Wed 19th Aug - #98. Uncomfortable
Sometimes we hear a sermon and we can feel very uncomfortable.
We can feel uncomfortable not generally to do with the length of the sermon or the seats we are sitting on but because God seems to be speaking to us.
In our reading this morning we know that the hearers were more than a little uncomfortable with the message because the Son of God was speaking directly to them. Let's read this parable —
Mark 12
1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall round it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He 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.” 8 So 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. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
‘“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes”?’
12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders 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.
Can see the problem here with this parable for the hearers?
Jesus knew that they were the tenants, and they were the ones who were going to kill him! Jesus quotes from Psalm 118 about an odd shaped stone that was rejected by the builders of the temple and yet it was perfect - the cornerstone. This cornerstone would hold the weight of the whole building.
Let's consider this cornerstone this morning who symbolises the Davidic king vindicated by God as the nation’s rightful leader and therefore the Messiah. In some Jewish traditions the stone also symbolised the Messiah’s restoration of the temple in which God’s returning presence would dwell. Jesus, confident of God’s vindication through the resurrection, declares the futility of the authorities’ plan. As the one in whom God is uniquely present to forgive, heal, and share fellowship, Jesus and his followers will become the new “temple” of prayer for all nations (11:17) in whom God’s Spirit dwells (2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21). *1
Take some time out to listen to this modern classic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HH__-1Zbs
Much love
Tim
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*1 D.A. Carson - NIV Zondervan Study Bible