Parable of the Tenants

Intro

Good morning everyone and welcome to Redeemer Church. My name is Michael Badger, one of the elder, I am glad you are here with us this morning. Not too long ago I was listening to a philosopher speak about a common thread that unites all peoples and all cultures around the world. And that common thread was a love for stories.

And I think that is probably no big surprise to anyone, this deep desire for stories because it is not hard to see that in our own culture. We spend an exorbitant amounts of money just to tell stories. When you go to a movie theatre, that is why you are going, to see a story! Hollywood and even independent filmmakers will spend millions upon millions to tell their story that we often eat right up.

We get captivated by tv shows, going on hours long binges because we are the grips of a story. We read or listen to books into the late hours of the night because we don’t want to untangle ourselves from the narative! We are obsessed with them.

And one reason we love them so much is because stories are rarely just stories, do you know what I mean? Sure, the book you may be reading right now is fiction, but there is nearly always a meta-narrative to every tale. A message that sits above the story, an overarching ethic or moral that is being conveyed that is very real, whether good or bad. and we feel it.

Stories, in the ultimate sense, are mediums, vehicles that deliver a deeper meaning that can be intuitively taken into the mind in a way that straight forward teaching can’t always achieve.

That is why testimonies are so powerful! In these personal stories, the truths we learn about at church and at Bible study are dramatically brought to life. It is why reading stories to children, Bible stories in particular, is so important. They cause the Biblical morals and lessons we teach them become something they feel inside of them rather than just something they know in their minds. When they read of the injustices committed in a story, they feel righteous indignation! When a main character in a book you are reading to them or in a Biblical account is lied to or double crossed, they feel the betrayal, they know a wrong was done!

Stories are powerful. And God, being the author and main protagonist of the greatest story ever told, knows this better than anyone. This is one reason Jesus often taught using the literary device of parables, stories used to convey a limited number, typically one, spiritual lessons.

Jesus used parables so that those who had ears to hear, He said, would take in a profound spiritual truth carried into the heart by the story. But this was not the only reason He used them. He also made use of the parable, as He says in Mark 4, Luke 8 and Matthew 13, to conceal spiritual truth from the spiritually dead.

So He used parables to reveal truths to those who genuinely believed in Him and conceal those truths from those who hated Him or were just there for the show.

But Jesus took a different approach to the parable He told in today’s passage. This parable is somewhat unique from the other parables Jesus used. This time, He told a parable that was designed for even those who were committed to killed Him to understand. And the moral and spiritual truth that this story carried was condemnation.

Let’s pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we dive into this text.

Short Recap

If you have your Bible’s with you, turn them to Mark 11, to the very last grouping of verses, 27-33. Jesus has started Passion Week, the week that leads up to His death on the cross. But before that happens, He still has certain things He desires to accomplish. Lessons He still wishes to teach.

At the beginning of the week, Jesus made His triumphal procession into Jerusalem, which acted as a visual megaphone that He used to declare Himself to be the Messiah King. He then used the object lesson of the the fig tree to demonstrate the current spiritual fruitlessness of Israel. He also taught on prayer, and restored the dignity of the temple, purging it from the greedy vultures that had taken roost there.

Then, in verses 27-33, the chief priests and scribes and elders, livid over the tenacity of Jesus, came to Him and demanded to know who gave Him the authority to drive the con-men out of the temple.

And Jesus responded by asking a question of His own in verse 29 and 30, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” This question was genius because it put these religious authorities in an impossible situation, Verses 31-32 explain why. You see, if it was from heaven, that would make John a true prophet and all that John said about Jesus being the Son of God who would take away sins of the world would have to be what? They would have to be true!

But if they denied it was from heaven, they would be calling John a liar and blasphemer. And the problem with that is that the popular opinion among the common people of Israel was that John was a true prophet and they were afraid of what they would do to them if they spoke against John. So they feared man, feared the mob so intensely that they betrayed their own convictions.

And they took the cowardly and intellectually dishonest way out and simply answered, “We don’t know.” And so knowing there was no point in answering these dishonest men, Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Isa. Parable

Now, entering into chapter 12, Jesus is ending this conversation with these leaders, and He does so by telling them a story, a parable. And He uses the setting of a vineyard. Now what is interesting here is that this is not the first time that God uses the imagery of the vineyard to convey a spiritual truth. Jesus is borrowing from Isa. 5:1-7.

