By: Dale Weckbacher
Psalm 118:22-23
The stone that the
builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[a]
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
has become the cornerstone.[a]
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
(ESV)
As I begin this post, I have both
good news, and bad news, Christmas is a week away. For some this news brings anxiety from the
thought of having so much to do and so little time left to do it. For others, the news brings joy at the
thought of time with friends and family and the opportunity to give and receive
gifts even though there seems to be so little time and so much to do. The difference in how we receive the news
that Christmas is a week away lies in what we focus on. I want to invite those reading this post to
hit the pause button for a moment and focus on the mystery of a baby king born
on the first Christmas who would as the lamb of God die for the sins of
humanity and rise from the dead in the conquest of death.
The text of Mark
12:1-12 is one last parable offered by Jesus prior to his death for our
sins. Jesus shares the parable of the
tenants with a crowd of people which includes religious leaders, perhaps some
of the same religious leaders that questioned His authority (Mark
11:27-33). In this encounter, Jesus
uses the illustration of a vineyard owner who hires tenants to tend to His
vineyard while He is away. As priests
and scribes, the religious leaders of the time of Christ were the tenants or
caretakers of the things of God in the Temple.
However, beginning with Aaron and the golden calf, those entrusted with tending
to the things of God in Israel had demonstrated rebellion (Exodus
32). This rebellious streak in the
nation of Israel continued until there was no remedy with the nation going into
exile (2
Chronicles 36:16-21).
Unfortunately, following in this
tradition of rebellion, the priests of Jesus’ time are about to follow in the
footsteps of their ancestors, this time killing the Son of God. This is the theme behind the parable of the
tenants and represents one last extension of grace to the priests, giving them
an opportunity to repent of their intentions to capture and kill Jesus, but
their response is an even greater resolve to arrest Jesus. Once again, preservation of their position
and fame as priests has clouded their eyes from seeing that Jesus is the
Messiah and about to offer himself up as a sacrifice for their sins.
We must learn from the rebellion
of the priests and not reject the message of the Gospel coming from the Word of
God but seek to understand and obey it with the help of the Holy Spirit. This can be difficult for us for the message does
not usually come with great fanfare but from an unlikely source, a baby king
born in a manger in Bethlehem. This is
the mystery of the Gospel; God came to fallen humanity as a little baby born to
a humble family and not as royalty with great fanfare. This little baby grew up and performed good
works and miracles seen by many that threatened those in high religious and
government authority. However, the baby
Jesus had the final word for He did not stay in the grave after his crucifixion
but rose from the dead, conquering death.
I urge those reading this to take
a pause from the busyness of the Christmas season and stop to unwrap the gift
of redemption offered by Jesus. We are
all in rebellion against God for all of us have sinned (Romans
3:23). This sin present in the lives
of all individuals has serious consequences, death (Romans
6:23). However, God is gracious,
providing the gift of salvation not based upon what we have done but based on
the work of Jesus, who came to us on Christmas as a baby king (Ephesians
2:8). To unwrap this gift requires
confessing that Jesus died and rose again to forgive your sins and redeem you from
the death penalty, giving you eternal life (John
3:16; Romans 10:9-10). Please pause
to pray with me and open this gift from God,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Thank you for unwrapping the
greatest gift anyone can receive, eternal life through a restored relationship
with God your creator. I invite you to
attend the Christmas service at a church teaching from the Bible close by where
you live and let one of the pastors know about your decision. They can pray with you and direct you on how
to study the Bible and learn more about God.
Merry Christmas everyone.
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