Parables
“The Wicked Tenant”
Parable of the Wicked Tenants
[Read Mark 12:1]
On the day that Jesus told this parable – there would have been many who would have begun to think “I’ve heard this one before”.
He’s running out of new material.
He’s starting to infringe copyright.
This one is one of Isaiah’s.
[Read Isa 5:1-7]
Jesus’ parable was a definite and deliberate retelling of Isaiah’s prophesy.
And in the retelling it was all the more pointed. All the more stinging.
All the more “now”.
[Read Mark 12:2-12]
In Jesus’ telling of this story the owner of the vineyard sends a series of servants to collect what is his.
Payment or rent if you will.
It is a pretty violent story!
The more servants the owner sends, the greater the violence they experience.
Beatings through to murder.
And so the owner does something which appears very stupid given how events had unfolded until then.
"“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’" (Mark 12:6)
They don’t.
They see the heir and knowing that if there is no heir, then the land/vineyard will be theirs, they kill him.
…and his body is disposed of like garbage.
Really – this was all inevitable as far as the story goes.
And then the owner exacts judgement.
In reading this parable – there are some immediate connections.
• The owner is God
• The vineyard invariably stands for Israel
• The servants who are sent and mistreated are the prophets
• The son sent is Christ
• Its position in the Gospel of Mark is just after the cleansing of the temple. Opposition is growing against Jesus
• The judgment of God is present
There is real loss if God executes His judgement.
For me – in reading this parable and bearing all this mind, one moment grips me.
It is verse 6.
"“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’" (Mark 12:6)
By the time the story has unfolded to this point – there is a question screams from the page:
WHY?
Given the events to date – why would anyone think their son would be safe? Or be respected?
Why?
On first reading – it appears foolhardy to do this.
Yet – there He stands.
The Son of God telling the story of Israel; the story of humanity.
The story of God.
There He stands telling those listening; the attentive ones; the ones who were full of rage and hate; the ones who were full of hope – the tenants – that the Owner would send the Son to.
He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.
Take in the words of verse 6.
Slowly.
In these words – the Word of God; the Word of the Father – you hear the heart of God.
You hear the power and love of God. The vulnerability and humility of God.
The unconditional nature of God.
You see God entering the world and all its pain and evil.
“He had one left to send”
“A son”
“Whom He loved”
“He sent Him”
“Last of all”
“Saying – ‘They will respect Him’”
That last statement especially. How “foolish”!!
You read this parable – and you can see why scripture says the Gospel is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
It is confounding.
It doesn’t seem to make sense.
Yet verse 6 – contains an insight into the depths of the love of God.
It is a revelation of the patience and grace of God.
In response to violence, rebellion, anger, outrageous behaviour – He sends all that He can.
Verse 6 is the message of God. The enduring message of the Bible in describing the love and purpose of God.
Verse 6 is Light in the darkness.
Verse 6 is the Everlasting Love of God…
The Son comes. The heir.
And He is killed.
And if verse 6 is the message of the Bible; verse 7 is the lie that humanity has bought into.
You read this parable and you can be excused for thinking “How stupid of the owner to send his son. How could he not see what was going to happen?”
But that’s not stupidity. That was vision and indeed purpose – that goes beyond the grave.
What is stupidity is verse 7.
"“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’" (Mark 12:7)
If verse 6 is the message of God; verse 7 is the description of the blind, faithless, stupidity of humanity disconnected from their Creator.
Verse 7 shows the madness that grips the human heart.
Oh it is futile – tragically so – but it is a fierce madness which is exhilarating.
It consumes, defines, drives.
And people – so many people – live and die by it.
This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
This is the madness present in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent.
“Did God really say not to eat of the fruit? You will not die for God knows your eyes will be open and you will become like God”.
It is the madness of Cain who though counseled by God to master sin allowed it to consume him and murder his brother.
It is the madness of the people in Gen 11 who gathered on a plain and said “Let’s build a city with a tower reaching to the heavens and make a name for ourselves”.
It is the madness of Joseph’s brothers who could not handle the fact that God might have been speaking to their younger brother so betrayed him and sold him into slavery.
It is the madness of Israel, who when Moses appeared to be delayed in coming down from the mountain, said “Let us make a god for ourselves” and cast a golden calf and worshipped it.
It is the madness of King Saul who began taking matters into his own hands because he couldn’t wait for Samuel to do the sacrifice – and so he got ahead of God.
It is the madness of King David who instead of leading his army instead stayed home and used his power to take a woman who was not his wife.
It is the madness of a nation who time and again turned away from God and His Word, who oppressed people and so found themselves slaves once again.
