The Tenant Farmer Rebellion

Big Plot Twists

I absolutely love movies with a huge plot twist at the end. You know the ones I’m talking about. That climactic moment in the final moments when something totally unexpected happens to take your breath away and leave your jaw on the floor.

You know the ones I’m talking about. The Sixth Sense. The Usual Suspects. Planet of the Apes. Hey, don’t blame me for ruining these for you. You’ve only had decades to watch them.

They Never Saw It Coming

Here in chapter 12 of Mark’s story of Jesus, we get one of those never-saw-it-coming stories (Mk 12:1-12). And best of all, Christ is the one telling it. 

Call it the Tenant Farmer Rebellion. It’s a bloody saga of betrayal, greed, and murder. This one would make Keith Morrison and the Dateline crew curl up in a ball.

And SPOILER ALERT! The craziest thing about this one is that the folks to whom He’s telling the tale are actually the surprise bad guys. Let’s just say they never saw this one coming!!

Tuesday of Passion Week

First a little context. It helps to zoom out a bit to know how this all fits into the life of Jesus. 

It’s Tuesday. More specifically, Tuesday of Passion Week. The last Tuesday of Christ’s life. In just three days, He’ll be hanging on a Roman cross at Skull Hill.

Sunday and Monday

The past couple of days have been chockfull of significance. There was the hero’s welcome into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Mk 11:1-11). And why not? Messiah has finally come to town!

On Monday, the Lord becomes a one-man wrecking crew in the temple courts, turning over tables and chasing away the money-changers (Mk 11:15-17). His house is for prayer, not profit.

Flipping the Script

Just before story time on Tuesday, Jewish religious authorities get up in the Son of God’s grill, wanting to know where He gets off saying and doing all this stuff (Mk 11:27-28). 

But our Savior not only won’t answer but skillfully flips the script on these bullies by manipulating their own obsession with public opinion against them (Mk 11:29-33). The God Man is good. VERY good!

Crystal Clear Credentials

Check out what happens next. While Christ has just refused to give them a straight answer about where He gets His authority, He follows that up with an allegory that doesn’t just make His credentials crystal clear but reveal their own hypocrisy and greed.

The Lord does so by telling these thugs from the Hebrew home office a little yarn. “Then Jesus began teaching them with stories” (v1).  

Jesus’ Go-To Teaching Tool

The original Greek version in Mark’s Gospel uses the word “parable” (Gr. παραβολη/parabole) here. It’s basically a short illustration someone uses about one thing to symbolically explain another.

It’s Jesus’ go-to teaching tool. Depending on how you count them, He tells more than thirty of them.

Once upon a Time…

At first glance, they seem to be cute little stories. But don’t let their simplicity fool you. The Lord likes to use the garden variety stuff of life to dive deeply into the complex issues of the heart. 

And that’s exactly what Jesus does here when spins this little ditty to the top priests, teachers, and elders from the Hebrew home office. Once upon a time…

A Wealthy Developer 

The Son of God begins the story by describing how a wealthy developer builds a substantial wine-making operation. He’s not just growing a few grapes in the backyard. Check it out.

“A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower” (v1). 

We’re talking lots of vines, a perimeter fence, a winery, and a tall turret where you could not only watch the vineyard but could spot trouble coming from a long way off.

An Economic Backbone

Unless you live in a place like Napa, this is unfamiliar to you. Well, not to someone living in Israel in the First Century. Large vineyards are everywhere. They’re the backbone of the local economy.

According to Hans Bayer’s notes in the ESV Study Bible, archeologists have discovered mansions and estates from the time of Jesus that fit this description. Once again, Christ uses the stuff they see everyday as ways to make His point.

A Grape-Flavored Symbol

But it goes WAY deeper than that. Throughout the OT, God uses the vineyard as a grape-flavored symbol of God’s chosen people (Ps 80:8-8-16; Is 5:1-7; Jer 2:21).

As a matter of fact, the Lord is checking all the boxes from Isaiah. “My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. He plowed the land, cleared the stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks” (Is 5:1-7).

And his audience of religious bigwigs would have recognized the Isaiah passage from Jump Street. In this story, God is the developer of the vineyard. 

