Mark 11:27-12:12

Introduction:

Last week we walked through much of Mark 11. Specifically verses 12-25.

In that passage we saw

Jesus coming up on a fig tree, it not producing fruit, and him cursing it

From there, Jesus goes into the temple in Jerusalem, finds the temple filled with Jews who have turned the court of the Gentiles into a place to scam others out of money.

The Jews had turned the temple into a den of thieves and robbers rather than what it was supposed to be - a house of prayer.

Jesus came into the temple looking for fruit - and what did he find?

Bad fruit

Jesus found a bad tree

A tree that would be cursed before the week is out

So Jesus and the disciples leave the temple and Jerusalem and walk back past the fig tree.

Peter Sees it and says, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

The tree that didn’t produce fruit was cursed and within 24 hours, it was dead.

Then Jesus gives a warning - not to be like the fig tree. But also, don’t just assume everyone else is a fig tree with bad fruit.

That is why we pray for forgiveness - because we have produced bad fruit at times, and we have had to be pruned.

Therefore we should also forgive others, that Jesus would forgive both them and us.

That’s the application to us

But remember, there’s a bigger picture going on in Mark 11 and following.

I believe that what we find in Chapter 11 verses 27 and into Chapter 12 is all in the same setting and same discussion.

Why?

Look at verse 27 - Mark 11:27 “27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,”

Now skip down to Chapter 12 verse 12: Mark 12:12 “12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.”

These same chief priests, scribes and elders are all arguing with Jesus, and in 12:12, they all leave together.

Mark 11:27-33

So let’s look at Mark 11:27-33

Mark 11:27–33 ESV

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Jesus and his disciples are coming back into Jerusalem, and going back into the temple

Imagine the scene -

Just yesterday, Jesus came into the court of the Gentile and threw out all of the money changers

Who do you think those men went and talked to?

The ones who had authority.

The chief priests, the scribes, the elders of the city

So these men hear that the temple has essentially been ransacked.

They’re out in the courtyard and in walks Jesus

This is the setting…

Mark 11:28 “28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?””

What authority?

That’s the question of the day

Who gives you the right?

Remember, these men have trained since their childhood to become priests and scribes. They are a part of a long tradition of men who have been given this authority based on their position.

And they ask Jesus, “Who gave you the right to do this?”

What school did you go?

We didn’t see you in our classes.

You didn’t train in the school of Halel.

Who gave you the right to come in to the temple of God and throw people out?

Now these men know nothing of the fig tree.

So they're not asking about what authority he has to curse a fig tree.

These men are asking what authority he has to go into the temple throw people out.

By whose authority are you doing these things?

The fact that these men know nothing of where he has gotten his authority shows that they're not concerned with what he's doing per se, they're concerned with their authority being challenged.

Their position is on shaky ground already because of what John the prophet has been doing, and now what Jesus is doing which is just escalating things in the region. And because of that Jesus asked him the question of Mark 11:29.

Mark 11:29 “29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.”

As is so common with Jesus, he answers a question with a question.

He knows not to answer questions that chief priests, the scribes, and the elders have presented to him.

And so he turns their exact question to them - to ask them by whose authority John was baptizing.

Do you remember where Mark started?

Mark begins his gospel account by showing the last Old testament prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He even says I have baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with fire. And then Jesus presents himself to be baptized by John.

Look with me at Mark 1:1–8 “1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””

And so the people that are reading this gospel account of Mark are remembering how Mark started his gospel, how John was presented, how Jesus was baptized by John, and now in chapter 11, he is asking the religious leaders who were challenging Jesus, by whose authority did John baptize these people? Was it from God, or was it from man?

Why does this matter?

Jesus is exposing who their true authority is.

It is not God.

Their true authority is man.

And it's because they do whatever will please the most people.

This should make us pause, and take a moment to ask ourselves,

by what authority do we make decisions in our lives?

Is it because we are doing with the Bible commands, living out our faith in the midst of others - or have we submitted to the authority of popular opinion?

In other words, we make many of our decisions based upon what others will think of us, or how will be talked about in certain circles.

For the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders,

these positions were instituted by God and were given authority to accomplish certain tasks according to their roles.

But what happened over time was that each of these desired power, position, acclaim, and popularity over obedience to their true source of authority

The question was never whether they would obey, but always who would they obey.

By whose authority are they acting?

And it's the same for us,

we must ask ourselves, not whether we will obey, but who will we obey.

Not whether we will serve a king, but which king we will serve?

Jesus - the king of kings and Lord of lords, or ourselves?

So, by who’s authority did John baptize?

The scribes and chief priests knew the dilemma

It was the dilemma that they had created

Ask a question that you know there is no right answer to before the mob…

Now they’ve been asked the question and in front of the mob, they are afraid…

Man is their authority

What do they say?

Mark 11:30–33 “30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.””

So if we give the right answer and say it was from heaven, he’s got us… he knows that we didn’t like him or listen to him, and the people loved John… so we can’t say from heaven…

And if we say from man, the mob is going to riot… all the people know that he was a prophet…

This is quite the pickle we’ve gotten ourselves in…

There is no appeasing their authority.

So Jesus answers them with Mark 11:33 “33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.””

He’s saying, you know the answer already, but you really don’t like it because of what it means for you.

You don’t want to admit what you know - that John was sent from God…

And so was I.

Because these doctrinally trained priests and scribes know that the authority of heaven trumps the authority of man.

But they have exchanged the authority given to them by God and have looked for it in man - in themselves, in the mob - in whatever keeps their position and keeps the peace.

