Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
April 2, 2024
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark's presentation of Jesus' parable of the vineyard is his explanation for the way things are developing and of the judgment of God to come.
Introduction: In our study last week I put our focus upon the duplicity of those who feigned an interest in "authority" while having put aside that very issue. This evening we are going to look into Mark's record of Jesus' "parable" as He continues to present the leaders of the nation is the most stark light of their essential identity.
- I. The Structure Of This Section.
- A. Following the chiasm of 9:1-11:11.
- B. The record of "rejection" begins with Jesus' curse upon the fig tree (11:12-26); a record that is structured in terms of "The Curse", "The Reason", and "The Necessity for Faith".
- C. The record of the "interruption" between the segments of Jesus' treatment of the fig tree.
- D. The challenge by the offended "leaders" of Jesus regarding His "authority" to act as He had the previous day.
- E. The "problem" the "authority question" posed for the "offended leaders".
- F. The "parable" that explains His coming death at the hands of the leaders of the nation.
- 1. The "large" issue is that of the fruitlessness of the nation under the dominion of the chief priests, scribes, and elders.
- a) As the leaders go, so goes the nation ... even though there are thousands who do not agree with them.
- (1) The arrival of "Witness-John" with his message of forgiveness on the basis of repentance had provided the foundation for the survival of those within the nation who have not "followed the leaders".
- (2) God works on two levels: 1) He is going to deal with the nation according to "Justice" (as their perversion of the Law requires), and 2) He is going to deal with the individuals on the basis of the issue of "repentance" in terms of whether, or not, they have submitted to John's heaven-given "authority" (the Book of Daniel is the premier presentation of this distinction made by God).
- (3) God's provision for those who "repent/believe" will not make their lives on earth "pleasant" in terms of the physical life of the body, the conflicts of the soul, nor the problem of being forced to live under the humiliation of the spirit, but that provision will give them a foundation in "Hope" so that their time on the earth will not be that of the "hopeless" that corrodes body, soul, and spirit.
- b) The "immediate" issue is the theological "problem" of a faulty grasp of the Scriptures wherein "The Christ" is triumphant on the physical level without the understanding that He had to submit to the "Justice" demands of God upon impenitent men so that "forgiveness" could actually occur.
- 2. The parable was very transparent so that the murderous leaders got one of the points: Jesus was continuing His "push" to make it possible for the people to see their leaders as "thieves" and "murderers".
- a) This "point" was necessary because the "repentant" were going to be in need of stability in "faith" when those "leaders" forced them out of their religious practices and began to persecute them even to death.
- b) It is necessary for us to understand that "the good life" was not the promise of God to His "church".
- 3. The second "point" was Jesus' stark warning to the leaders that God was going to bring them to their well-deserved end and to set up a different "program" in which "others" would be put in place to set the theological tone for the people of God.
- a) This all was rooted in the Scriptures (Isaiah 28:16).
- b) This all was "unrevealed" in those Scriptures as to how a new "arrangement" was to develop.
- 1) The reality of God's program with Israel was not kept secret.
- 2) But the "Church" was a totally unexpected "mystery" (Romans 16:25 and Ephesians 3:1-6)
