Send Mark Understanding with airSlate SignNow

Send mark understanding

welcome back to our journey through Mark's Gospel today a question of authority why should I listen to you [Music] here in mark 12 it's Tuesday Passover week Jesus is in Jerusalem in the days leading up to the cross he's just been challenged by some religious leaders about his authority and in that context chapter 12 opens with Jesus telling a parable 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 now pause a moment Jesus taught many parables of many lessons but there's one story that we find told several ways a king or a landowner or some other man of authority who moves away and in every one of those stories that man is a picture of God why does Jesus so often picture God as a man gone away what about today if God is everywhere why does he let it feel like he's not watching now setting that question aside a moment here Jesus tells a parable of a man who planted a vineyard entrusted it to some farmers and moved the farmers can live off the land but they're always responsible to the owner verse 2 at harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard but they seized him beat him and sent him away empty-handed then he sent another servant to them they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully now at this point Jesus listeners would be getting a little angry the owner planted the vineyard and built everything without him the tenants had nothing he sends servants to collect fair enough but the tenants beat the servants I rented my home out once and the tenants trashed it and left without paying rent I was mad but what is this story really about what is Jesus driving it remember the context back in chapter 11 the chief priests challenged Jesus by what authority are you doing these things and who gave you authority to do this in other words why should I listen to you who died and made you king that was a favorite when I was a kid every one of us comes to a point of challenging authority why should I listen to you or to Jesus or the Bible or government or whoever with all the voices trying to command your life you have to ask who is telling you what's right and who has the right to tell you but are these guys asking because they want an answer or because they just don't want to listen when they challenged his authority Jesus immediate response was asking them about John the Baptist where did John's authority come from because John was sent on god's authority to point everyone to jesus but the religious leaders refused to answer Jesus question they had not respected John's authority and Jesus knew they wouldn't respect his and so Jesus tells this parable to help everyone see what's really going on the man who planted the vineyard is God of course the vineyard comes from Isaiah 5 the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel read Isaiah 5 it even has a watchtower in winepress so who are the tenants well those responsible for Israel of course the priests and elders who Jesus is talking to and right there as these men challenged Jesus authority Jesus tells them of how the owner of the vineyard has sent one servant after another the prophets like John the Baptist and back in verse 5 he sent still another and that one they killed he sent many others some of them they beat others they killed he had one left to send a son whom he loved he sent him last of all saying they will respect my son but the tenants said to one another this is the heir come let's kill him and the inheritance will be ours so they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard now I hope you don't miss the meaning here the owner sent his son the tenants killed the son verse 9 what then will the owner of the vineyard do he will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others haven't you read this passage of Scripture the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes that verse Jesus quotes is from psalm 118 which not incidentally is the same psalm the people sang two days earlier when jesus arrived blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord name of the lord means with god's authority and in that very song the prophecy that the builders would reject the cornerstone Jesus is the cornerstone the piece that fits the entire building together all that Judaism is leading to and built around and yet the builders rejected him but verse 11 reminds us that the Lord has done this and it is something marvelous the religious leaders got it and verse 12 they knew it was about them but they still refused to take the message to heart so then in verse 13 they send some other guys this time its Pharisees and Herodians this is a band of religious lawyers and political lobbyists and they show up to catch Jesus in his words that's what lawyers and politicians are good at so what do they ask about taxes of course in verse 14 they butter Jesus up a little bit call him a man of integrity unswayed by others all flattery and then is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not should we pay or shouldn't we now just like the divorce question every answer to this one will make someone mad the Jews hated paying taxes to Caesar Augustus who by the way claims to be God and he used the tax money to fund evil things war oppression and cruelty but if Jesus says don't pay it Caesar could lock him up for sedition even kill him their scheme here is to pit Jesus convictions and stand for truth against the reality of the wicked powers ruling over them duty to God against duty to government now be careful of this trap in verse 15 but jesus knew their hypocrisy why are you trying to trap me he asked bring me a Denarius and let me look at it they brought the coin and he asked them whose image is this and whose inscription Caesars they replied then jesus said to them give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's and they were amazed at him and I have to say I am pretty amazed to Caesar meant to the coin his image is on it so give it back to him each of us has a responsibility to respect human authority even wicked Authority sometimes there is a time and place for rebellion of course but watch your priorities the coin the coin is just money important yes but the image on it is only a man but give to God what is God's what does that mean where is God's image think about it what do you have with the very image of God imprinted on it we are all of us made in God's image the depth of meaning in that statement I cannot begin to approach here but Jesus says give to God what is God's when the taxman comes asking for money he represents the people who printed it you may not like it but it's theirs and when God's servant comes with God's authority asking for fruit from the vineyard that God entrusted to you the life that he provided the skills and abilities and opportunities that he gave you what will you do maybe you thought God was away and never coming back started feeling like all this stuff was yours to keep and all those stories about the king or the owner leaving always there's an expectation that his servants will care for what is his and that they'll be ready on his return in fact that's exactly how the owner knows who his true servants are how they act when he seems to be away so for you when God Son shows up with God's authority how will he find you what have you done with all that he entrusted to you thanks for joining us for today's quick on your guide and remember space comes by hearing and peering through the word