Day 35 : Mark 12:1-12
The stone the builders rejected…
Some stories, initially entertaining, end with a sting in the tail. That’s what the Jewish leadership felt about this final parable when they realised Jesus had told it against them!
This final showdown is between Jesus and the Jewish authorities. The Temple was the very heart and identity of the nation’s life and it’s there that the action takes place. The conflict between the leaders and Jesus, simmering for some time, now boils over in a series of encounters, which ultimately lead to Jesus’s arrest and death.
This story of the wicked tenants is an allegory of the whole of Old Testament history. God chose Israel as his people. Through them he sought to bless all nations. But they and their leaders repeatedly failed. God sent prophets, both to warn and help Israel’s leadership. Yet, these prophets were persecuted and killed.
The crunch has now come in the sending of God’s Son. One of the themes of Mark is the question ‘Who is Jesus?’ Here, Jesus himself gives an answer! How will Israel’s leaders respond? The parable was intended to get them to change course. However, we have already had three predictions of Jesus’s forthcoming death. The parable confirms this fate. Like the son in the story, Jesus is to be killed and thrown out of the vineyard.
The conflict between Jesus and the Jerusalem leadership is not a personality clash. Nor is it a debate about his authority. Rather it is a clash of visions. It concerns the nature of power and leadership for the benefit of society. Israel’s leadership was called to govern in God’s kingdom way of justice and righteousness. It’s this that builds strong and healthy community. This is the kingdom Jesus came to bring.
