Mark 12

Springboard from last chapter: Jesus left the scribes and elders with an unanswered question. He then begins to teach on the question by using parables. This is indicated by the first word in the chapter “and”. Jesus answered them that He was not going to tell them where He had His authority from. I am going to teach around the parable. It will be necessary to read the parable for context. I am assuming that you  have read and understand the parable with the following commentary.

Mark 12:1-12 Yeshua roped the teachers in to the parable by speaking of a familiar theme that runs through the scriptures. He added appeal to the subject by personalizing the parable by speaking of a landowner who went on a journey. Lastly, He related the parable to prophecy by bringing in the understanding of the vineyard of the Lord. We are going to cover a few basics so that we can see what the teachers were reacting to. We need to know what their mindset was when they heard Yeshua teach.

Jesus taught from Torah. Vineyards through the scriptures speak of a constant form of wealth. They are established in a land and show the wealth of the land. Those dwelling in the land gain great wealth from them and those conquering a land will in inherit the vineyards as a bonus. There are a few places in the scriptures where the vineyard is used as a parable. Yeshua refers to these places by quoting directly from the scriptures (Isa 5:1).  Here we pick up with the parable of the vineyard and a running discussion through most of this chapter between Jesus, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes.

Yeshua teaches from the parable but tweaks it slightly. The similarity is definitive in nature, narrowing the understanding from a “beloved” to the “beloved son”. That is the word “beloved” is created since we do not have the concept in English. We do not have a word for “agape” love in the English since it is virtually unheard of. The idea behind “agape” is a love that gives without any expectation of reciprocal response. No love is expected in return. This “agape” son represented an expected sacrifice that the landowner was making.

Isaiah 5: “Beloved” is the key that links Yeshua’s parable with the parable that Isaiah teaches. The word “beloved” found in the Hebrew scripture (Isa 5:1) is the word “agapatos” that is used by Jesus! The Greek Septuagint uses the word “agapatos” for the Hebrew word “Dodi” in Isaiah 5:1. The link between the passages is extremely interesting. In the Hebrew passage, the vineyard is created for the beloved. God created the vineyard for His beloved. Yeshua tweaks the story by identifying the Son as the beloved one.

You can bet that the teachers and leaders fully understood what Yeshua was teaching. In previous discussions we covered that the Hebrew listeners understood that quoting a verse from a passage meant that the entire passage was to be taken into account. Yeshua quoted one verse from Isaiah 5. The entire passage’s context becomes involved with the teaching.

The idea of respect is loaded with the possibility of rejection. Respect is the expected outcome, yet, we can see from the context that the landowner is testing the vine-growers. Respect is rather funny in a way. If you demand respect, it is no longer true respect but rather obedience from the basis of fear. This is more of a requirement, where respect is freely given. Fear driven obedience does not garner respect, it garners compliance. Respect on the other hand speaks of the freedom of choice. The choice to allow respect and the choice to reject the option. “Will they respect my son?” Is the unwritten question that permeates the passage. Context sets up a scenario where everyone sent prior to the son was totally rejected. The vineyard owner hoped to scratch up a small nugget of respect by sending his only son.

Let’s remember the audience. These were the scribes and elders who questioned Jesus’ authority to teach (Mark 11:27).  They represented the religious system that was in place at the time.

God gave the teachers of the Torah the responsibility of leading the Jews.  In other words, they were responsible for leading and mentoring the Jewish people in Torah and guiding them in their walk with the Lord. God expected good grapes from the vineyard that only yielded worthless grapes (Isa 5). God warns that if the vineyard only produces bad grapes that He is going to destroy the vineyard (Isa 5:5-6). They failed to listen to the instructions of God (Isa 5:12). God’s people go into exile because of their lack of knowledge of God’s instructions (Isa 5:13). The judgment of Isaiah hits directly at the falsehood and double standard of the teachers (Isa 5:21).

Through Hebrew history, the vine-growers were the religious leaders.  The wall around the vineyard was Torah, it was designed to protect and nourish the people of God.  The vines themselves represented the Jews. Grapes produces from the Vines represented the fruits of following God’s instructions. Bad grapes are a metaphor for malnourished grapes which have been poorly cared for.

The slaves of the owner were the prophets that God had sent through the ages.  In almost every case, the prophets were killed or thrown over the wall.  The prophets who sought to focus the attention of the Jews on God were killed, shunned or banished.  According to Jesus’ Parable:  God said, I will send My Son, and surely they will treat Him right. But the religious leaders once again were challenged.

Jesus brought the parable back to specifically point toward Himself by quoting from Psalm 118:23-24.  Remember context! The passage is messianic pointing to the coming Messiah. The gates of righteousness look forward to salvation (Ps 118:19-21). Let’s take that apart for a moment. Righteousness or living a righteous life according the Hebrew mindset is only possible by following the instructions of God (Torah). One who follows Torah lives a life of righteousness. One who does not follow Torah lives a life of unrighteousness. The one who is righteous lives his life according to God’s instructions. Simple, right?

Psalm 118:21 The writer says that “You (referring to the Lord) have become my salvation”. The Hebrew is revealing. It says simply “you have become my Yeshua”. If modern Christians were to translate the passage, they would probably translate it as “you have become my Jesus”. The word for salvation in the Hebrew is Yeshua! This is the stone that the builders rejected and became the chief cornerstone (Ps 118:22)!

Now we understand why the religious leaders wanted to seize Jesus on the spot (Mark 12:12). Jesus spoke the parable against the religious leaders. He promised to remove the vine tenders, and the vineyard would soon be given to others. The Jewish leaders were soon removed, the gentiles took over the vineyard.  To make matters worse, Yeshua taught them from a parable that named Him. What could they say? He merely quoted scripture.

Church leaders have misunderstood this parable. Many think that they “replaced” the Jews by becoming the new “owners” of the vineyard. They do not realize that rather than being “owners”, they are merely vine-tenders. Replacement theology is the single greatest heresy that has been taught by the Church as a whole. We have not replaced the Jewish people! Paul addresses this when He discusses the olive tree and the branches (Ro 11:16-32). God will eventually restore the original vine tenders. This is a big part of what the Messianic movement is all about. God is restoring His people. The Church age is rapidly coming to a close and soon the Jewish people will once again tend God’s vineyard. There is one caveat. God has created a new vineyard that joins the Jew and Gentile together to create a “new man”. This hybrid form of believer embraces the Messiah as the master of their lives.

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments, Joe Turner.