Mark 12:7

New International Version

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

For Meditation

These words spoken by the tenants in the parable Jesus spoke against the religious leaders of Israel (Mk. 12:1-12) remind me of the story of Joseph when his brothers saw him in the distance, and they plotted to kill him. Out of extreme hatred and a desire to remove Joseph so they could have all that their father had, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer! …Come now, let’s kill him … [and] see what comes out of his dreams” (Gen. 37:19-21). And figuratively, they killed Joseph, the one who would save their lives and many others in Egypt (50:20).

In the Parable of the Tenants (Mk. 12:1-12), the religious leaders of Israel, who represent the tenant farmers, knew Jesus had spoken against them. Their forebears had beaten and killed many of the prophets God sent to tend His vineyard, Israel (Isa. 5:7). God had finally sent His only Son, hoping they would recognize in Him, the Messiah they expected, and yield authority to Him. Despite John the Baptist’s testimony, the heavenly voice that proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 3:17), and the overwhelming evidence from Jesus’s ministry, the Pharisees and other leaders determined to kill Him. Jesus gave them the verdict (9) before they followed through with their plot a few days later on Calvary. 

In AD 70, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, the vineyard. The temple, sacrificial system, priesthood, Sanhedrin—the heart of Judaism—was no more. In its place stood the church of Christ after His resurrection, and the new tenants are all who believe in His name and yield their lives to Him. 

Mark tells us the religious leaders saw themselves as the target of the parable, yet they went away and did what their hearts desired. Can anyone who is unrepentant of their hostilities against God and does not surrender to Jesus blame God for their place in hell? 

The good news for everyone who desires after heaven is this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).

Therefore, all who declare Jesus as Lord and wholeheartedly believe God raised him from the dead will receive salvation for their souls. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rm. 10:9-10, 13). 

The choice is in your bosom today.