Tenants, Taxes, and Eternity
Mark 12:1-27
- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”
- Jesus’ teachings, while difficult for some to deal with, are always timely
-- God always allows us to hear from Him at just the right time
- Tonight I’d like to give you three different stories, all parables of teaching
-- Each of them is teaching us different facets of living fully for Christ
- Whether we are talking about tenants, taxes, or eternity one thing is constant
-- IMP: The way we live reflects on the Master that we serve
-- If we are living fully for Christ, our life will speak clearly of this fact
- Read Mark 12:1-12
∆ Point 1 – Parable of Tenants (1-12)
- Jesus’ teaching in parables is a method for conveying the things of God
-- Mark 4:12, “He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
-- APP: Some people are just not going to get it …
-- Those are the ones who’ve decided to not hear, accept, and produce
- What is unique about this parable is that Jesus is speaking to get the truth
-- APP: The man represents God Himself; and the vineyard represents Israel
- The man went through great detail to protect what he had built (v2-5)
-- Dug a pit (for where the wine would be processed)
-- Put a wall up (keep animals out)
- Added a watch tower (protect from thieves)
-- Often these would be built and rented out to others to maintain
-- They’d stay in the watch tower and offer protection to the land
-- The tenant farmers would be those given to watch over Israel (religious leaders)
- The servants sent to gather fruit represent the prophets of God
-- They were sent repeatedly to draw others to God and away from unholiness
- As each servant is sent, the treatment of them becomes worse and worse
-- First is beaten and sent him away with nothing to show for his efforts
-- Second is hit on head and treated shamefully (mocked and ridiculed)
-- Third is beaten, mocked, and finally killed
- In v6 something unique here, the man sends the son that he loves
-- Ref to Mark 1:11, “And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
-- APP: Only the foolish would not respect the son as he represents the father
- (v7) What the thieves are thinking is this: Without an heir, his land can be ours
-- APP: If we remove the son, eventually Dad will die and this is ours
- (v8) The son is beaten, killed, and then disgraced by not even having a burial
-- Jesus too was shamed, stripped naked, and mocked in disgrace as He died
- In v9 Jesus then challenges those hearing with a statement to elicit truth
-- APP: How can we be mad when the owner passes judgment on them?
- Jesus uses scripture to again confirm to them what they should know (v10-11)
-- The Pharisees and Scribes knew this piece of scripture intimately
-- Psalm 118:22, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
-- Jesus quoted this very thing upon His entry into Jerusalem
-- It is a revelation of what God is doing in Christ, because we’ve rejected God
- Then, in v12 what is said enrages the Sanhedrin for one reason:
-- APP: They knew that Jesus claimed divinity for Himself
-- He has prophesized destruction, of the temple (which is Himself)
- He also says that God’s blessings would come upon the (hated) Gentiles
-- In that, Jesus manages to slip away into the crowd before being seized
-- APP: Why is this important? B/C it was not time for Him to be arrested
- TRANS: In this story we see that Jesus has revealed where they are in sin
-- Let’s continue on and talk about a favorite topic of ours … taxes!
- Read Mark 12:13-17
∆ Point 2 – Paying Taxes (13-17)
- This story is often misunderstood … but is actually very cut and dry
- The Pharisees have come to Him to try to trap Him, again (v13)
-- They are once again attempting to get Him to say something false
-- This would be their evidence against Him and give them power to arrest
- The Herodian’s were loyal to Herod, and often did his dirty work
-- They’d make any decision to benefit Herod and give them credibility
- So, in v14 they are attempting to sway Jesus with kind words and flattery
-- However, their intention was to butter Him up and then rebuke Him
- The tax at this time was one day’s wages per year: one denarius
-- It is not an excessive amount, and was instituted in approx. 6 AD
-- The tax however represented control that Rome now had over these people
-- Not only that, they paid it with the Emperor’s face on it (further insult)
- So Jesus knew their reason for asking (v15) and called them on it
-- For Jesus to say that “don’t pay” would be treason and they could arrest Him
-- So, they thought they’d come up with the ultimate no-win situation
- So Jesus takes the coin (v16) and asks them whose image is on it
-- When they answer with such pride and joy, Jesus responds to them in kind
-- APP: With their response, they’ve actually answered their own question!
- Jesus proclaimed if they have obligation with the state, then pay what is owed
-- But they also have an obligation to God as well (see Romans 13:1-7)
-- Because Caesar’s image is on the coin, the coin thus belongs to him
-- However, certain things aren’t owed to Caesar: our souls and our worship
- TRANS: The Pharisees have missed what is God’s belongs only to Him!
-- Let’s take a look at one more story this evening, a story of eternity …
- Read Mark 12:18-27
∆ Point 3 – Marriage at the Resurrection (18-27)
- The Sadducees (v18) were bent on denying anything that is spiritual
-- They only believed things they could see; so they were a “show me” group
-- Normally they were wealthy; and went with the flow of the day (political)
- The Sadducees have come to challenge Him with Deuteronomy 25:5, “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.”
-- It’s also called the “Levirate Law”; deals with marriage and widows of siblings
-- They create this supposed incident and try to get Jesus to choose right answer
- (v23) Now comes the question of what would life be like in eternity for this man
-- For those who don’t believe in the resurrection this is absurd (Sadducees didn’t)
-- For those who did, Jesus would be stuck in a no-win: no-right answer situation
- What Jesus does in v24 is tell them they are in complete error of the Scriptures!
-- APP: Talk about getting their attention: You are not reading the Word properly!
- So Jesus gives them (and us) a peak into life in eternity in Christ (v25)
-- What Jesus is teaching here is this: In Heaven we will worship God (like angels)
-- We will be too overcome with things of Heaven to focus on worldly things
-- IMP: Marriage to one another is a matter of THIS world; not of eternity!
- We were given over to marriage to have children & populate the world (faithful)
-- APP: Marriage is not something that is needed in Heaven … or its worldly ties!
-- We don’t know the nature of earthly relationships we will have
-- What we know is that those relationships will exist, but be different (v25)
- Since the Sadducees held so closely to the Pentateuch, He teaches from there
-- When God speaks to Moses (Exodus 3:6) He says to them quoted in v26
-- “Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”
-- IMP: What Jesus says: God is the God of the LIVING, not the God of the dead!
- If death were truly the end as Sadducees believed, would God not say instead:
-- “I was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob …”
-- Jesus’ rebuke of them shows them how little they know (v27)
- It strengthens for us that God is ALIVE … and He is the God of the LIVING
-- IMP: For us today this is incredibly important; HE IS A LIVING GOD!
-- This is why the Bible is a living document, speaking to us in present tense
∆ Big Ideas
So, tonight we’ve seen three different encounters of Jesus and society
- 1) FACT: Mankind will not respect even the son (thieves/killed/destroyed)
-- They only thought of themselves and what they could get out of the master
-- Haven’t we seen that throughout the entire Gospel so far? Give me, give me …
- 2) We are to give God what belongs to Him (honor/praise/devotion)
-- What our government asks for is different than what God requires of us
-- Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
- 3) God is alive; He is not past tense and Jesus teaches this clearly!
- Pray
