March 29, 2024
Read Numbers 18, Psalm 88, Mark 12
What’s your most prized possession that you own? Would it be something expensive and special? Would it be something extremely ordinary but hold a significant meaning to you? Maybe it’s a new car, a valuable piece of jewelry, or a Bible or book that was given to you by someone special. Whatever you are thinking about, now imagine giving that up and giving it to someone else. Not only for them to borrow but for them to mistreat, abuse, or even destroy it. Would you still want to loan it to them? Probably not, but that is what God did when He sent his Son to come to earth, to suffer and die on the cross for our sins. The people rejected Jesus, they took him and murdered him, and they tried to take what was His.
In Mark 12 Jesus tells the parable of the tenants. “He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey” v. 1. The owner of the vineyard sent some servants to the vineyard to collect some of the fruit, but the tenants killed the servants that the owner sent. These tenants represented the religious leaders of Jesus day, and the servants were the prophets from the Old Testament. Last of all the owner sends his own son. The owner remarks, “They will respect my son” v. 6. The comparison of the son is with that of Jesus. In this parable Jesus is showing that He knew what they would ultimately do to him, they would crucify Jesus as God’s Son. The final verse tells the interpretation, “Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them” v. 12.
What else do you see in these chapters? What stories, verses or elements stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.
DId God Really Say... 