Mark 12:1-27 (PM)

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[67:08] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That's the fruit of the vineyard and The the vineyard owner sends servants. Well, what do the servants represent?

[67:23] They represent the Old Testament prophets Do you remember if you read through the Old Testament you see prophet time after time? They come to the people of Israel and some of them get beat up and some of them get killed just like these servants I want us to pause there for a moment I want you to imagine that you're a property owner Maybe you're owning an apartment and you want to rent it out I know that's hard to imagine for some of you that you could ever own property in Vancouver, but You have an apartment and your tenant refuses to pay rent just like will will story with Lorna and Then you send the property manager to talk to them and they beat him up So what would you do next?

[68:05] Well, you'd probably call the police right anyway, you'd send in reinforcements you'd send in muscle to evict your lousy tenants That's what you're expecting as you're reading this story So now picture God as the landlord the vineyard owner. What's he gonna do with israel?

[68:21] After they've mistreated him Well, martin luther knew what he would do if he was god So this is what martin luther would do if I were god And the whole world treated me as it treated him. I would kick the wretched thing to pieces Maybe that's how you're feeling you would do that, too But we thank god that we thank god that martin luther isn't god because instead we get the first surprise of the parable in verse 6 Here's here's what it says. Have a look with me He the vineyard owner still had one other a beloved son and finally he sent him to them saying they will respect my son They will respect my son Of course the son represents jesus The beloved son Coming from his father in heaven without an army without a sword Coming in the incarnation to offer forgiveness to these rebellious people Jesus laying down his authority in the incarnation And that word respect it says they will respect my son

[69:22] Well, it could be literally translated. They will feel shame They will feel shame in a good sense Because god's desire in sending his son jesus is to lead his chosen people to repentance and submission to his loving authority again And yet jesus knew the cost of his incarnation. He knew That he would bear the cost like the beloved son because we've already seen him predict his death three times He knew that he would be suffering. He would suffer. He would be rejected. He would be killed So we read the tragic response in verse 7 the tenants said to one another this is the heir Let's kill him the inheritance will be ours and they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard So when they say this what they're saying is well when they see the heir coming They're assuming that the the vineyard owner is dead. That's kind of the cultural context And so if they kill the heir then they can take possession of the vineyard there won't be anybody else to to own it except them And how foolishly we think?

[70:23] That if we turn our backs on god if we kill him with our callousness and our and our dismissal That we can step into his shoes and assume authority over our own lives And then we come to the next surprise in the parable Because jesus audience here they're expecting a swift and brutal response from the vineyard owner. Okay The reason they expect this is because one of the basis for this parable is isaiah 5 in the old testament And in the isaiah 5 version of this parable The lord god what does he do he tramples the vineyard He lays waste the rebellious vineyard And the vineyard represented judah and he and actually was fulfilled like the babylonians came and they destroyed the temple They destroyed everything and that's that's what the the listeners of jesus parable are expecting they're thinking okay Now it's time for some real judgment And yes in verse 9 we do get judgment, but but it's judgment with another surprise with another twist What will the owner of the vineyard do he will come yes and destroy the tenants?

[71:28] But surprise he's going to give the vineyard to others So yes, there will be judgment for The rebellious religious leaders and all those who reject jesus authority But there's also these surprising new tenants. So who are these folks?

[71:45] It's the church it's us This is the final surprise of the parable vindication for jesus and the church verse 10 and 11 Have you not read this scripture the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone And this was the lord's doing it's marvelous in our eyes The seeming tragedy that awaits jesus in jerusalem is not an accident of history It's not beyond beyond the power of the living god Because jesus authority judges and saves And the apostle peter when he takes these words about the cornerstone About jesus and the church and they're taken from psalm 118 and he applies them in one of the first sermons in In the book of acts. This is what peter says Let it be known to you and to all people of israel that by the name of jesus of nazareth whom you crucified whom god raised from the dead By him this man is standing before you well This jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone

[72:48] And there is salvation in no one else For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved This is vindication This is the one with complete power and authority Willingly laying down his life for our sake Remember mark chapter 10 verse 45 for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many But he lay it down only so that his father in the resurrection Could hand him back that life and hand him back the authority that he laid down And now jesus sits on the throne with all authority to save and to rule and to judge So how will you respond to this parable how will you respond to the words of scripture tonight Because verse 12 tells us that the religious leaders when they heard jesus speak this parable they perceived that he told the parable against them And how did they respond well they plotted

[73:49] They plotted to assert their own authority by getting rid of him And they killed him The brothers and sisters don't make the same mistake Jesus words are inviting us to respond in at least two very simple ways First of all remember That you are a renter and not an owner Remember that you are a renter and not an owner What a lot of gifts we can receive from the author Who holds all authority life and breath and beauty and curiosity And adoption and regeneration And union with christ and the power of the holy spirit all of these and many other Gifts are available in the name of jesus So approach the king of kings with humility Knowing he's slow to judge and quick to forgive and save And secondly we respond by bearing fruit in the vineyard You're sitting in the vineyard tonight saint john's is the vineyard

[74:51] Vancouver is the vineyard the world is god's vineyard The church has a very special role in the vineyard Commissioned with the privilege of joining the beloved son In his mission to bring many sons and daughters to glory So we bear fruit by our prayer By Making saint john's a house of prayer for the nations By rendering to god the things that are gods By sharing the hope of the resurrection with those who long for hope and By trusting jesus authority to judge and to save amen