Mark 12:6-10
Mark 12:6 (KJB)
Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them,
saying, They will reverence my son.
The parable continues to describe the long term relationship between Israel and
God the Father. If the husbandmen had treated the servants so bad, normally
there would not have been a son sent to them but the owner would have all the
husbandmen arrested and brought up on charges. However, we are looking at the
patience that God had with Israel and instead of destroying them, in the
fullness of time He sent forth His Son to that vineyard. God the Father knew
what was in store for His Son when He sent Him but for continuity, Jesus is
telling the parable as a father who sends his son to see what is going on at the
vineyard. He was counting on the husbandmen to at least reverence or respect his
son.
Mark 12:7 (KJB)
But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill
him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
The husbandmen probably thought their little scheme was working and that the
owner of the vineyard had died and maybe that is why there was no retribution
for their actions. Then they see the son approaching and figuring that the owner
had died, they thought that the son was coming to claim the vineyard as his
inheritance. If they could kill him, then there would be no one to claim the
vineyard and then they could do it through schemes and manipulation. They
thought if they could kill him, then the vineyard was theirs. Here in this
parable Jesus is foretelling His own death at the hands of the false religious
leaders in league with the Romans. (John 11:50 KJV) Nor consider that it is
expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
nation perish not. Once they got rid of Jesus, they thought that their
problems were over and they could once again run the country through their evil
manipulations.
Mark 12:8 (KJB)
And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
It seemed that the husbandmen had finally gotten their way because when the son
came into the vineyard, they seized him and slew him outside of the vineyard. If
they had slain him inside the vineyard, then the soil would be defiled and
nothing would be allowed to be grown there. This is the perfect parable as it
describes perfectly the attitude that Jesus faced. The religious leaders wanted
to hold on to their lucrative positions and wanted nothing to interfere with
that and did not care if that included murder in their plans. They hated Jesus
because He exposed their hearts as well as their actions and if they could kill
Him, then their problems would be solved, so they thought.
Mark 12:9 (KJB)
What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the
husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
Then Jesus finishes the parable by asking a very rhetorical question. Since the
owner of the vineyard was not dead, when he finally shows up at his vineyard,
what do you think that he will do to those who tried to steal his vineyard and
those who killed his son? This parable is definitely related to Isaiah 5 where
God speaks about Israel being that rebellious vineyard. Then the religious
leaders gave the obvious answers that those who had killed the servants and the
son were definitely wicked and the owner will destroy them. In addition, those
men will be replaced by other husbandmen who will be honest and will be truthful
in dealing with the owner and who will bring forth the required fruit when it is
the correct season. The religious leaders in Israel are the ones in view here as
they wanted all the fruit for themselves, which included the wealth. They had
rejected God’s way of doing things and created their own methods. Very soon, God
would take away their place and give it to the people who are going to bear
spiritual fruit. These religious leaders cared nothing about the spiritual well
being of the people but only cared about their position and status. This will
also be the same for those false pastors in the churches who have made
merchandise of God’s people and for those who taught false gospels trying to
make for themselves a following. (2 Th 1:8-9 KJV) In flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ: {9} Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; God will take
eternal vengeance on those who have taught falsely or acted falsely in His name.
Mark 12:10 (KJB)
And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is
become the head of the corner:
(Psa 118:22-23 KJV) The stone which the builders refused is become the head
stone of the corner. {23} This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our
eyes. Then Jesus quotes two passages from the 118th Psalm to explain
further to them that they were the ones doing the rejecting. The word “rejected”
in the above verse carries with it the meaning of “something which is carefully
evaluated and placed under scrutiny,” and by this rejection the word also
carries with it the meaning of “declared useless.” In Jeremiah 6:30, God states
that because of the rebellion of Judah, He has called them reprobate silver and
has rejected them. (Jer 6:30 KJV) Reprobate silver shall men call them,
because the LORD hath rejected them. They had thought themselves to be
silver of the highest grade because they had Abraham and the Scriptures. The
problem is that their rebellion caused them to be the dross on the silver and
not the silver. The very stone which the builders had rejected because of their
hatred, was the very cornerstone which held all the joints and couplings of the
whole building. In other words, without this head cornerstone, the building
would crumble. The Lord Jesus was the founder of Israel and He is the head
cornerstone. The builders were those who were the religious leaders in Israel and they
rejected the very stone which held the nation together for all those years since
the times of the twelve patriarchs. He guided them, protected them, brought them
out of slavery, gave them a homeland and was now coming to them to personally
fulfill prophecy, but He was rejected, the very one who brought Israel through
every time of tribulation and trial in her history.