Now I am not going to read that passage to you for the sake of time, but I encourage you to read it on your own. But in Isa. 5:1-7, God speaks of Israel as a vineyard in which He planted the best vines that He tended to with great care.

But despite this, the vineyard produced, the Hebrew says, rotting grapes. Putrid fruit that could not be used. So because of this, in the prophetic imagery, God laid waste to the vineyard and no longer allowed the rain to fall on it.

This was to be a prophetic word of the judgement of God against the nation of Israel. Because even though they had been blessed and cared for beyond measure by God, the nation still turned its back on Him and chose to worship pagan idols and false gods and fall into all kinds of evils.

Now, back in Mark 12, in this parable of Jesus, the main focus is taken away from the vineyard itself and the spotlight is now on the tenants. Tenants were hired workers, farmers that the land owner would pay to tend the grape vines that were grown for wine-making.

Now, disputes between tenants and absentee landowners were fairly commonplace. The hired farmers were somewhat notorious for either not taking good care of the vineyards or attempting to cheat the landowner and steal his profits by keeping some of the fruits of the land for themselves. And that is essentially the flow of this parable.

The Parable

Take a look at verses 1-2, “And He begun 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.”

The land owner spared no expence in planting his vineyard. He planted the vines, put a fence around it (which would have not been a cheap endeavor) and he built a tower (which also would not have been cheap) that would hold a lookout who would keep animals and thieves away.

He then leased it to tenants to care for it who would ultimately share in the profits that would come from the wine being sold at the market. Then the time came for the landowner to test the quality of the fruit so he sent a servant to collect a sample. And what happens next is tragic. Verse 3, “And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty handed.”

In an act of shocking brutality, the tenants beat the servant and sent him away back to the landowner with nothing. Not a single grape. Not a single drop of the wine being produced. And the violence only escalated from there! Look at verses 4 and 5, “Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another and they killed him! And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.”

Finally the landowner ran out of servants, he had no one left. Except one. Verse 6, “He still had one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them saying, ‘They will respect my son.’”

Surely they would respect the position and the authority of the son and hand over what is rightfully his! But what did these men do? Read verse 7-8, “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.”

They wanted the vineyard for themselves! They viewed themselves as the masters of the land, that it was theirs to do with as they pleased so they beat and killed the servants of the landowner and finally they murdered his son, believing that by doing so their malicious grip on the land would remain and truly become their own. The inheritance passing from the son to themselves.

However, there greed and defiance would soon come crashing down around them. Verse 9 reveals that because the tenants refused and brutalized and murdered not only his servants, but his beloved son, the land owner would exact his wrath and judgement on the tenants and give his vineyard to others.

Then, to be sure that the various religious leaders Jesus was speaking to knew precisely what He was saying in this parable, Jesus ties it directly to an Old Testament prophesy found in Psalm 118:22-23. He says in verse 10-11, “Have you not read this Scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” The Son whom they rejected and would soon kill would become the foundation for God’s marvelous work.

Enraged

Now this parable enraged the religious leaders. So much so that they immediately sought to arrest Jesus. And the reason they were so enraged, verse 12 says, is because they knew exactly who this parable was speaking about.

Unlike the prophetic word in Isa. 5, the condemnation in Jesus’ parable was not aimed at the vineyard itself, not on God’s people as a whole. But as we said earlier, the focus was on the tenants, and if you haven’t already guessed it, the tenants represented the religious leadership of Israel.

You see, these men, throughout the history of Israel, were given the task to cultivate and nurture and tend to the spiritual life of the nation of Israel. They were meant to teach the Law of God, teach what it means and looks like to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. They were given the directive to shepherd God’s people!

However, as you flip through the pages of the Old Testament, many many of the leaders were corrupt. The very ones who were meant to point the nation to God and to the coming Messiah were the very ones who lead Israel into the arms of idolatry.

So God would send His servants, the prophets, to warn these wicked men to turn from idolatry, to give to God what is rightfully His, namely praise and worship! And prophets would often be mocked, ridiculed, beaten and, especially in the case of the wicked actions of King Ahab and Jezebel, they were killed.

