As we turn in Mark's gospel toward the last week of Jesus' life, we discover His last parable in Mark 12. And true to the pattern in recent chapters, Jesus uses this teachable moment to emphasize the necessity of the Cross and challenge the wickedness of the spiritual leaders of His day. In this story, an absentee landlord sends servants to collect fruit of his vineyard that has been leased out to local farmers. The vinedressers (farmers) don't want to send any interest or payment of the crop to the legitimate owner of the land. As a result, a dispute breaks out that leads the murder of the owner's son and eventually the assumed wrath of the owner on the tenants. All of this is symbolic of how God's people (specifically the religious leaders) have rejected God and His Son, Jesus, failing to produce the fruit of either repentance or obedience. There is a challenge here to the church too. We have no room for pride and rejection. Jesus is the last and only messenger before the wrath of God comes! Message preached on Sunday, March 19, 2023 as part ten in the #MarkSeries at ParkerDC.
