The Messiah Was Sent
Mark 12:1-11
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
1 And He began to speak to them in parables: "bA man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 "At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 "They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 "Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 "And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 "He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 7 "But those vine-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' 8 "They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 "What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 "Have you not even read this Scripture: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; 11 THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?"
Jesus came to tell the people of Judah and the Galilee that they needed to follow the calling to repentance that the prophets of old and the current prophets brought them. The prophet of then was John the Baptist and his contemporaries. What happened to each of these previous prophets? The prophets of old were killed when they brought their message from the LORD. John the Baptist was killed when he told Herod Antipas what he did when he stole his brother's wife was against the LORD's Laws.
Kings and rulers did not like prophets telling them when they sinned. The typical response was to kill them. So, Jesus was not killed by the Jews. Instead, He was killed by the ruling class, who did not like the message that He brought. Even the Son of God was not going to be listened to. Today we have rabbis, ministers, and priests who interpret the Bible. People attend worship settings and hear the Word of the LORD, listen to the interpretation offered, and then leave the worship time and either forget what they heard or say to themselves, “the preacher does not know what he/she are talking about.”
People go to the medical doctor or lawyer and follow them implicitly, knowing what education they had to receive. Why do they not listen to their spiritual leaders? It is true that before following a spiritual leader, the education level and knowledge of the spiritual leader need to be verified. Once this is done, then the person should have confidence in the leader.
This parable has always been viewed by Christians as the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah by the Jewish population and the beginning of the end for Jesus. Modern Christians should be sensitive to this interpretation because it has sparked centuries of anti-Semitism. Even today, anti-Semitism exists, with many Christians being taught that the Jews of Jesus' day wanted Him dead.
Wait just one minute. All of Jesus' disciples were Jewish. We know that Jesus had many Jewish followers who are mentioned in the Gospels. Saint Paul was a Jew, and so were some of his companions. Therefore, for the church or us to say that all Jews rejected Jesus is not a true statement. Making a sweeping commentary about an entire people is not fair to the group. Yes, there were definitely Jews who did not believe in Jesus' Messiahship. However, there were plenty that did.
How can the followers of the Messiah of Peace use His words to condemn another ethnic group to death? Anti-Semitism exists in today's churches. I happen to be one of those Jews who came to know Jesus and suffered anti-Semitic words and acts by people in the church. Even though I was their pastor sent by the LORD to guide them, it still happened even with years of seminary education, even with my church ordination. This attitude was not from everyone! The anti-Semitic people made their feelings known to the congregation and toward me. This was a main reason to move on from a church and shake the dust off my feet.
The church should rejoice when a Jew comes to know the true Messiah. In fact, that rejoicing should be for anyone. According to John's Gospel, Jesus was sent into the world to save everyone!
[if this is used during Advent]
We are in the Advent season. The church should always be on its best behavior but most especially at this time. The C & E Christians will be attending church during this time. People who are not followers of Christ will also be in the congregation. This is also a time that Jewish folks come to church (usually because they married a Christian). It is a time for all of us to remember the reason for the season. If you harbor any anti-Semitic feelings or beliefs this is a great time of the year to ask yourself why? Then pray to Christ, a Jew, to help you to overcome them. I am confident that anyone who has anti-Semitic feels can let them go by coming before our Jewish Messiah.