And as this parable from Jesus progressed, the Pharisees and the scribes and other religious leaders knew that Jesus wasn’t just speaking of the OT religous leaders, but He was speaking of them. They took up the mantle of violence against God’s chosen messengers and now, just as the tenants in the parable, they were seeking to destroy the Son.

In this one parable, this one story, Jesus blatantly exposed their hearts, exposed the wickedness and hypocrisy that laid within. And in just a few days, the horror the son experienced in the parable would be experienced by Jesus. In just a few days, they would seize Him, abuse Him, and kill Him outside the city of Jerusalem, outside the vineyard of God.

It is also important to understand that not only did the killing of the Son come to pass in reality, but the judgement poured out upon the tenants also came to pass in reality as well . As one commentator points out, Jesus was foreshadowing in verse 9 that God will would destroy the Jewish temple, the Jewish sacrificial system, the Jewish priesthood, the Sanhedrin (the top Jewish council), and all the rest, and He would give the vineyard, give the fruits of Jesus’ work on the cross, to others. First He would give it to believing Jews then to believing Gentiles, non-Jews.

Much of this occured after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the establishment of the church. Little did they know the stone they rejected would be the cornerstone of the epitome of God’s work, His beloved bride, the church. Then in AD 70, much of the judgement Jesus spoke of was carried out as the Romans wiped out Jerusalem and the temple.

So all that being said, it is no wonder the religious elite were furious. To have their hearts exposed and judgement proclaimed upon them like that in Jerusalem, surrounded by a mass of people! I imagine their veins were popping out of their foreheads!

And yet, because at this point they still feared what the crowd may do to them if they played their hand too early, they left Jesus and walked away.

Application

Now, you may be wondering how this parable of Jesus condemning these religious leaders for their evil hearts, warning them of their coming judgement, and even yet again prophesying in a way His death, how all of this can be applied to you?

And to that question, I have a few thoughts.

Most immediate, it is important to understand the intensifying hatred of Jesus by the religious elite and how the corruption of the religious leaders and the rejection of God’s messengers is a repeated pattern in the OT that continues into the time of Jesus. But, it is ultimately used by God for good in the redemption of His chosen people. I believe that is the foremost lesson we are to take from this parable.

But I also believe there are other truths we can glean from this parable as well. The first of which is the lie of the spiritual neutrality of man. This passage is a clear picture of the wickedness and hardness that is at the core of our human nature.

Sproul points out, when the Son of God walked the earth, from the time of His birth to His execution, there was not a moment when His life was safe from human beings. If it wasn’t for the providence of the Father, Jesus’ life would have ended many times, whether that be from King Herod, or the mob that wanted to stone Him in John 8, or the Pharisees who constantly sought opportunities to get rid of Him.

From the very beginning, the natural inclination of the heart of man towards Jesus is not neutrality, but hatred. This is almost never taught in today’s culture. Mankind, Romans 5 says, is by nature enemies of God. And they seek to do whatever they can to run from His sovereignty. This is why that even in the full blaze of religious privileges, in full view prophecy after prophecy being fulfilled and miracle after miracle being preformed, not only did the religious elite shout to crucify Him, but the common people did as well!

There is no neutrality of the heart when it comes to Jesus. Mankind, in their hearts are set against Him. That is why Paul quotes the Psalms in Romans 3:11 when he says that no one seeks God. No one. There are not those people in this world who are “more spiritually attuned” and therefore are seeking after God, just looking for Him and hopefully they will stumble across Him.

No! What does the Scripture say? No one seeks after God! What does Jesus Himself say in John 6:44? “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws Him.”

Now this word draw is important. The greek word is helkyo, the root being elko and a better translation is not draws, but drags! The imagery of this is a fisherman dragging in his catch from the sea. The active participant in bringing in the haul from the sea is the fisherman, not the fish! !n fact if it were up to the fish, they would stay in the sea!

So Jesus in John 6:44 is saying that only those whom the Father, in His grace, drags out of rebellion, drags out of the domain of darkness, and gives us to His Son, will come to Him. That is why Jesus also says in John 6:37, “All who the Father gives to me will come, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

Notice that He does not say, “All those who come to me of their own volition because they are on a spiritual journey seeking me out, I will never cast out.” No, only those who the Father gives to Jesus will come to Him. And no matter what you do, no matter what happens, if you are His, He will never cast you out!

