Mark 12 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Mark 12:1.
2. 0:02And he began to speak to them in
3. 0:05parables. A man planted a vineyard and
4. 0:07put a wall around it and dug a vat under
5. 0:09the wine press and built a tower and
6. 0:13rented it out to vine growers and went
7. 0:15on a journey.
8. 0:18At the harvest time, he sent a slave to
9. 0:20the vine growers in order to receive
10. 0:23some of the produce of the vineyard from
11. 0:25the vine growers.
12. 0:27They took him and beat him and sent him
13. 0:30away empty-handed.
14. 0:32Again he sent them another slave and
15. 0:34they wounded him in the head and treated
16. 0:37him shamefully.
17. 0:39He sent another and that one they
18. 0:41killed.
19. 0:43And so with many others beating some and
20. 0:45killing others. He had one more to send,
21. 0:49a beloved son. He sent him last of all
22. 0:53to them, saying, "They will respect my
23. 0:56son."
24. 0:58But those vine growers said to one
25. 0:59another, "This is the heir.
26. 1:03Come, let us kill him, and the
27. 1:06inheritance will be ours."
28. 1:09They took him and killed him and threw
29. 1:12him out of the vineyard.
30. 1:14What will the owner of the vineyard do?
31. 1:17He will come and destroy the vine
32. 1:19growers and will give the vineyard to
33. 1:22others.
34. 1:24So in the previous chapter we heard that
35. 1:27the religious system was like the fig
36. 1:30tree. It only had appearances and it was
37. 1:35God was done using it. No one was ever
38. 1:37going to eat fruit from it again
39. 1:39forever. That's the curse. Nobody's
40. 1:42going to get real grace from you ever
41. 1:44again. You're an appearance religion.
42. 1:46you're not a grace religion. And in this
43. 1:49one, he is saying that Israel, the
44. 1:52covenant people of God, are a vineyard.
45. 1:55Now, this is coming from Isaiah. And he
46. 1:57says, God has put a wall around that
47. 1:59vineyard. Those are the walls of
48. 2:01protection. Those are the walls of
49. 2:02covenant that Isaiah also speaks about.
50. 2:05And in that vineyard, there is wine
51. 2:07being made. That's the new wine that
52. 2:10Jesus is talking about. But he says that
53. 2:14God has been sending servants to this
54. 2:18vineyard to collect what he deserves
55. 2:22from his vineyard that he planted. And
56. 2:24those servants are the prophets. Those
57. 2:27servants are Elijah and Jeremiah,
58. 2:30John the Baptist. But in Jesus's
59. 2:33parable, they beat the servants.
60. 2:36They treat the servants shamefully. They
61. 2:40killed Isaiah. They he was sawn in two
62. 2:43between the temple and the altar. They
63. 2:46threw Jeremiah into a pit. Elijah felt
64. 2:49that he was the only one left who served
65. 2:51the Lord. So he's saying at last God
66. 2:55says I'm going to send them my own son.
67. 2:58I'm going to send them Jesus. But
68. 3:00they're going to be envious of Jesus.
69. 3:02And they're going to say he is the heir.
70. 3:05So we're going to take his inheritance.
71. 3:08His inheritance is the pleasure and
72. 3:11glory of his father. That's his
73. 3:14inheritance. They want to steal that
74. 3:16glory. They are already aware that the
75. 3:19people treat him differently than the
76. 3:21people treat the Pharisees and scribes.
77. 3:23The people see the difference and so
78. 3:26they want to steal his inheritance. And
79. 3:28Jesus is saying he is going to come and
80. 3:32he's going to destroy those vine growers
81. 3:35and he's going to give the vineyard to
82. 3:37others.
83. 3:39Which means God is going to allow a
84. 3:42different kind of people to shepherd his
85. 3:44vineyard. People who will bear the
86. 3:47fruits of honoring the Lord. People who
87. 3:50will walk in the repentance of John. And
88. 3:53this is referencing that Gentiles are
89. 3:56going to get involved. that God is going
90. 3:58to raise up righteous among the nations
91. 4:00who are going to treat his vineyard
92. 4:02differently and better than those it was
93. 4:04originally entrusted to. Verse 10. Have
94. 4:08you never read the scripture, the stone
95. 4:10which the builders rejected? This became
96. 4:13the chief cornerstone. This came about
97. 4:15from the Lord and is marvelous in our
98. 4:18eyes. And they were seeking to seize
99. 4:21him. And yet they feared the people for
100. 4:25they understood that he spoke the
101. 4:26parable against them. And so they left
102. 4:29him and went away.
