The Parable of the Vineyard (Mark 12:1-12)

We all love a good story. Whether it’s a love story, an action story, a historical narrative, or a good bit of fiction, our lives are surrounded by stories. But sometimes these stories are meant to teach us something. And some stories, from the nursery rhymes of our childhood to some fantasy allegories today, use word pictures to teach us those lessons. Jesus was a master storyteller. Throughout his ministry, he used story telling as a common method of teaching. We call these stories parables. They are some of the best-known teachings of Jesus. From the parable of the Good Samaritan to the parable of the prodigal son, even secular society knows many of these parables. But these parables served a greater purpose than entertainment. They served the purpose of teaching an important lesson. In our text today, Jesus uses another parable to teach an important lesson the Jewish leaders and Jewish people. 

As you may remember, last week we discussed the narrative in which the Jewish Leaders questioned Jesus’ authority. Through a question of his own, Jesus unmasked their hypocrisy and revealed that he is the Son of God. Jesus then immediately follows with a narrative in order to further reveal the danger the Jewish leaders were in, and to provide for us some very great and special promises.