In Mark 12, Jesus tells a story that hits far too close to home—both for the religious leaders of His day and for us. The parable of the tenants is more than a simple allegory; it is a mirror held up to the soul. It reminds us not only of Israel’s history but of our own hearts, exposing the insurrection that lies hidden in each of us against the rightful authority of God.

The story is clear: a vineyard owner (God) invests deeply in a vineyard (His people), entrusting it to tenants (Israel’s leaders). But when the time comes to collect the fruit, the tenants respond not with faithfulness but with violence. One by one, the owner sends messengers—prophets—to call for what is rightfully His. They are beaten, shamed, and even killed. Finally, the owner sends his beloved son. “Surely,” he says, “they will respect my son.” But they don’t. The son is murdered, his body cast out of the vineyard.

This, Jesus says, is the story of Israel—and more broadly, the story of fallen humanity. Our hearts recoil at the thought of being stewards. We would rather be owners. We want to live as if the vineyard is ours, as if we make the rules. This parable unmasks that desire. It exposes the ancient temptation from Eden: “You can be like God.” We see it in the religious leaders. But if we’re honest, we see it in ourselves too.

God, however, is not merely just—He is patient. He sends messenger after messenger, even as the beatings escalate. His long-suffering mercy is astounding. Every rejected prophet, every mocked preacher, every providential warning—each one is a cry from the vineyard owner: “Return to me.”

And when all else fails, He sends His Son.

This is where the parable turns. The hostility that simmers throughout the passage boils over in full-blown rebellion. “This is the heir,” the tenants say. “Come, let us kill him.” And they do. But the very rejection of the Son becomes the means of redemption.

Jesus quotes Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The rejection is not the end of the story—it is the beginning of something marvelous. The wrath poured out at the cross becomes the instrument by which our hostility is slain. In the death of Christ, God kills the enmity in our hearts and makes enemies into friends.

And what of the many messengers God sends into our lives today? They are often our parents, pastors, faithful friends, or providential trials. As the Puritans remind us, these are not random events but divine sermons.

Thomas Watson wrote, “God is the wise and great Disposer of all things. There is no such thing as chance. All things are carried on by God’s providence for the good of his people.”

John Flavel added, “Afflictions are sent to awaken and arouse us, to make us more serious in our address to God, to quicken our diligence in the way of holiness.”

Richard Sibbes echoed the same truth: “God brings us low and makes us to know ourselves, that we are but dust and ashes, that we may fly to Christ for relief.”

These are the messengers that call us to surrender our illusion of autonomy and yield to the ownership of a gracious God.

The vineyard is no longer entrusted to those who claimed it as their own. It is handed to new stewards—those who have been redeemed by the Son’s sacrifice. Jew and Gentile alike are grafted into the true Israel of God, built not on tradition or works but on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

And this is the result of such grace:
“The very lips that once cursed His name now sing love songs to Him. This is the miracle of grace. This is the marvel of our redemption.”

What do we do with such a parable? We marvel.

We marvel that, in a world hostile to God, the Lord has built His church. We marvel that we—once rebels—have been welcomed in. We marvel that the hands that once clenched in defiance now rise in praise.

“This is the Lord’s doing,” Jesus says. “And it is marvelous in our eyes” (Mark 12:11).

May we, too, stand in stunned silence, hands over our mouths, astonished by the grace of a God who would not leave us in our rebellion—but would give His Son to win us back.

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