MARK

Mark Chapter 12

• Mark 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
• 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
• 3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
• 4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.
• 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
• 6 Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
• 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
• 8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
• 9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
• 10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
• 11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?

As we study the scriptures we see that nothing much has changed. Our laws at least in the United States may keep people from killing others that preach the gospel but preachers of truth are still ridiculed. In this parable we see people who reject the truth even to the point of killing. In the Old Testament God sent prophets and teachers over and over again to warn the people of their sin against God. The message was always repent and the Lord will bless instead of curse. The message most of the time was rejected and as a result judgment came upon those that turned from God.

God sent John the Baptist, he was killed, and lastly God sent His only Son. He too was rejected and killed. What is it about God that people reject? He created us a beautiful place to live. He would have given us the best of everything. He offers us eternal life. He offers new bodies that cannot ever die. He offers love, acceptance, peace, joy, and healing. Why do people reject such good things?

The answer is either they do not believe the simple message of love or else they do not want to repent and turn from sin. Most people like to justify themselves and do not want to admit that they need to repent. This will hinder salvation because if we do not see a need to be saved we will not seek salvation. This is sometimes why a person who is a vile sinner can find salvation easier than one who does not do any bad things and does not see himself as a sinner. The message of repentance applies to all, good citizens and vile criminals. We are not saved by our good works.

The gospel that was preached in the New Testament was, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The message of repentance should be preached today as it was then. Without repentance, which means to change one's mind or to turn around, we can't be saved.

The parable here shows how Israel or any nation, who does the same things as Israel, rejected the word of God preached by those that were sent before Christ. It then shows how many rejected the very Son of God and even killed Him.

Why do we choose evil instead of good? Satan desires to destroy us. He knows that his end is final with no escape and he wants to take all of us with him. Jesus came to deliver us from such a fate yet the message is received with anger, hatred and scorn.

What preachers are rejected as lunatics in America by the press and the news media? It's always the ones that warn against sin. Whether that sin is abortion, sexual sins outside of God's divine order, adultery, fornication, pornography, or anything else that society rejects as sin, the preachers that warn against these things are hated.

If a preacher preaches love, peace, getting along and accepting everybody as they are without any repentance or change, then they will accept that kind of message. A feel good message with no condemnation or call to repentance is always preferred over the ones that call us to turn from our sins. A feel good message will not deliver from hell, heal the sick, deliver from alcohol, stop the murders, or change our lives. We may laugh for a while, we may get along with our neighbors temporarily and we may think everything is okay but it is a message that will not save the soul.

What happens in this parable to the ones who beat and killed the servants that were sent to them. They were removed from the vineyard and the vineyard was given to others. The Jewish nation at that time rejected the Messiah, the message of the gospel then went to the Gentiles. In the latter days the nation of Israel will regain their rightful place and will come to know their true Messiah, but as yet, the nation as a whole does not yet know who He is although many individual Jews have come to Jesus and recognized He is indeed the Messiah God sent to save them. 

Let us also fear because rejecting Jesus as the Messiah or Christ, can happen to America. We should take heed. Every different denomination and various preachers have preached the gospel here. We have had bibles published, sent to many stores and even given away by the Gideon Bible Company. We have had the outpouring of the Holy Spirit similar to the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. The United States has had it all.

Yet look at us. The United States has had prosperity more than any nation before us. Yet now we see rejection of the gospel of repentance, we see rejection of God in the public schools and substituted in it's place is the ridiculous teaching of chance, "The THEORY of evolution." I say ridiculous because that is just what it is. A ridiculous imagination of men who reject God so they had to think up some alternative reason for the existence of mankind. It is in every science and history book in the public school system, taught as a fact when in reality there is no proof of it's possibility.

They haven't come up with the explanation of why man is different from the animals. An animal cannot go to school and study math. An animal cannot run for president or teach a class. They cannot possibly accept the fact that man was made in an image different from the animals. Man was created in the image of God. That makes him different.

Mankind's rejection of the Son of God as Messiah and savior will not hinder His coming. He is the head of the corner and will bring judgment, set up His kingdom and reign forever.

• Mark 12:12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
• 13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
• 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
• 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
• 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
• 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him.

The words of Jesus made some angry and so it is today. Not all rejected. Some accepted his words until later when the Pharisees were able to stir up a mob against him. Even then it may have not been the majority of the Jews of that day. When mobs gather in the streets there are plenty that stay at home and have nothing to do with mob violence. So we have different kinds of people: Some who get angry and try to put to silence preachers of righteousness, some who receive the word and begin to preach themselves and then sadly some who sit on the sidelines and let the message of life pass by them with no reaction at all.

These Pharisees did not have enough influence over the people to just take Jesus and be done with it. They had to find occasion to accuse Him. They constantly followed Him around to find fault. This was done to gain enough evidence to throw out to the crowds and stir them up against the Lord of glory.

Jesus' answer to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things of God surprised the Pharisees. They were not expecting an answer like that one. This is why we have to pay our taxes. We can elect officials that will cut our taxes, vote to get rid of excess tax, and do all we can to protest if we do not want to pay too high of taxes, but until the law changes, we have to pay them. At least in the United States we can lobby against laws we disagree with but unless the law is in direct opposition to the higher law of God, we must obey the law of the United States.

• Mark 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
• 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
• 20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
• 21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
• 22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
• 23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
• 24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
• 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

The Pharisees did not succeed in getting the best of Jesus here so the Sadducees gave it a try. They really thought they could stump Jesus with this one. Asking whose wife shall a woman be in the Kingdom if she had each brother for a husband at one time.

