What They Thought They Knew

Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  Mark 12:24

The Sadducees were another of the groups who spent their lives studying the scriptures, or in this case a limited set of them, and debating them. Jesus responded to their absurdly long story question by telling them that they did not know the scriptures. And that is the point of the story. Well, see you tomorrow! 

No, really! Imagine these professors of the scriptures thinking to test Jesus, this upstart rogue preacher from Nazareth. They come up with their question, based on the doctrine of resurrection, which they do not believe in, and He calls out their ignorance and teaches them from their own scriptures! It is one of the proud getting schooled stories that we love from the gospels. But, we also must remember to not become like them too.

Have a great new day in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Marvelous Answer

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him. -- Mark 12:17

The Pharisees and Herodians had a win/win test for Jesus of Nazareth, or so they thought. If Jesus said to not pay taxes, they could turn him over to Rome. If he said to pay the taxes, they could call him out to the people as not loyal to Israel. Either way, they wanted him to get them out of paying the Roman taxes. Oh wait, no, they wanted to prove that Jesus was a false prophet. They really thought this was the winning question and a great trap for Jesus! But then he answered them.

We stand in awe of our Lord's ability to answer sudden questions and meet tough tests set by the religious authorities. Have you ever experienced that defensive reaction where you tell a lie in response to a challenging question? Yeah, me too. Jesus never did that and his answers were always perfect.

I'm so glad He came to save us,

Bucky

Giving Away His Vineyard

Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Mark 12:9

In this story we stand beside the vineyard, watching the events happen as Jesus tells them. After all that, we get this promise from the story in our verse for today. This vineyard owner is a picture of power. He has the power to destroy, but has not done so yet. Some of those standing beside the vineyard with us might deny that the owner even exists in his far country, even as his handiwork stands right there in front of them. The wicked vinedressers, still living the life for the moment, may have started that denial rumor and sold some illegitimate shares in their vineyard venture. A bystander would not want to be holding those shares when the vineyard owner comes at last. But what is this about giving the vineyard away?

The vineyard has not been profitable to the owner. He has lost servants and his son. In his grief, he may just give the thing away. As the owner, it is his right to do so. Would those deniers still deny his existence as he offers them the vineyard?

Believing in someone far away, whom you have never seen or heard, may be difficult, but we have good help in this faith.

Bucky

Cast Him Out

So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:8

As the son and heir, the vineyard would have become his, but now he is dead and cast out. Wait, that sounds much like the judgment that comes at the end times. It does, and it fits. Is it any wonder that those who killed and cast out the Son of God would face the same when He returns in His glory? The Pharisees understood that the parable was directed at them, but they could not conceive of their good lives being subject to the judgment. Their solution to the mean ol' parable was to kill and cast out the offending storyteller. Well, just how good is that sort of life?

There will be those who cannot understand that the judgment comes for them,

Bucky

Judging The Master

Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ Mark 12:6

Reading the parable of the wicked vinedressers, we may come to this verse for today and judge the master of the vineyard rather harshly. "No, you fool!" might be the most polite comment when he comes to sending his one beloved son. The scribes and Pharisees got the meaning behind the words right off, and so do we when studying this parable. This parable is pointed - right at the religious leaders of Israel who first killed the Lord's prophets and soon would do the same to His Son, Jesus. So, since we get it, why do we feel the need to judge the Master when He sends His beloved Son in the parable?

Save me from my own nature, dear Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Off To The Far Country

Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Mark 12:1

Aha! Story time. Jesus spoke in parables, and those familiar with the Bible recognize this one immediately. As we read the story, we also get read by the story. A person who prefers control might exclaim, "You fool! Why do all that work and then leave it in another person's hands?" A business builder might say, "Exactly correct! Who wants to be tied down managing the place. Move on to the next project." You will have your own reaction to what this man did, and what you might do differently. One among you might happily retire there to spend years researching and experimenting in his own vineyard, trying to achieve the perfect bottle of wine. After all, when Jesus provided wine at the wedding in Cana, He provided the best wine the master of the feast had ever tasted. So, enjoy being read by one of our Lord's stories, learn something of yourself.

Love and joy to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

In A Corner

But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” Mark 11:29-30

Here's a good one for us. When looking at this story in Mark, what is the story? Is it the question Jesus asked, or is it the religious authorities getting together and refusing to answer? Confessing to not knowing is usually a good place to begin learning something. However, in this case the religious authorities used it to avoid answering one way or another. We would say they refused to engage with Jesus.

It began as a familiar exchange: they wanted Jesus to inform them of something, and Jesus countered with a knowledge for knowledge offer. You have this, I have that, let's make a deal. But when it came time for one side to perform, they discussed it and decided that they were afraid to answer His question. Jesus had neatly pinned the religious authorities in a corner, and they decided, in effect, to huddle in that corner until He went away. Oh, but they still wanted Jesus to answer their question. He didn't, and they missed an opportunity to learn and believe.

If you feel sad for these religious authorities, you are quite right!

Bucky