wicked intentions and this time they know exactly what he’s talking about. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone – the stone that holds everything together. They’ll continue to press him until the game is over, but they will soon discover that the game has just begun. God will right their wrongs, and will raise up new leadership who will be faithful servants of his vineyard.
Jeff Smith
The Parable of the Tenants
I coached high school basketball, and I was notorious to implement full court presses. I had at least four my players knew by heart. We spent more time on defensive pressure than offense, because if you run the press correctly, you’ll get a turnover and an easy bucket. As soon as we’d get a couple of turnovers, the opposing coach would call a time out to show his players how to break the press. I was already one step ahead. I told my players in the huddle that we would come out in a different press. It worked every time. There were games where we’d be up 17-0 in just the early part of a game from turnovers. The game was already over.
Consider the Pharisees running a full court press on Jesus. It’s Passover Week (Holy Week) and Jesus knows what will soon happen to him. The Pharisees are literally pressing in on him, because they want him gone. They are mad at his actions in the temple, they now question his authority, and they are planning a way to kill him. Even though the press is on, Jesus knows their every move, and he shares this parable to reveal what he already knows.
Israel is the vineyard, the farmers are Israel’s officials, and the messengers are the prophets. God is the owner of the vineyard and the one who tries over and over again to get them to respond appropriately, but they refuse. He finally sends his beloved son and they kill him. They put on the full court press and the game is over.
But it’s really not; God is in control despite the wicked actions of the tenants. Jesus will give his life up not because of their pressure, but because he goes on the offensive to defeat their sin and our sin once and for all. He calls out their wicked intentions and this time they know exactly what he’s talking about. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone – the stone that holds everything together. They’ll continue to press him until the game is over, but they will soon discover that the game has just begun. God will right their wrongs, and will raise up new leadership who will be faithful servants of his vineyard.
Jeff Smith
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