In The Word
Read: Mark 12:1-12
Parable of the Vine-growers
12 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others.10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief cornerstone;
11 This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
God had provided everything His people needed. They had been given His Word, and they had been given a land flowing with milk and honey. However, it wasn’t long before His people had forgotten who had provided all that they had received. Now they had grown comfortable and complacent, and they didn’t think they needed God anymore. Sound familiar?
God had trusted His chosen people to share His Word and His love with others, and He expected to see a return. When He didn’t see any fruit, the Lord sent His prophets to remind them of their purpose and His plan for their lives. Their ears had become deaf and their hearts had become callous to His voice, so they punished and killed these messengers. However, God didn’t give up on them. He loved them so much that He sent His only Son to bring salvation. But again they had allowed their hearts to become darkened, and they rejected Him, beat Him and killed Him. As a result, God chose to allow His Word to offer salvation to nations outside of His chosen people.
The Word made flesh was in their midst, but instead of seeking more understanding, they clung to their hypocrisy and tried to trap Him. They held to a form of godliness but rejected the power of God (2 Timothy 3:5). We are to avoid such men as these. Let’s reflect on our life today. Are we good stewards of all He has given us? Are we producing fruit, or are we using His blessings only for our own purposes and plans? Let’s commit today to receive His Word into our hearts and to seek more of Him and His power as He uses us to build His kingdom.