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    Mark 12:1-12
    ​Lessons 88

    Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

    In this lesson: 
      
    The parable of the vineyard.
    ​           
    Man's rejection of God's love.
    Study Tip:
     
    Remember to read the margin notes in blue.

    The Gospel According to St. Mark

    The King James Bible    ​

    Mark: 12:1-12
    Evil farmers

    1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

    2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

    3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

    4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

    5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

    6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

    7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our's.

    8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

    9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

    10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

    11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

    ​12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
    ​Margin notes: 
     
    "A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country." (12:1) - "A certain man planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug in a winepress, built a watchtower over it, and leased it to farmers (for a percentage of the crop), and then left the country."  Read also Isaiah 5:1-2.
     
    "At the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant." (12:2) - "At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers." 
     
    "Sent him away shamefully handled." (12:4) - "Treated him shamefully and sent him away."
     
    "They will reverence my son." (12:6) - "They will respect my son."
     
    "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner." (12:10) - Means, the rejected stone will become the capstone of the entire structure.  This quote conveys a similar message as the vineyard parable in which the farmer's son is rejected.  The capstone parable comes from the messianic prophecy found in Psalms 118:22.  Like the stone, Jesus will be refused and then become the cornerstone of the Christian church (Acts 4:11-12; 1 Peter 2:6-7).
     
    "They knew that he had spoken the parable against them." (12:12) - "They knew the parable criticized them."
    To learn more about the parable of the vineyard see Matthew 21:33-46 (lesson 43) and Luke 20:9-19.   Also, Isaiah 5:1-7 is similar.
    New Living Translation
    Mark: 12:1-12
    Parable of the Evil Farmers
     
    1 Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: "A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

    2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.

    3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.

    4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head.

    5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,

    6 until there was only one left-his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.'
     
    7 "But the tenant farmers said to one another, 'Here comes the heir to this estate. Let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!'

    8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
     
    9 "What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you-he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

    10 Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?
     
      'The stone that the builders rejected
          has now become the cornerstone.
       
    11 This is the Lord's doing,
          and it is wonderful to see.'"
     
    12 The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them-they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

    ​This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible.  However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."
    Today's Question:
     
    1. What does the parable of the vineyard mean? (12:1-9) 
     
     
     
         

    When you start to obey the Bible, you start to understand the Bible.
    Answer: (Do you agree?)
     
    1. In the parable of the vineyard, Jesus is confronting the Jewish religious leaders of His day.  The vineyard represents the Jewish people, while the husbandmen (farmers) symbolize the Jewish priests and elders tasked to cultivate (prepare) the vineyard (Jewish people) for the owner (God) until his son (Jesus) comes to claim his inheritance.  But the husbandmen rejected (2 Chronicles 36:16; Matthew 23:34-35; Acts 7:52; 1 Thessalonians 2:15) all the servants and messengers (Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist) sent by the vineyard owner (God).  Finally, when the son (Jesus) arrives, they kill him.  The "others," who will get the vineyard in verse 12:9 represent Gentiles.  Just as the farmers failed the vineyard owner, the Jewish religious leaders failed God.  The sad fate of the vineyard owners son foreshadows the fate Jesus will meet at the hands of the Pharisees' in just a few days.




    Application thought for the day:
     
    Both the parable of the vineyard and the parable of the capstone symbolize man's rejection of Jesus Christ.      What do these parables teach about God's judgment?     ​
    Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible".  All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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