Mark 12:10-11
Have you not read this Scripture:
"‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
The vineyard, Jesus tells the temple leaders, is the house of Israel. God had promised the Messiah for Israel, and Israel rejected the Messiah.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:24, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
From the OT book Exodus to the NT book of Hebrews. The term "house of Israel" occurs about 150 times. The phrase refers to the nation of Israel, which was brought out of slavery in Egypt. Rachel and Leah "built the house of Israel"
Ruth 4:11
All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem."
The Lord made his covenant with this bloodline. As Jesus points out...
Mark 12:1
"A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country."
These tenants to whom the landlord leased the vineyard were these Hebrew people. Not some lost tribe of Israel, not some older bloodlines. These are them, and the gospel words of Jesus affirms that.
Mark 12:12
"And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away."
Jesus had related a story to them about a vineyard and a landowner. The man sent many of his workman and servants to receive the fruits of his investment from those to whom he had entrusted the management of that vineyard. They beat some, and murdered the others, including the landowners beloved son.
And then Jesus asks the temple leaders about what they thought the landowner should do. He doesn't give them an opportunity to answer but instead he repeats an often-used Psalm (118:22-23), and this is our focus scripture for today.
The thing we should immediately understand is that God is in control even in this rejection of the cornerstone. God was in control even of those who rejected His prophets and his only begotten beloved Son. God is in control when he sends the Word of God so that some would believe and be saved. And others will not. He guarantees that the house of Israel will either believe and be saved or die in their sins.
These religious leaders guaranteed their sin death in several ways. They proved for us that there are many ways to guarantee dying in your sins. We can see this in John's gospel in which we see Jesus being challenged about his authority by the Pharisees.
Four ways to die in your sins:
1. By being self-righteous
John 8:19
Then they asked him, "Where is your father?"
"You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied.
"If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
They didn't know The Father, they knew their religion. They trusted their rituals, traditions, and purity practices. They self-righteously refused to admit a need for the Savior who was standing right in front of them. And their judgments were NOT from The Lord. Their interpretations were NOT from The Lord. They found their authority in manmade religion.
John 8:15-16
"You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me."
2. Live for the world.
John 8:23
But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."
Their ideological views were dominated by the god of this age, the prince of this world. The Lord was not their guiding light. "The world" is the organized system of religious laws, doctrines, catechesis and secular governments that is dominated by materialism and humanism. It's dominated by sex, greed, money, and power. All sorts of philosophical ideas and worldly religions fit into this worldly system.
And they were "of" that world. They are religious and spiritual friends of Satan. And Jesus didn't pull any punches when he castigated them either with that hard truth. They are of the world, and they will die in their sins because of that truth.
3. Be unbelievers.
John 8:24
"I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."
You must believe that Jesus is the second person of the trinity. That he is the incarnation of the Christ. That he is eternal. That he lived a sinless life. That he died for the propitiation of our sins and was resurrected from the grave and given all authority over death and life. You must believe these things if you do not want to die in your sins.
Any other version of that is a different gospel, a different Christ, a different truth, that is not true. No version that adds works of salvation is this gospel. No version that adds spiritual significance to geographical locations like mountains, temples, cathedrals, councils, churches and even the womb of Jesus' birth mother, is of this gospel.
4. Be obstinately and willfully ignorant.
John 8:25
"Who are you?" they asked.
"Just what I have been telling you from the beginning," Jesus replied.
They refused to hear. They couldn't hear because sin produces unbelief and obstinate ignorance. They basically said, "Consequences Shmonsequences".
They should have known him. They should have known The Father. But they loved and lived human ideologies. They loved their material systems of self-righteousness. They refuse to believe because they love their sins.
The Pharisees were so irate at what Jesus said to them that they became completely unhinged in their responses. They did like these false teachers always do, even today, they resorted to name calling. They called Jesus everything from being a Samaritan to being possessed by a demon. And Jesus replied with a promise for all of us who believe him, who honor his gospel, and who love him. And what he says is how one does NOT die in his sins.
John 8:49-51
"I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death."
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
The first time that our Creator God said that something WASN'T good, was in the garden of Eden. There is his perfect creation he found something that wasn't good. Up until then everything was some form of what he determined WAS good.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.
God created the earth, the waters, the dry land, and God saw that it was good.
God created all the growing things. The plants that bore seeds and fruits, and God saw that it was good.
God created the heavenly lights and bodies. He separated the dark from the light. He created the seasons and established time, and God saw that it was good.
God created the living creatures in the waters, on the dry ...
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Matthew 10:16
"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves."
"Beware the moon, Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." (From: An American Werewolf in London 1981)
I was 19 when that movie came out and it was then that I was at my lowest point ever. I was dying and couldn't see it happening to me.
It's nearly Halloween, and I've arrived here in my daily studies at Jesus sending his children, as lambs, out to preach the gospel among wolves. And I have to admit this morning my head went to the movie I rewatched (for the hundredth time) again last night. I confess I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of werewolf movies. It's really an odd and unexpected fascination since throughout my entire childhood I was plagued nightly by nightmares of invisible werewolves that stalked me trying to bite me. I couldn't see them but could hear them. And when they were just about to bite, they'd suddenly be visible (this is how I knew they were werewolves). And this was a ...
Jeremiah 3:15-16
"‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again."
God is our Father, Abba and Adonai [Lord]. And he sees mankind, and especially those whom he has called his people. He sees them as a rebellious people who are polluting the land. They've made the land unclean in their disobedience, and disregard for the Law. They've played the harlot with many unclean lovers. Yet in his great mercy and love, he longs for them to return to him.
God's prophet describes the depths of their sin. He draws a picture of a lawless people who are acting like whores. But worse than that they are polluting the whole land with their garbage spiritualized with pagan energy. And there is no place that is not touched by their religion.
"Lift up your eyes to the...
Titus 2:4-5
"And so, train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."
Paul writes to Titus instructing him to rebuke those who are caught up in unsound faith expressions and questionable behaviors. He instructs him to avoid foolish controversies over diverse beliefs, and to reject unrepentant divisive people causing these debates.
So, this is the motivation. The faith community that Paul established in Crete has been doing like every faith community does. They're using their imagination. Because that's what people do. And Paul wants Titus to "teach what accords with sound doctrine." With authority that reflects God's will.
What does he mean by authority?
Let's go back to the beginning.
Genesis 1:27
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
Both the human men and the human women are made in the image of our Creator God. Bearing that image is our defining human attribute. Not the ...
Mark 15:2
And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
And he [Jesus] answered him, "You have said so."
This was a political prosecution brought on by an unforgiving people. The Sanhedrin council with the Elders and Scribes were determined to charge Jesus and have the Roman authorities investigate and ultimately execute him by their Roman laws. Jesus is questioned as a pretender to the throne of the king, and that's an unforgivable crime.
Throughout this whole process Jesus remains silent fulfilling the role of the sacrificial Messianic lamb foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
He did have a few things to say however.
Mark 15:3
"The chief priests accused him of many things."
And in fact, Jesus did say some very important things. Things that even today you'll find ignorant people claim he never said. Here's one in particular that gets around.
"Jesus never said he was God"
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