Mark 12:1-12

Vine Growers and Wicked Tenants

2 "At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.

3 "They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

4 "Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.

5 "And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.

6 "He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

7 "But those vine-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!'

8 "They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 "What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.

10 "Have you not even read this Scripture:

'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,

THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;

11 THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD,

AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?"

12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them And so they left Him and went away.

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

The Wicked Tenants and the Vine Growers (Farmers) - What does this Mean?

What?? Yes, I had some trouble getting the full message intended from this passage without doing some research. Jesus often spoke in parables and the message only "got through" to those willing to listen and learn.

But, just like the people in the time of Christ, we have a difficult time understanding too. This is why continuous Bible study is necessary for us.

Let's break this down to more simple terms:

1. The vineyard - The nation of Israel. God planted the seed into the hearts and minds of His people so that the rest of the world could be saved.
2. "A man planted a vineyard." - The man, of course, is God.
3. The tenants - The religious leaders who were in-trusted to bring more people to God. But, instead, they crippled or killed those sent to fulfill the law God had given them
4. The servants - All the prophets and others who were sent before Christ to give God's Word.
5. The Son - Personifies Jesus who came at last to save the world. Christ told the parable, enlightening His disciples and exposing the religious leaders for what they really were.

Christ also showed in this parable a prediction of His own death by way of a plot formed by these leaders. This did not deter their plans.

What the cornerstone represents

Finally, the cornerstone in verse 10 is also referring to Christ - Those involved in building construction are aware that a cornerstone is used to make sure the building is square (straight).

Putting it together

Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian church (not a building but the people themselves). He is the one by which we measure ourselves daily.

We can never live up to His standards of goodness and cannot live sinless lives but our goal is - try to become a little better person each day using Jesus as the cornerstone to help make us "straighter".

Love in Christ

- Bob

Mark 11:1-11 - Jesus Rides into Jerusalem on a Donkey