- He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:6-8 – In a parable Jesus outlined for the people the history of Israel and the events that would soon unfold. Those who listened would’ve understood that the vineyard in this parable represented the people of Israel and the tenants left to care for the vineyard were the leaders of the nation. In their history the leaders abused and killed the messengers God sent to them, and now, like in the parable, God is sending His beloved Son to the vineyard. Yet as we see in the passage above, the tenants rejected the son and killed him. We know this is exactly how the story unfolded with Jesus and the leaders of Israel in His day. Rejection and murdering of the Son. Their problem though was there would be no more messengers coming after the Son. The Son was the ultimate extension of peace from the vineyard owner. If they rejected the son, then they reject him and there was no future for them together. Whether it was with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day or with people in our day, if there is a rejection of the Son the Father sent, then there is no hope for togetherness and peace with the Father. Spurgeon said it this way, “Nothing remains when Christ is refused. No one else can be sent; heaven itself contains no further messenger. If Christ be rejected, hope is rejected.” Have you then embraced the Son the Father sent? How are you helping those currently rejecting the Son understand there is no other pathway to peace apart from Jesus? While it’s heavy to think all the other options in life only lead to death when we follow them, let’s praise the Lord that we’ve been blessed through Jesus a pathway to life everlasting. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3103
- Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? Mark 12:24 – Right here we see Jesus giving us the means to being right in our thoughts and beliefs on things. For these people Jesus was speaking with, He was calling them out on how wrong they were on what they believed. Why were they wrong? Because they neither knew what scripture actually said or knew who God really was. So Jesus is showing us here if we want to have our beliefs back by truth, dig deep into scripture and learn as much as you can about the true character of God. In short, let’s begin to spend more time in the Bible and more time in places where we can learn more about who God is (with church family, in prayer, serving). God wants us to know Him and know His truths, thankfully He’s also pointed out to us how to learn about all that. We now have no excuse as to why we have misguided beliefs about God. Follow His means of finding truth rather than how the world directs us to find truth. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 467
- And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:32-34 – You are not far from, but not there yet. The scribe seemed to know all the answers and know the heartbeat of our mission. Why would Jesus say close, but not there yet? My thoughts are because like many of the other religious leaders in our passage he knew everything he needed to know about scripture yet that knowledge never translated into transformation or actions. My hope for you is you know the message this scribe said. God is one, we are to love Him with all we have, and we are to love our neighbors deeply. Please though don’t let this be a banner we cheer but never fight and live under. Don’t let this be words we say but never words we actually live by. That will be our difference between not far from and we made it. If loving God and loving people is a mission you agree with then somehow live deeply it out today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1621
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