So in regards to Jesus, spiritual neutrality does not exist. It is not found in Scripture. It is not a Christian teaching or doctrine. That was graphically proven 2,000 years ago when mankind saw Jesus face to face and yet killed Him.

Without divine intervention, without new birth within our hearts, if Jesus were here now, we would either be part of the crowd shouting right along with the Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees for Jesus to receive the lethal injection or the electric chair.

Or at best, we would be filled with silent antipathy as the crowd did with Him as they pleased. That is the biblical doctrine, the biblical teaching of the posture of man’s heart toward Jesus, toward God.

Next, notice how Jesus has now been clear about two things: First, in the triumphal entry He has made it clear to even these religious leaders that He is the Messiah King and He has made it clear, especially if you look at the witness all the gospel accounts, that He is not just man, but He is the God-man. So His identity is no longer obscure but out in the open for all to see.

Secondly, He has also made it clear to these religious leaders that their hearts are desperately sinful and has warned them of the punishment due to them.

So they had two things here; they had knowledge of the identity of Jesus and they had conviction of their sin. They were about to kill the most beloved Son and cast Him out of the vineyard. They knew this perfectly well.

And they knew that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, convicting them of their sin. And yet though they had knowledge and conviction, the would not repent and instead they clung to their sin.

This is important because as J.C. Ryle says, knowledge and conviction alone cannot save a man’s soul. There are many in this world who know of Jesus and even have guilt and shame over their sins. But that knowledge and those feelings alone are not enough, they don’t make you a Christian.

Friends, you must head the words of Jesus if you are to be saved! You must repent, which is not simply feeling bad for the sins you have committed, that is not repentance! Repentance is acknowledging your sins as acts of hate, of rebellion against the King of Kings and turning from them, dying to them.

And then you must put your trust in Jesus. You must bend your knee to His Kingly authority and you must trust in Him as the only one who can save you from your sins. That is the only way to be saved.

Listen to this quote by Ryle, “Let us learn from this awful fact, that knowledge and conviction alone save no man’s soul. It is quite possible to know that we are wrong, and be unable to deny it, and yet to cleave to our sins obstinately, and perish miserably in hell. The thing that we all need, is a change of heart and will (repentance and faith). For this let us pray earnestly. Till we have this, let us never rest. Without this, we shall never be real Christians, and reach heaven. Without it we may live all our lives, like the Jews, knowing inwardly that we are wrong, and yet, like the religious leaders, persevere in our own way, and die in our sins.”

So, if you are a true believer here this morning, if you have experienced this new birth, this gift of a new heart, remember these truths when you are sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Remember there is no spiritual neutrality, remember their need for a savior and remember that them simply feeling bad about their sins or simply saying they know of Jesus, even believe that He is God, does not make them a believer! The cross still needs to be preached to them.

And if you are listening this morning because maybe you are feeling the drawing of the Lord and you have come to understand the depth of your sinfulness and if you acknowledge that Jesus is the only saviour who can breath life into your dead heart and save you from the consequences of your sin, then I implore you, do not follow the pattern of the religious elite in this passage. Do not turn away from Him and go your own way! Repent and believe and He will save you and embrace you as a friend and never let you go!

Conclusion

Finally, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I want us to remember the promise that is ours to hold onto at the end of verse 9. The vineyard has been given to us! I don’t mean that we now own the nation of Israel, that is not what Jesus meant in verse 9!

But we now have been given the right to be co-heirs with the Son, and we right now enjoy in part the blessings of our inheritance that we will soon enjoy in full after this life has passed away! We enjoy the truth that we are no longer enemies in the sight of God! Hatred in our hearts has been replaced with love for Him!

And when God looks at your face, He sees a son or daughter that He loves with the same passion and intensity with which He loves His own Son Jesus! You know how I know that? Jesus Himself says so!

He prays it to the Father in what is called the high priestly prayer in John 17! Listen to this prayer and as you are listening, know that Jesus is praying about His church! He is praying about you specifically, your name is on His heart here!

Listen and rejoice because this is your inheritance! This will also be my closing prayer so feel free to close your eyes and ask for the Holy Spirit to imprint this on your hearts!

John 17:22-26, “22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Father, we are truly loved. Thank you. Amen.