Jesus began to speak in parables - Mark 12:1
But Jesus was not finished talking to them. He turned and went on the offensive. His parable was a condemning attack on their hypocrisy and pretended interest in the source of his authority. Jesus let them know that he understood that they were plotting his death. The parable was built on the long Old Testament tradition of describing Israel as God's
vineyard (Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 5:1-5; Jer. 2:21; Jer. 19:10-14). The
vine growers were the leaders of Judaism.
Servant - Mark 12:2-4
The
was the prophet of the Old Testament. One after another they had been mistreated by Israel. Perhaps the last servant was intended to call to mind John the Baptist who was in a real sense the last of the Old Testament prophets.
Beloved - Mark 12:6-8
The
son was Jesus. The word
beloved occurs only two other times in the Gospel of Mark and both times it referred to Jesus (1:11; 9:7). The use of the word
heir implies that the vine growers thought the owner had died. In typical Palestinian fashion the heir then would have come to establish his own claim of ownership of the vineyard. Jesus was accusing the Jewish leaders of trying to rip Israel away from the control of God and make it their own.
Owner - Mark 12:9
The Greek word Mark used for
owner is the same word that is usually translated
Lord in the New Testament. Jesus' intention is clear. The Jewish leadership may condemn and kill Jesus but in the end God is coming in judgment. God refuses to allow his vineyard to be stolen by the hired hands. The reference to the
others to whom the vineyard would be given would not have been lost on the Gentiles in Rome who first received this gospel.
Rejected cornerstone - Mark 12:10
Jesus continued his attack by quoting Ps. 118:22. Jesus, the Messiah, was the
rejected cornerstone that God was making the foundation of the true temple God was building, the people of God who followed Jesus. (See Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4, 5.) For Jesus to apply this verse to himself at any time is amazing. To do so at this particular moment is even more so. In verse 8 he had spoken of his own death. Here in verse 10 he speaks with complete trust in the promise of the Father that he will be the messianic cornerstone. (See Acts 4:11 and 1 Pet.2:7 where Ps. 118:22 is also quoted.)
The work of God himself - Mark 12:11
That Jesus would be rejected and then become the cornerstone on which the people of God would be built is so
marvelous that there is only one explanation for it. It is the work of God himself.
Enemies tried to arrest him - Mark 12:12
The crowd may not have understood Jesus, but his enemies did and they tried
to arrest him. Only the presence of the crowd prevented them.
Pharisees and Herodians - Mark 12:13
The
Herodians were Jewish supporters of King Herod and his family. They often favored compromises between their Judaism and the Hellenistic influences of the day. This often brought them into conflict with the Pharisees. The Pharisees thought such compromises with foreign influences were sinful. See the article on Pharisees and Sadducees. Mark reported that this unusual coalition was
sent to Jesus. Anyone who had power to send members of both of these groups was a very high ranking official. The plot against Jesus was being shaped in the top tier of Jewish leadership.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's - Mark 12:14-17
They tried to trap Jesus, first by lulling him into complacency with false compliments. Then with their trick question they tried to lure him into either promoting revolution against Rome or angering Jews who hated Roman taxation and rule.
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