Day 30 – How do we react to God?
Mark 11:27 - 12:17
They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’?”
Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”. And they were amazed at him.
Liz Nixon writes:
In this section of Mark, all of the most senior religious leaders question Jesus' identity and authority to do the things He is doing. He responds with a story, painting a vivid picture with his parable of the tenants. Jesus does love story-telling! It's a parable about some wicked tenants who abuse the position given to them over the Master's vineyard. When the Master sends someone to gather the fruit (read yesterday's reflection about fruit!), they beat him and the several others that the Master sends as well as finally murdering the Master's son. It is interesting to see that the Pharisees, Teachers of the Law and the elders know who they are in the story - the parable enables them to see themselves clearly. But instead of repenting of their actions, they look for a way to have Jesus arrested.
When we are faced with the truth of who we are, it's not always a pretty picture! It can be discouraging and disappointing. We might not like it and disagree with what we are seeing. How do you respond when Jesus points something out to you? Do you go on the attack, rejecting what He says, or do you reflect on His words and accept His truth? What might help you graciously dwell on the picture before you and learn what Jesus wants to teach?