The Obligations of Privilege

Introduction

His career was very short, but in three short years, his teaching would leave an impact upon this world unlike any other. Think about that. Three years of teaching have affected the morality, the devotion, and the lives of countless individuals. And in that three years of teaching, one of, if not his favorite technique of teaching was parables. Parable is an effective way of teaching. Someone has defined a parable as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus didn’t invent the parable, but he took it to new heights, where he would tell a earthly story, and yet behind it was a deeper, more profound spiritual meaning. Some of those parables were rather obscure in their application, intentionally so, that the meaning was hidden such that only those who truly sought its meaning could find it.

Other parables were so frank and blunt that they couldn’t be missed in their meaning and in their application. One such parable is the one we want to look at this morning in our study together. It goes by various titles, but the title that we’ve selected is the Parable of the Wicked Tenets. If you’ll turn with me in Mark chapter 12, the three synoptic gospels all record this parable. But since we’ll be studying Mark in the auditorium next quarter, I selected Mark as our text this morning. Mark chapter 12, let’s just start by reacquainting ourselves with this parable, and then see what applications we can draw for it from it for us today. Will you read with me in Mark chapter 12, beginning in verse 1? Then he began to speak to them in parables.

A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower, and he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country.

And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty handed. And again he sent another servant, and they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. Again he sent another, and they killed him. And many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore, still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son. But those vine dressers set among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine dressers and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this scripture?

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Verse twelve concludes that they understood exactly what he was saying, and they sought to lay hands on him, but feared the multitude, for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. So they left him and went away. The timing of this parable is important. We are in the last days of Jesus’ life. If we talk about that three year, approximately three year career of preaching and teaching, it is all but over. This is one of the last of the parables, if not the last parable that Jesus will tell. He has experienced the triumphal entry. He is in the city of Jerusalem for the feast day for the last time.

It is about, Satan is about to enter Judas and to tempt him to betray his Lord and master. The Jews, the leaders of the Jews, have already begun the conspiracy. They want this man gone. With his death, very imminent, Jesus tells this pointed parable. This is the most allegorical of all the parables because it’s not just teaching one thing, or it’s not just representative of one thing, it’s representative many. And the representation is obvious. The landowner, the owner of the vineyard, obviously represents God the Father. It is his vineyard. He is the one who has entrusted it, and he has entrusted that vineyard. The vineyard itself, really, is the nation of Israel. And think what he says about this vineyard that represents Israel, of the great care that was taken.

He built this vineyard, he put a hedge around it, a tower, all of these things that were there to take care of them. The tenants, the vine dressers, the one who had been entrusted with the care and the protection of this vineyard, were the leaders of the Jewish people, the priests, the rulers, the scribes. The servants were obviously the prophets. The servants, the prophets who were sent to them one after another. And we can’t, when we read this parable, you can’t help but think of the somewhat sarcastic statement of Stephen in Acts chapter 7, when he says, which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? Servant after servant was sent to them and mistreated and killed and stoned and beaten.

And of course, the son, the heir, represents Jesus. Hours before his death. Jesus will talk about him as the Son being sent to Israel. And as he would say in Matthew chapter 23, fill up then the measure of your father’s guilt. As we saw, they understood.

We’re the vine dressers, we’re the wicked tenants, we’re the ones who have killed the prophets. We are the ones who are actively conspiring to kill this one who has labeled himself as the Son of God. Well, let’s look at this parable, not just at its immediate application, but is there some application to you and I today? Is there some application in talking about the obligations of privilege? And really, that’s one of the points of this parable. I guess you could say the main point, the main lesson of this parable is, is look what you’ve done. No grand morals lesson other than a lesson of condemnation. You’ve killed the prophets, the servants, and now you’re going to kill the son. Shame on you. That could be the lesson of the parable.