Hiring a Team

Jesus continues, “Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country” (v1). So the developer hires his team to run the place for him while he’s working on one of his other international businesses. 

They’re employees of the big boss. Back in the day, it’s not unusual for the crew to get a cut of the harvest in return for their work for the owner. Think of it as working on commission.

Identifying with the Wrong Characters

According to David Garland in the NIV Application Commentary of Mark, these members of the Great Sanhedrin are all wealthy landowners and probably identify themselves as the rich developer in the story. 

Some Bible big shots believe these Jewish leaders see their current Roman occupation as the temporary tenant farmers. Boy, are they gonna be surprised!

To Catch a Predator

I’m absolutely convinced Jesus is drawing them into this ambush disguised as a parable. The Lord perfected this technique a couple of thousand years before Chris Hansen started catching predators.

Remember the time Nathan uses a cute little fable about a lamb and a selfish man to trap David about the whole sleep-with-Bathsheba-and-kill-her-husband scandal (2Sam 12:1-15). Same kinda deal here.

Fruit Picking Season

We pick up the story when fruit picking season. “At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop” (v2). 

After his big initial investment, the owner can finally get some return. And notice how the boss isn’t taking the entire harvest for himself. Only “his share” (v2). He plans on splitting a portion with his workforce.

Servants on Divine Assignment

The servants in this particular story are actually God’s prophets. Familiar dudes like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos just to name a few. God often refers to His prophets as servants in the OT (Jer 35:15; Amos 3:7-8).

The good news is that they’re on divine assignment. The bad news is that too many times the people hit the mute button on what the prophets have to say and God wants us to do. Don’t get cocky. We’re still doing it today.

Stubborn and Sinful

Ignoring God and doing what we want never ends well. We see it over and over and over throughout the story of Scripture. Check out what Yahweh says through the servant/prophet Jeremiah.

“From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send My servants, the prophets—day in and day out. But My people have not listened to Me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors” (Jer 7:25-26).

Limping Back Home

That being the case, we shouldn’t be shocked at what happens next in Jesus’ parable. “But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed” (v3).

The vineyard crew jumps the first servant and roughs him up. Instead of taking home the first season of profits, he limps back to the boss with nothing but a bloody nose and a couple of black eyes.

It’s NOT Ours!

It’s like a two-year-old child yelling at his parents, “Mine!!” I hate to break this to you, kid, but you don’t own dad-blamed thing. Everything you have is a gracious gift from mom and dad. 

Our problem is that we’re often greedy and selfish with what God has given us to take care of for Him. SPOILER ALERT! It’s NOT ours! None of it. It’s His! It’s ALL His!! Every last bit of it.

Worse than the First

Well things only gets worse for the other servants sent from headquarters. Apparently after they kick the stuffing out of the first guy, there’s no going back. 

“The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head” (v4). The second dude next gets it even worse than the first. He’s sent packing with a head wound. 

Running out of People on the Payroll

The brutality escalates with each successive servant. “The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed” (v5).

The boss’ reps either came home with life threatening injuries or they didn’t come home at all. Eventually the owner runs out of people on the payroll to make the trip.

This pretty much parallels how God’s people repeatedly treat God’s prophets. Punched in the face (1Ki 22:24). Stoned to death (2Chr 24:20-21). Mocked and scoffed (2Chr 36:15-16). Murdered (Neh 9:26). Hacked with swords (Jer 2:30). 

Sending His Son

At this point in the story, Christ says the owner pulls out the big gun. “Until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son’” (v6). 

It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see that Jesus is talking about Jesus. As hard as it is to believe, the religious elite fail to figure this out.

The Father’s Deep Love

Now you might think the owner in the story doesn’t come off looking to good. But don’t make the mistake that he’s either oblivious to what’s going on or thinks his servants are expendable. 

David Garland says that’s not the case at all. He believes Jesus wants us to see the Father’s deep love and passion to restore us into a relationship with Him.

God’s Relentless Pursuit

The parable is a beautiful picture of God’s relentless pursuit of us, no matter how many times we give Him the spiritual stiff arm. 

Our Heavenly Dad refuses to give up on us. He repeatedly sends His messengers into our lives to let us know He loves us and is waiting for us to come back. 

