Mark 12:1-12 Parable of the Tenants

1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. 6 "He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 7 "But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 "What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven't you read this passage of Scripture: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' ?" 12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Thoughts: It would be too easy to see the parable of the tenants as simply Jesus' prophesying his rejection at the hand of the religious leaders of his day. But it is a warning to any people and to us as individuals to not reject the Son.  Psalm 2:12 says "Kiss his son, or he will be angry and you and your ways will be destroyed, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."  The basic attitude is,  "If we get rid of God then we can be in control, and we will not have to listen to His correction."  Rebellion against the maker and the tender of the vineyard doesn't work. It also is a warning against wanting to be in control of everything.

Prayer: Keep my heart from rebellion against you, O God.  In place of rebellion- give me gratitude.