GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: JEOPARDY
Mark 12:1-12
Sermon Objective: As the last week of Christ’s life gains momentum he reminds us that His impending death will conquer the enemy and rescued us from eternal Jeopardy.
Special Note: For this sermon I used a singer who played/sang “I will Sing the Wondrous Story” from the piano throughout the sermon. At the conclusion the congregation sung the song as a response.
SERIES INTRO:
This is the first sermon in a series called “Games People Play.” It comes from the division of Mark’s Gospel which begins in 11:27 and goes onward.
Jesus and his opposition are sitting in the temple’s outer courts where rabbis teach and debate great ideas. They are asking Jesus questions which will hopefully give them an opportunity to trap Him with his own words. They are looking for reason / evidence to judge him. Jesus knows this and He seizes the opportunity to show them they are all ready under judgment.
The Religious leaders are not interested in the truth they only cared about serving their own interests. Thus, they exposed themselves as being opposed to God’s authority.
What we have in chapter 12 are head games … questions and answers, point and counter point, mind games and manipulations, attempts to trap, and attempts to expose.
Today we will look at Mark 12:1-12; “Jeopardy.”
11: 27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28"By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"
12:1He 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. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6"He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ’They will respect my son.’
7"But the tenants said to one another, ’This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this scripture:" ’The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone 11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
12Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
I Will Sing the Wondrous Story (Verses 1 & 2)
SERMON INTRO
Questions are precarious things. They can tell us as much about the one making the inquiry as the answer can about the subject involved.
The first question asked in Scripture was from Satan in Genesis 3. That question exposed the serpent’s heart more than it sought truth. In fact, Satan was not seeking truth and neither are his cohorts here in chapter 12. You see, Jesus’ questioners also have their hearts laid bare by their questions. They show us that not everyone acknowledged that the reign of God had come in Christ; some vehemently denied it and even opposed it.
Jesus segues from their first question of 11:27 into this story in chapter 12. He is actually still answering that query. He is telling them by what authority he does the things he does.
Questions are a precarious thing.
Have you ever watched the television game show “Jeopardy”? My summation of Jeopardy is that the show gives you an answer and you have to give the proper question for the answer. The question becomes the answer. In a real sense that is exactly the case here … the question becomes the answer.
I thought that in Jeopardy-style this morning I would give you the answer to three questions. They are designed to get to the heart of Jesus’ parable in today’s passage.
Are you ready? Let’s play Jeopardy!
ANSWER #1:
IT IS APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT (HEBREWS 9:27)
Humanity has avoided this truth (Divine judgment) since history began. Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves form it. The thought of being accountable and of standing before a Sovereign Judge who will rule from a standard of righteousness and equity is sobering.
We try many ploys to keep from facing this hard truth and accountability. We create human religions to downplay it. We listen to philosophers who discredit it. It isn’t popular for obvious reasons. But deep within your heart you know there is a day of reckoning coming … I think that is part of your divinely imparted alert system.
Avoidance does not make the reality go away. The day is coming. But God in His mercy warns us and pleads with us to turn to Him. Blessed is the human being who comes face-to-face with the reality and responds appropriately.
IT IS APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT (Hebrews 9:27) is the correct answer to Question #1.
Which is …
QUESTION #1:
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN ACCOUNTABILITY?
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I Will Sing the Wondrous Story (Verses 3)
ANSWER #2:
GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF NOT COUNTING MEN’S SINS AGAINST THEM (2 CORINTHIANS 5:19)
Appearances are deceiving. Just as the land owners thought they had killed the King’s son so, also Jesus opposition thought they could. In fact, in ironic fashion, they begin to put the plan into motion at the very end of this parable (c.f. 12:12).
But God is determined to rescue humankind. God is passionate about His love for us and will go to great lengths to make your salvation a possibility.
Neither is there salvation in any other: there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF NOT COUNTING MEN’S SINS AGAINST THEM (2 Corinthians 5:19) is the correct answer to Question #2.
This answer is one of the greatest truths in the Bible. My heart leaps with joy when I read this verse. God does not want the day of judgment to find you condemned. God wants to pardon you and remove the curse of rebellion. What a wonderful answer to question #2.
Which is …
QUESTION #2:
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT JESUS CHRIST?
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I Will Sing the Wondrous Story (Verses 4 & 5)
ANSWER #3:
THE LORD …IS LONGSUFFERING TO US-WARD, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE (2 PETER 3:9)
How many people would you have sent to murdering defiant tenants? When would you have “dropped the hammer”? The parables owner (God) made not one, not two – but many attempts at reconciliation.
The love of God is astounding to me! The mercy of God is beyond my ability to fathom. God shows us His heart in this passage. God shows us the true self … He loves you and will go to great lengths to spare you from an eternity apart from Him.
He wants a relationship with you and offers you a clear and doable path to salvation … repentance.
Turn from your self and embrace Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Come to Him for mercy and new life.
Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
THE LORD …IS LONGSUFFERING TO US-WARD, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE (2 PETER 3:9) is the correct answer to Question #3.
Which is …
QUESTION #3:
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT GOD?
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WRAP-UP
† ANSWER #1: It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27)
† QUESTION #1: WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN ACCOUNTABILITY?
† ANSWER #2: God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting men’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)
† QUESTION #2: WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT JESUS CHRIST?
† ANSWER #3: The Lord …is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)
† QUESTION #3: WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH US ABOUT GOD?
Congregation sings I Will Sing the Wondrous Story
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
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CHILDREN’S SERMON
GOD SEES THE HEART!
Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 16:7
Sermon prop: a Melon or Cantaloupe
Hi everyone! It is good to see you today. Hey I have something in my treasure box today that I picked up at the market this week.
Do you know what this is? It’s a cantaloupe. How many of you like cantaloupe? I like it too. I especially like fresh cantaloupe. About once a year Mrs. Vickie and I go to Southern California while we are there we get to enjoy fresh cantaloupe and other fruit that is grown right there in the area.
They pick it … we eat it!
However, every once in a while you can cut into a cantaloupe and it is either not ripe; either way it over ripe and tastes bad. But for a lot of us we do not know how to tell if one is ready to eat … you see you cannot tell by looking at the outside … you have to find a way to check the inside.
Did you know the same is true about people? Sometimes we cannot tell by looking at a person whether or not they love Jesus. In fact, sometimes, everything that we see says do are but their heart is still dirty with sin and has not been forgiven.
At other times we might look at a person and think, “That person looks mean” or “That person does not look like someone who is following Jesus.” I have a friend, for example, named Marty. Marty is what some people call a “Biker.” Marty has a lot of tattoos and some pierces in his ears and he rides a big loud bike and he wears a lot of leather all the time. Marty looks scarey but you know what … Marty is NOT mean and scarey. Marty loves Jesus and he is always telling other bikers about God’s love.
We look at the outside of people and make judgments that are wrong. God never looks at the outside. God looks at the inside … just like we would this cantaloupe.
The Bible says: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
When God looks at you he looks at your heart. He can tell by looking there whether or not you love Him and whether or not you have asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins.
We must make sure that we are honest with ourselves and with God … because he already knows the truth about us.
Let’s pray and thank God for looking at us correctly rather than judging us like other people do sometimes.
This Children’s Sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