103. 4:33So this term the stone that the builders
104. 4:35rejected
105. 4:37is the idea that whenever a great
106. 4:40building was being built, the foundation
107. 4:44was established on large stones. Four,
108. 4:47five, six very large stones. And the
109. 4:51placement of those stones was critical.
110. 4:54But the most important stone was the
111. 4:57cornerstone. It was called the chief
112. 4:58cornerstone. And that chief cornerstone
113. 5:02was the stone against which all other
114. 5:04stones and the entire building would be
115. 5:07measured. And he's saying, "You
116. 5:09Pharisees, you're the builders. You're
117. 5:12so smart. You think you know what God's
118. 5:14doing. And the stone that you said, "Oh,
119. 5:17get that one off the work site. That's
120. 5:19that one's rejected. The stone that you
121. 5:22thought was most useless, most
122. 5:24problematic, it's the very stone that
123. 5:26God is going to use as the chief
124. 5:29cornerstone against which all other
125. 5:31stones are going to be measured. And
126. 5:33he's speaking of himself. The Pharisees
127. 5:36look at Jesus as a problem stone, as a
128. 5:39reject. Get him out of the building
129. 5:41site, but he's going to be the chief
130. 5:44cornerstone. Again, they want to seize
131. 5:46him, but they are controlled by their
132. 5:49fear of the people, the very thing he is
133. 5:51not controlled by.
134. 5:53Verse 13, then they sent some of the
135. 5:56Pharisees and Herodians to him in order
136. 6:00to trap him in a statement. They came to
137. 6:03him and said, "Teacher, we know that you
138. 6:06are truthful and defer to no one." Is
139. 6:09that a sincere statement? Do they really
140. 6:11know that he is truthful and defers to
141. 6:13no one? No, it's just butter. It's just
142. 6:16flattery. They're just trying to
143. 6:18manipulate him. Teacher, we know that
144. 6:21you are truthful and defer to no one,
145. 6:24for you are not partial to any, but
146. 6:26teach the way of God in truth. Is it
147. 6:29lawful to pay a pole tax to Caesar or
148. 6:33not? Now, this is an attempt to trap
149. 6:35him. Why do they think this is going to
150. 6:37be a trap? Because they know he doesn't
151. 6:40like Caesar any more than they do. He
152. 6:42doesn't celebrate the oppression of Rome
153. 6:46anymore than they do. They also know
154. 6:48that the people believe he is going to
155. 6:51deliver them from the oppression of
156. 6:53Rome. So if he sides with Rome and says
157. 6:56that you've got to do what Caesar says,
158. 6:58then they think he may alienate his
159. 7:01base, the people, right? Because they're
160. 7:03controlled by their fear of the people.
161. 7:04So maybe he is too. So they come, we
162. 7:07know that you're from God. We know that
163. 7:09you do everything just right. Is it
164. 7:11lawful to pay taxes or not?
165. 7:15Shall we pay or shall we not pay?
166. 7:18But he knowing their hypocrisy said to
167. 7:21them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me
168. 7:25a daenarius to look at." They brought
169. 7:28him one. And he said to them, "Whose
170. 7:31likeness and inscription is this?"
171. 7:35And they said to him, "Caesars's."
172. 7:38And Jesus said to them, "Render to
173. 7:40Caesar the things that are Caesars's and
174. 7:43to God the things that are God's." And
175. 7:46they were amazed at him. So he takes a
176. 7:49coin and he asks them, "Whose face is
177. 7:53this?
178. 7:54Whose image does this bear?"
179. 7:59And they say, "Caesar."
180. 8:01And he says, "Well, if it bears Caesar's
181. 8:04image, give it to Caesar." But what is
182. 8:07his tacit suggestion in this? His tacit
183. 8:11suggestion is whose image do you bear?
184. 8:15Give your life, give yourself, give your
185. 8:18time, give your energy, give your love,
186. 8:21give your affection to the God whose
187. 8:23image you bear and give your coins to
188. 8:27the one whose image they bear. That's
189. 8:29his tacit suggestion. But in this
190. 8:31statement, he's done something that's
191. 8:33never been done before in human history.