Any questions or comments up to this point?

Now the best teachers always use good illustrations…

And Jesus is the best teacher with the best illustrations.

Remember the fig tree was an illustration of fruitless Israel and it bookended him cleansing the temple

So illustration of the fruitless fig tree

Fruitless Israel

Fruitless Fig Tree

Now you have the upset chief priests, scribes and elders

And Jesus is going to give another illustration.

The Fig tree was just for the disciples.

This illustration will be for the religious leaders

Mark 12:1-12

Mark 12:1–12 ESV

1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And 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 tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Jesus presents the religious leaders with a parable. And I think the leaders understood almost every part of this parable.

And this is such an interesting parable because it is a history of the nation of Israel.

God’s Kindness to the Nation of Israel

Mark 12:1–2 ESV

1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

Why did God choose Israel?

God chose the nation of Israel out of his kindness and mercy - not because they were the biggest or the strongest or the wisest

Romans 9:10–11 “10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—”

God choose them because it was part of his good pleasure

That’s what we know

But Israel was blessed by God

Romans 3:1–2 “1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.”

Israel was given the oracles of God

Israel was given the promises

Israel was given the covenant

Israel was given the signs of God’s goodness

And Israel, as the vinedresser, was to cultivate this, and build on it. It was to produce fruit…

Do you see this theme continuing?

These are not separate stories.

These are all pointing to Israel’s unfaithfulness…

But even in giving a vineyard to Israel, God was kind to entrust it to them

What about America?

so we see God’s kindness to the nation of Israel,

but this parable also shows…

God’s Patience with the Nation of Israel

Mark 12:2–5 ESV

2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.

In the parable, the owner of the vineyard continually sent servants to the vineyard to check on the progress and to examine the fruit…

In reality, God continually sent his prophets to his people to remind them of their fruit.

2 Chronicles 36:16 “16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.”

And the force of this is not lost on the chief priests, scribes and elders…

Jesus had just asked them about a prophet - John the Baptizer.

Now he’s saying that those in the vineyard attacked and or killed every servant that was sent to them.

They knew what Jesus was saying.

But what about us?

America has been blessed spiritually

And what have we done with those that God has called out to proclaim the Word faithfully?

America as a whole has sought to attack and remove these men.

That’s why we must pray for these men!

We need to pray for Pastor Aaron, for our session, for Jerry and Jim and all the SS leaders, for the kids leaders and ministry leaders. If God has indeed called these people out, we must pray that God would sustain them and that they would bear fruit!

Proverbs 14:34 “34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

This parable shows us that God has been kind to the nation of Israel and God has been patient with the nation of Israel, but it moves on to show us

The Wickedness Exemplified in the Jewish Nation

Mark 12:6–8 ESV

6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

The vinedressers that were left to tend the vineyard and produce fruit wanted the vineyard for themselves.

And by killing the heir, they thought, “Now we will become the heir.”

It’s interesting that Jesus uses the illustration of the Son here.

We know that it represents Jesus himself, as the God-man, the second person of the Trinity and the Son of the Father…

But what would it have meant to those hearing this for the first time, or even those reading this Gospel account for the first time?

Do you remember Mark 1, that we’ve already referenced?

John, the last Old Testament prophet, is preaching repentance and preparing the way of the Lord

Jesus comes and is baptized by John, and what happens?

Mark 1:9–11 “9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

The reader of Mark knows that Jesus is the beloved Son of God.

Thie parable is not falling on deaf ears - it is accomplishing exactly what it is called to do…

But what does this teach us about Israel - and not just Israel but us?

Israel was wicked, we are wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9–10 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””

We can easily look back at the nation of Israel and see their wickedness, but Israel was just an illustration of all of us apart from Christ.

Our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately sick.

Ephesians 2:1–3 “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Romans 3:10–12 “10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.””

Romans 8:5–8 “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

This is us apart from Christ.

So this parable shows God’s Kindness to Israel, God’s Patience with Israel, Israel’s Wickedness and finally it shows that

Men will respond 1 of 2 ways to the Word of God

Mark 12:9–12 “9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.”

The parable ends in verse 9

Mark 12:9 “9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

Just like Jesus cast the Jews out of the court of the Gentiles, so Jesus will cast out the unbelieving Jews to make room for the Gentiles.

This parable is no different than the fig tree

Israel is still the subject of God’s judgment

Then Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22–23 “22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Jesus is saying the stone that everyone thought was worthless, that was thrown out, has become the stone that the entire foundation is resting on. The entire structure is built on that one corner stone.

Jesus is the Son of the vineyard owner that Israel was rejecting.

And how did they respond?

Mark 12:12 “12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.”

They wanted to arrest Jesus

Just 24 hours before, these same men had tried to find a way to destroy him… Mark 11:18 “18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.”

These men knew that Jesus was speaking against them and the people could easily rise up and follow him.

These men were pricked in the heart - they knew that Jesus was talking about them.

But was their response repentance? No.

They wanted to arrest Jesus, but for the time being - they simply left him.

So the question is, “When we hear the Word of God, how do we respond?”

Do we respond like the chief priests, scribes and elders?

Upset that someone is calling us out?

Or do we submit to the one with all authority?

Do we respond with humility and brokenness?

With repentance and belief?

Conclusion

Israel was a bad tree bearing bad fruit and its time was near.

What about us?

Praise God for forgiveness

Praise God for mercy

Praise God that not only has he placed us in his vineyard to work it and keep it, but he has sent his Holy Spirit to live in us and to cause us to produce fruit consistent with children of God