The Hound of Heaven

Trust me, I know. I spent twenty years ignoring the people He consistently placed in my life. But He never gave up. He consistently pursued me. 

Francis Thompson wrote about poem about God’s relentless pursuit of those of us who try and run away from Him. He appropriately calls it “The Hound of Heaven.” You can be sure that no one has ever escaped.

“Here Comes the Heir”

Jesus continues the story and describes how the workers see the son coming. “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. 

Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’” (v7).

In case you’re still not sure of the identity of the son in the story, the writer of Hebrews connects those dots for us one more time. “God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance” (Heb 1:2). Yup, Jesus is “the heir to this estate” (v7).

Greed Gets the Best of Them

Their greed has gotten the best of them. They’ll do everything possible to keep it all for themselves. Not just their share of the harvest. They plan to steal the entire vineyard by force. The Tenant Farmer Rebellion is about to erupt into all out war.

This isn’t a case of mistaken identity. The rebel farmers know EXACTLY what they’re doing! They actually realize who the heir is and what they need to do. They’re totally culpable!

Murdering the Boss’ Boy

This is where the Lord’s story hits rock bottom. “So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard” (v8). 

The tenant farmers actually go through with their planned assassination of the boss’ boy. When he arrives, they jump him. They kill him. They dispose of his corpse.

Don’t miss where they dump the son’s body. “Out of the vineyard” (v8). Jesus is dropping a little Easter egg. His murder and burial will happen outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

The Coup Is Complete

With the heir out of the picture, the coup is complete. The victory is theirs. The vineyard is theirs. Now they own the joint. Or so they think.

Tim Keller says this is the very definition of sin. It’s when we arrogantly put ourselves in the place of God and take what’s not ours. Salvation, on the other hand, is when God puts Himself in our place and gives us what we don’t deserve.

Kicking Christ to the Curb

Garland points out that the human race has a long history of getting cocky, trying to seize control of everything, and pushing God out of the picture. 

Do we really think we can kick Christ to the curb and not face any consequences? Too often we sure act like it.

Jesus Sets the Trap

In the story, the tenant farmers ambush and murder the owner’s son. Little do the religious leaders in His audience realize that Jesus is about to ambush them. 

Just to make sure they’re tracking with Him, the Lord asks them a question. “What do you supposed the owner of the vineyard will do?” (v9).

Blindsided by Pride

In Matt’s version of the same story, a member of the Sanhedrin actually answer the question. Can’t you just picture some eager beaver sticking his holier-than-thou hand in the air, excited to give the answer? 

“He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest” (Mt 21:41). 

Clearly they still don’t have a clue that THEY are the rebel farmers in the story. Their pride has blinded them. It does the same to you and me.

Dropping the Hammer

Jesus ends the story this way. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others” (v9). Not exactly your standard “and they all lived happily ever after” ending.

The owner won’t just fire and evict the rebel farmers. He’ll drop the hammer on them for their unsuccessful uprising. He’ll then find new tenants who will do what He wants.

A Huge Transition

Most folks who are WAY smarter than me believe the Lord is talking about the huge transition that’s right around the corner. 

After working through the Hebrew people for thousands of years, He will soon begin blessing the world through His church.

God’s Chosen People…STILL!

Let’s be VERY clear. God is NOT turning His back on His chosen people. He still loves them more than we could ever imagine. 

The apostle formerly known as Saul says we should never make the mistake of thinking the Lord given up on His chosen people (Rom 11:1)!

In His parable, Jesus predicts how Gentiles will soon play a key role in His plan. 

That guy Paul describes over and over how God is carefully grafting non-Jews into Jewish family tree (Rom 11:17-27; Eph 2:11-19; 3:6).

From Parable to Prophecy

At this point, Jesus makes a hairpin turn, from parable to prophecy! “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?” (v10). The story time is over. Time for a little Bible study.

Christ’s question is a not-so-subtle dig at these religious hot shots. Read this in Scripture? Come on, man! Of course they did! They’re experts in God’s Word!

A Famous Worship Song

The Son of God quotes the lyrics of Psalm 118, one of the most famous worship songs of all-time. “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see” (v10-11).