We see here that in the coming Kingdom of God there will be no husband and wife situation. We will not be angels exactly but will be like them in the sense that we will not marry and live as man and wife. Yet there will be no loneliness. We will not lack anything and have no need of husband and wife relationships. Eye has not seen nor ear heard neither have we imagined the glory and splendor of the things God has prepared for them that LOVE HIM.

• Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
• 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

This is our joy and comfort. God is not a God of the dead but of the living. There is no soul sleep taught in the scriptures. Bodies are the only part of us that die a physical death. The soul and spirit does not die.

The second death is eternity in hell. We do not have to go there. Jesus made a way of escape. He is the only way of escape. We can have eternal life with Him through faith in Him. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive somewhere in the presence of God. They have not yet received new bodies for that will happen when the believers now present upon the earth will receive their new bodies.

At the resurrection will all receive new bodies that cannot ever die a physical death. Their souls are alive with God. They are waiting for the final redemption when we are all together with the Lord. This should really comfort us concerning those who have died in Christ. They are not dead. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. This promise is for believers in Christ Jesus only.

The souls that have sinned without repentance are in hell. If you are reading this message there is no reason for you to be lost. You can turn to Jesus today and be delivered from sin. Just ask Him for understanding, just ask Him for forgiveness, and if you are caught up in something you think is too big, ask Him for deliverance.

• Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
• 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
• 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
• 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
• 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
• 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
• 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

These verses are the key to the whole bible. In fact if you can keep these verses, you can keep the whole law and all the commandments. To love God with all the heart, soul, mind and spirit is a commandment. If we loved God, we would worship God. If we truly loved God with all our heart, we would not worship other gods or love anything more than we love our God. If we loved God with all of our hearts we would not want to sin against Him. If we loved God with all of our hearts, we would not serve sin nor be in any bondage of sin. Sin would grieve us. We would avoid it like the plague.

We cannot love God without being born again. We need his Spirit abiding within us in order to be able to keep these two great commandments. This does not mean that everyone who claims to have been born again or who claims to be filled with the Spirit keeps these commandments without fault. This should be our goal though to be able to love God more than anything else on the face of the earth, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the book of 1 John he speaks of the true sign of a child of God.

• 1 John 5:2 "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments."

If we do not respect God and His word nor love God's people, we cannot boast of loving God.

• "For this is the love of God, that keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:3.

Also it is impossible to say we love God and do not believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:12 says,

• "He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

A true mark of a child of God is to love one another. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another."

• 1 John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."

Hate does not belong in our lives.

Love does not mean we never rebuke, exhort, teach or correct. If we see our brother or sister in the Lord, fall into sin; then we should do all we can to see that one restored and brought back into fellowship with the Lord. To allow him or her to go on in their sin is to show hate toward them. To gloat over their sin and get on the phone to tell others is to hate them. Love prays, does not gossip but seeks restoration.

Love does not accept people in their sin but seeks that they might be free from sin. The saying that we should just accept everybody as they are and never correct is wrong.

Another example: If we see our children headed in the wrong direction we might hurt their feelings if we correct them, they might think we do not love them if we tell them they are making a mistake but we have to if we really love them. Would we yell at a toddler to keep him or her from touching a hot stove? We might hurt their feelings if we yell, so would we keep quiet knowing they might be harmed?

What is love? Love corrects, love keeps the child from the hot stove even if we have to raise our voice. Love leads children in the right direction, teaches them right from wrong. Love points out sin and warns against it. Love is not accepting everybody like they are. Man is born in sin, we cannot accept them as they are. Jesus didn't. Jesus loves us as we are but He does not accept us like we are. He says that we must be born again.

Love is not what the world calls love. Love is what God calls love. True love is pure, holy and without partiality. True love is the opposite of sin. It corrects sin, reproves, rebukes with long-suffering and patience.

Remember the same Jesus that healed the sick, loved the sinner and ministered to the hurting also warned against sin and taught repentance. The same Jesus that said, Neither do I condemn thee also said Go and sin no more.

Let's not just take only the part of the word that we like and leave out the other. The same Jesus that spoke of everlasting life also spoke of eternal judgment. The same Jesus that spoke of heaven also spoke of hell.

If we really love God, we will not want to sin against His word. If we really love our neighbor as ourselves, we will want them to have what we have, we will want them to inherit eternal life, we would not want to steal from them, to defraud them in business, to steal their husband or wife, to cheat them or to turn them away if they have a need we have the power to help.

• Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?
• 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
• 37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

These verses show clearly the relationship of the Father and the Son of God. Christ is the son of David by natural descent through Mary. Jesus is the Son of God in reality. He had no natural earthly father. He existed with God before his birth in Bethlehem. David spoke of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost. "The Lord said to my Lord." God said to Jesus, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. This will happen literally in the future. All enemies of Jesus will put down and Christ will rule over all the earth. This is not my word but the very word of God.

• Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
• 39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
• 40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Over and over again Jesus warns of outward religion without compassion, love and action. True religion is not just words and ritual but action. It is not just outward show and wearing religious garments. It is in deed and truth. We should also avoid desiring the praise of men. That can be a snare and cause us to be lifted up in pride.

• Mark 12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
• 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
• 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
• 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

True giving is giving with the heart and not just to be seen of men. DC