But I think a secondary lesson, an application to us and to Israel at the time, is the point that look at the privilege that you’ve been given. Look at the vineyard. And God’s great care for this vineyard and the obligations that came along with it. Israel had the obligation. God had made them their vineyard. You might hold your finger here in the New Testament and go with me back to Isaiah chapter 5. This picture of Israel as a vineyard is an old one. God to the prophet Isaiah used the same picture to speak of Israel of his day and again the privileges that they had been given and therefore the responsibility that they owed. Look at Isaiah chapter 5, beginning in verse 1. Isaiah 5, verse 1 says, Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard.

My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst. He also made a wine press in it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes. But it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please tell me. You please tell me what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

I will lay it to waste, and it shall not be pruned or dug, but there will come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they will not rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold oppression, for righteousness, but behold weeping. Just like in Isaiah, Jesus says, Israel is a vineyard. Look what God has done for you, and look what you’ve done in return. Well, let’s talk about some application for us this morning. In this idea of the privilege, the blessing that we’ve been given, and the obligations that should come from it, as we look through this parable of the wicked tenets.

1. We Learn Something About Christ

There’s really three lessons we might say, three levels of lessons throughout this parable. First of all, we learn something about Christ, don’t we? He makes a bold pronouncement about himself. It is said of Christ in this parable that he is the son and he is the heir. He is that beloved son. The vineyard owner said, after sending servant after servant who had been mistreated, said, I’ll send my son. And he is described as a beloved son, and they will not mistreat him, surely, because he’s the son that I love.

Those who would end up mistreating him describe that beloved Son as the heir who was to inherit all things to have that kingdom of God. That’s the way the New Testament describes Christ, does it not? In the beginning of the Hebrew letter that’s going to talk about the superiority of Christ and the things of Christ to the things of Moses, in the introduction of that Hebrew letter, he says, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke to us by the prophets, has in the last days spoken to us by his son, whom he’s appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world, who, being the very brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as he has it by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

2. What We Learn About Man

I’m greater than Jonah. I’m greater than Solomon. I existed before Abraham. I was here even before the world was created. I and the Father am one. In fact, when you see me, you see the Father. Jesus had made all of these bold claims about himself. And now at his death, he says, I am the Son, and I am the heir. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. And so we learned some things about Christ from this parable. And maybe the most pointed and important lesson is what we learn about man from this parable. The vineyard that represents the nation of Israel, which, if we were to make a modern day application of this, would represent us as Christians today.

The vineyard that represented Israel had every possible advantage given to it. In both Isaiah’s illustration of Israel as a vineyard and in Christ’s parable here, he talks about the care and the detail given, the hedge, the wine press, the tower, everything that was done. And isn’t that a perfect picture of Israel? God had done everything for them. What good Bible student doesn’t go through the Old Testament and become so frustrated at the nation of Israel. Because God had done everything for them, had he not? He had hand selected them, had given them the best leaders that anybody could ever want, had literally fought the battles for them, done so in such a graphic way, had literally dropped food from heaven so that they could eat. If they got thirsty, water would magically spring forth out of a rock.

Everything had been done for them. And what did they do in return? When God asked for something in return, as the vineyard owner asked for the fruit that was rightfully his.

Sometimes it’s like looking in a mirror if we’re honest. At how God has blessed us far beyond maybe even how He blessed Israel. And how, at least at times, we have been just as rebellious, just as thankless, and just as repugnant to God. And so the point of looking at those stories is to say, I don’t want to do that. What privilege has been given to you? You know, we sing the song, Count Your Many Blessings, name them one by one. The counting of our blessings should result in two applications. Number one is, and the main point of that song, and most of the time we talk about it, is to express our thanksgiving to God. Count your blessings, recognizing the source. We don’t just count our blessings to say, Well, look how lucky I am.

Luck had nothing to do with it. We count our blessings so that we can praise Him from whom all blessings flow. But don’t miss the second point of why we count our blessings, naming them one by one, is that with every counted blessing comes with it a great weight of responsibility. From whom much has been given. Much will be required, Jesus said. And so what responsibility comes with mine? I’m a part of the vineyard of God. What, look at all that God has done for me? What does that require of me? You know, a balance has to be struck in what I’m about to say. We talk about the body, the imagery that Paul uses of the body of Christ, and that every member of that body needs to supply something to the body.