These verses from Psalm 118:22-23 talk about how the contractors in charge of construction make a horrible decision by giving the thumbs down to the very piece that is critical to the project.

A Psalm about Messiah

You might be scratching your head and wondering what does the story of greedy sharecroppers have to do with building a foundation for a building. 

But not these guys. As some of the top experts on the Hebrew Scriptures, there’s no question they would immediately know this psalm is all about ALL about the coming Messiah. 

Connecting the Dots

Just in case they’re not connecting the dots, Christ does it for them. Both the rejected son in the story and the rejected stone in the psalm are symbols of our Savior.

To paraphrase Carly Simon, the Lord wants the religious leaders to realize, “You’re are so blind, you don’t realize this parable is about YOU!”

It’s a Trap!

In the words of the great philosopher and theologian Admiral Ackbar, “It’s a trap!” You’re actually the bad guys He’s describing! He subtly sucks these guys in and turns the table on them.

So what does Jesus’ ambush of these power hungry religious leaders have to do with us? Each time we read God’s Word, it’s important to put ourselves into the story.

Who Are You?

Which character are we most like? Well, we’re certainly NOT God. If we cast ourselves in the role of the sinless, Sovereign Ruler of the universe, we’ve got a VERY big problem. 

Too many times, we see ourselves as one of the other good guys in the story. Admit it. We ALL do it. That’s the mistake the priests, elders, and scribes make here. 

Look for the Least Likely

When we read Scripture, look for the least likely person in the passage. The bad guy. The weakest link. The power hungry. The goof ball. The weirdo. The clueless.

Why? Because without Jesus, that’s who we are. It all started with our first parents who shook their fist at our Creator (Gen 3:1-7). We’ve been rebels against Him ever since (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21).

Connecting the Parable and the Parade

Here’s another very cool thing I noticed for the first time when digging into this passage. There’s a powerful connection between our Savior citing from Psalms here on Tuesday and His Palm Sunday parade.

Remember when the people went wild at Jesus arrival at Jerusalem just a couple of days ago?  Of course you do. They sang lines from this very same song! “Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Mk 11:9; Ps 118:26).

Riding on the back of a borrowed burro, Christ doesn’t politely decline their worship. He accepts it. As a matter of fact, He says if He tries to stop them “the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” (Lk 19:40).

“I’m Messiah”

Jesus’ doubles down on Psalm 118 here with the Jewish leaders. The psalm so nice He quotes it twice. 

This is the radical Rabbi/Carpenter’s way of saying, “It’s Me. I’m Messiah. I’m the One God has been promising to send from the very beginning. Don’t make the mistake and miss that I’m the one and only Son of God.”

The Light Bulb Comes on

It’s at this point in the passage that the light bulb comes on for the Lord’s audience. And they absolutely hit the roof!

“The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left Him and went away” (v12).

Hey! Wait a minute!! He’s talking about US! 

Murder on Their Minds

The crazy thing is that realize Christ is accusing them of being the rebellious tenant farmers but refuse to admit it. They’re WAY more worried about how bad they look. Image management is top priority. 

They beat feet and leave. Oh, they’ll be back. You can bet the ranch on that. We already know they’ve put a hit on this troublemaker from Galilee (Mk 11:18). They’ve clearly got murder on their minds.

How Do We React?

One more time, I love David Garland’s perspective on the passage. Many times Jesus’ stories have one of two impacts on His audience. It either opens their eyes for deeper spiritual understanding or it slams the door of disbelief.

There’s an old Puritan proverb that says the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. Here’s an example where the clay gets rock hard very quickly. So how do you and I react when we read these stories? Asking for a friend.

Just Wait until Sunday

Jesus shocks the Hebrew head honchos with the big twist at the end of His story. In a few days it will happen again. His enemies will think they’ve won when they kill Him on the cross and stick His corpse in a cave.

If you think this story has a shocking conclusion, just you wait until Sunday. This one is far from over. They never saw it coming.

A New Ending to Your Story

In the same way, Christ can write a surprising new ending to your story too. Put your trust in Him and just watch the world to be stunned at how it turns out.

Trust me. They never saw it coming.

©2020

Jay Jennings