The Gospel of Mark: Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes’?”

When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away. ~ Mark 12:1-12

Give the scribes, etc. credit. They at least get when Jesus' parable is about them.

It won't, however, change the course of their actions against him. If anything, it is clear here that this cements their decision to move against him.

So which part of this parable enflamed the leaders against Jesus?

Perhaps it was the idea that he saw them as tenants who didn't own the land.

Maybe it was the idea that the vineyard would be taken from them.

Worry that Jesus had come to take everything from them.

On some level, I can't help but have some compassion from these leaders from the Temple. The Jewish people had had everything taken from them at multiple times over the past several thousand years. And Rome ruled them at that moment, leaving them nothing of their own other than, at least as it seemed, their Temple.

For them, Jesus was a threat to them losing what little they felt they already had.

Of course, they saw it this way because of how they were seeing - or rather not seeing. Again, with eyes that did not see. Their scope was small and narrow.

They weren't seeing God's big picture.

Often this is the way isn't it? There are many times that the mistakes we make come from problems or situations that are real and cause us suffering. Often that makes us only see a narrow view of the problem instead of opening our scope for the whole panorama.

I think of this in terms of the real issues our country faces between the pandemic, racial division, gun violence, immigration, and others. How often do we look at the narrow view of those issues and miss real solutions because of our limited scope?

Holy God, thank you for the gospel - the good news - of your Son. Open my mind and heart to this good news and enliven me with your Spirit of servanthood that I might share this good news with a world in need. Amen

Engagement Questions:

What are issues or problems in your life or community or nation that could benefit from a broader view?