That is absolutely axiomatic. But I believe the scriptures also will bear this out that some parts of the body supply more.

3. The Absolute Freedom of Man

And so should I urge my fellow body parts to do more? Sure. But should I gripe and complain that I’m doing more than they? No. Not when I count my blessings. Rather than griping about how I do more than you, or rather than you griping about you doing more than me. Maybe I need to hang my head in shame that I’m not doing more. Even more with what God has given me and done for me. We also learn something in this parable about the freedom of man. The responsibility, certainly, by the blessings showered upon us, but also the absolute freedom of man. God gave Israel chance after chance after chance. You know, when you first just hear about the Old Testament, your first thought is God was angry all the time.

God was short-tempered. He was smiting people left and right. How could God do that? But then when you actually read the Old Testament, you get a very different picture of God, don’t you? Man, God was patient. He wasn’t short-tempered, he was long-tempered. He wasn’t just smiting people left and right. Oh, there was some smiting going on, but it was after long years of patience and endurance, and it is amazing that he didn’t just wipe not just the nation of Israel, but every single individual off the face of this planet. But God gave them freedom. And he gives us that freedom. And the question is with this freedom, the free will choice that we have, with the responsibilities that comes with the blessings, what will we do with that freedom?

You know, fate has very little to do with our lives. Sometimes we feel like, well, we just fate leads me this way, fate’s required that. Fate is what we’re compelled to do. Destiny is what we were meant to do. And we need to talk less about fate and more about destiny, of what God wants of us, what he asks of us, and what we should do rather than what we must.

4. God’s Gracious Dealings With Israel

But it’s equally a parable about God’s gracious dealings with Israel. That he would send them servant after servant. And unlike the master, the owner of the vineyard, he will finally send his son with full knowledge of what they will do to his beloved son. But he did it anyway.

In the book of Romans, chapter 2 couches perfectly and beautifully what our response to the grace of God ought to be. Romans 2, verse 4 says, or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and long suffering? Not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. Now many times we think about the wrath of God leading us, forcing us to repentance. Because I don’t want to go to hell when I die. And so I better repent of my sins. I better live right. But Paul says it is equally the goodness of God that will lead me to repentance. How will I treat God’s grace and mercy when he has wiped my slate clean of every sin, and I no longer stand guilty before him, but I stand redeemed and pure and whole.

Conclusion

Maybe we can understand this illustration. Have you ever been in over your head in debt? Maybe because of poor choices, maybe just because life circumstances kind of forced you into that responsibility. And that you had debt on top of debt, on top of debt, and you could see no way out. Imagine somebody came along, some great benefactor, and with one pen and one check paid everything. Zeroed out your balance. And so now this credit card that was charging you upwards of 30% interest, that had a $15,000 balance, now has a zero balance.

Choice number one is, oh boy. I’ve got $15,000 of credit. And you go on a wild spending spree and run it right back up. You could do that, couldn’t you? Many people do. Option number two is to say, I don’t want to get in that state again. And discipline. Take the free choice that you have now with the grace of that benefactor and say, I don’t want to be there again. What will we do with the grace and the mercy of God? What will we do with his son? Pray with me, please. Our dear God, we are so sorry that mankind throughout history has mistreated you so. We’re so sorry that as a people that you created and loved and cared for and blessed in so many ways.

That we’ve cursed you, that we’ve forgotten you, we’ve rebelled against you, we’ve mistreated your servants. And we’re so sorry for your son. Forgive our selfishness. Forgive our pride. Bless us with good health and life. So that we might have opportunities to do good for you. That we might have days and life to bless you. And to glorify your name, as you so deserve. Help us to see the blessings that come from you. Help us to see the responsibilities and the obligations. And help us to be a good vineyard. Help us to be a good vine dresser to your vineyard. And bless us more. All these things we humbly pray in Christ’s name. Amen.