It is the madness of the religious leaders who constantly resisted Jesus and tried to tell Him, God in the flesh, what the will of God was.
It is the madness of the religious leaders that they charged God Himself, God-in-the-flesh, with “blasphemy”.
This madness is the tenants saying This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
The madness is when “tenants” believe they can become “owners” through their own power.
The madness is when humanity believe they can become, should become, God.
Masters of their destiny.
The madness is when the tenants plot to take the inheritance for their own.
Verse 6 is about the love, patience and grace of God.
Verse 7 is about the madness that grips, blinds and drives humanity.
And puts them in direct conflict with God.
Maybe we can put it like this.
The crazy thing is – that the Son comes with a message.
"He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:11-13)
"For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:15-17)
The Heir, the Son comes with a message.
“I have come that you may have a full share in the inheritance of the Son of God”.
But blinded by fear, anxiety, ambition, greed – we conspire and say “Let’s kill Him and the inheritance will be ours”.
I suppose it all comes down to a sense of ownership.
Of tenants believing they ought to be the owners.
Of humanity believing they ought to be in charge.
Really.
But in this sinful attempt to gain – we lose because the parable describes terrible judgement.
And yet by giving God His due – we gain beyond our imagination and belief.
We become co-heirs with Christ.
But the flashpoint centres on this force within each of us.
This force which resists the approach of God; of His rightful claim upon our lives and everything in it.
He sends His Word and His message.
Time and again.
And we treat it with violence and cunning.
And then we see this chance to own it all.
Oh – I am sure that as we survey our own lives in relation to the Kingdom of God we would say “It is not as bad as all that. We are not really like those in this parable.”
And yes – this parable is most definitely a comment at that time in Salvation History and the presence of Jesus in that place and at that time.
But – this is the Word of God.
And the Spirit of God is interested in bringing it to bear in our time and our place and invites us to stand before Jesus as He tells this story.
“Are you as a tenant resisting the owner? Are you trying to overthrow the owner?”
How do we know?
Let me tell you a story.
This story is about 500 years old and it was told by the founder of the Jesuit priests to examine how attached we are to those things we own.
Whether we possess things with the spirit of a tenant who is answerable and accountable to the Land Owner – or whether we are so attached to what we possess we begin to believe the lie that it is “mine”.
Three faith-filled friends come into a lot of money. $1 million each through a legitimate business deal.
They were people of faith and would often meet with each other to encourage each other and just enjoy their friendship and grow in God.
A few weeks after making all this money, they commented to each other that a feeling was creeping up on them
Each of them felt uneasy having that amount of money.
It was a spiritual matter. Their consciences were free insofar as how they came into possession of the money. Nothing to worry about there.
But they discovered that they were no longer as eager to worship with the people of God.
They did not feel as in harmony with their brothers and sisters in Christ anymore.
They feel very happy with having the money, and they were doing great things with it – still – maybe they want it too much. It seems to be affecting their lives at a deep level.
The question now emerged – does the love of God require them to keep the money or relinquish it?
The issue is not actually the money itself. The issue is the depth of attachment to it.
I suppose in the vocabulary of this parable – do they consider this money from the perspective of a tenant or an owner?
So the three friends embark on a different approach to resolve the disquiet in their hearts.
The first friend thinks a lot about what to do. He talks a lot about it. Prays a lot about it.
But he dies. Still wealthy and not having done anything about it.
The second friend wants to keep the money and sees no reason to get rid of it. But he doesn’t want to live with this deep sense of unease.
So he takes some steps.
He gives some away. He supports various mission initiatives and tries to bargain with God.
“I will give some away and you give me inner peace”.
He dies having done some good but never really attaining the inner peace he was craving for.
The third friend considers keeping it and giving it away.
But he admitted he didn’t know which would resolve the inner turmoil.
So he resolves to not make a definite decision either way – but instead focuses on his sense of “attachment” not to the money but to God.
And he resolves to wait on the Spirit and see what this disquiet in his spirit really signifies.
He resolves that the desire to serve God as effectively as possible is the key thing.
This might mean keeping the money.
This might mean giving it away.
Either way – the decision will rest on be motivated by God.
Or in the words of the parable – he will know his place as a tenant and not resist the messengers God sends.
He will recognise that the ultimate messenger is the Son Himself. With His message concerning the true and ultimate inheritance.
But what he will not do is allow the madness of verse 7 destroy the power of verse 6.
What he will do is take seriously the end of this parable.
He will recognise his place in the overall purposes of God and realise that there is very real love, power and grace.
And very real judgement and loss for those who attempt to overthrow the God of All.
Presented By: Rev. Geoff New