192. 8:36He's created two realms. A realm
193. 8:38controlled by politics and a realm
194. 8:41controlled by God. A social realm, a
195. 8:43realm of society and a realm of
196. 8:45politics, of government, of political
197. 8:48power. And he has suggested that the two
198. 8:52can coexist, that the realm of Caesar
199. 8:55can still be there while the realm of
200. 8:58God advances. And that's a powerful
201. 9:01thing because that's exactly what's
202. 9:03going to happen in the church that he
203. 9:05creates. Rome is going to stay in power,
204. 9:08but the power of God is going to
205. 9:10flourish in that environment. Some
206. 9:13Sadducees who say there is no
207. 9:14resurrection came to Jesus and began
208. 9:16questioning him, saying, "Teacher, Moses
209. 9:19wrote for us that if a man's brother
210. 9:21dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves
211. 9:23no child, his brother should marry the
212. 9:26wife and raise up children to his
213. 9:28brother." There were seven brothers, and
214. 9:31the first took a wife and died, leaving
215. 9:33no children. The second one married her
216. 9:35and died, leaving no children, and the
217. 9:37third likewise. And so all seven left no
218. 9:40children. Last of all, the woman died
219. 9:43also
220. 9:45in the resurrection. Remember, they
221. 9:47don't believe there's a resurrection. In
222. 9:49the resurrection, when they rise again,
223. 9:52which one's wife will she be?
224. 9:55For all seven had married her?
225. 9:59Oh, what a dilemma. They've they've got
226. 10:02him trapped this time.
227. 10:05Jesus said to them,
228. 10:08"Is this not the reason you are mistaken
229. 10:11that you do not understand the scripture
230. 10:14or the power of God?"
231. 10:18He's like, "You're wrong because there's
232. 10:20two things you don't get. You don't
233. 10:22understand the scripture and you don't
234. 10:24understand the power of God. The power
235. 10:28of God is what raises people from the
236. 10:29dead and the scripture is what you're
237. 10:32twisting."
238. 10:33He goes on, "For when they rise from the
239. 10:36dead, they neither marry nor are given
240. 10:38in marriage, but are like angels in
241. 10:41heaven. But regarding the fact that the
242. 10:45dead rise again, have you not read in
243. 10:48the book of Moses in the passage about
244. 10:50the burning bush, how God spoke to him,
245. 10:54saying, "I am the God of Abraham and the
246. 10:57God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is
247. 11:00not the God of the dead, but of the
248. 11:02living. You are greatly mistaken.
249. 11:08Jesus builds his entire argument on
250. 11:11grammar here.
251. 11:13He quotes the Lord's conversation with
252. 11:16Moses where the Lord does not say, "I
253. 11:20was the God of Abraham."
254. 11:23If Abraham were dead, the Lord would
255. 11:26have said to Moses, "I was the God of
256. 11:29Abraham." But if Abraham is alive,
257. 11:32he will say, "I am the God of Abraham."
258. 11:38Unless he's the God of the dead. So
259. 11:40Jesus says, since we know he's the God
260. 11:42of the living and he spoke in the
261. 11:45present tense, then they're alive
262. 11:47somewhere.
263. 11:49I am the God of Abraham, the God of
264. 11:51Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And then he
265. 11:54says, "In this, you are greatly
266. 11:56mistaken."
267. 11:57One of the scribes came and heard them
268. 11:59arguing and recognizing that he had
269. 12:01answered them well, asked him,
270. 12:04"What commandment is the foremost of all
271. 12:09or first? Which one should be first
272. 12:12above everything?"
273. 12:15Uh this is an interesting statement,
274. 12:17isn't it? Because the whole Bible is
275. 12:19inspired by God. The whole Bible is God
276. 12:24breathed.
277. 12:25But this man asks him, "Which
278. 12:27commandment
279. 12:29is more important than all the others or
280. 12:31at least comes first in priority?"
281. 12:34And Jesus answered, "The foremost
282. 12:38is
283. 12:40here. Oh Israel,
284. 12:42the Lord our God is one Lord.
285. 12:48In this Jesus endorses Jewish
286. 12:52monotheism.
287. 12:54Jesus says, "Our Lord is one Lord."
288. 13:02Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one
289. 13:05Lord. And you shall love the Lord your
290. 13:07God with all your heart
291. 13:10and with all your soul and with all your
292. 13:14mind
293. 13:15and with all your strength.
294. 13:17The second is this. You shall love your
295. 13:21neighbor as yourself.
296. 13:23There is no other commandment greater
297. 13:26than these.
298. 13:30The scribe said to him, "Write, teacher,
299. 13:34you have truly stated that he is one and
300. 13:40there is no one else besides him."
301. 13:44and to love him with all the heart and
302. 13:46with all the understanding and with all
303. 13:49the strength and to love one's neighbor
304. 13:51as himself is much more than all burnt
305. 13:55offerings and sacrifices.
306. 13:58When Jesus saw that he had answered
307. 14:01intelligently, he said to him, "You are
308. 14:06not far from the kingdom of God." After
309. 14:10that, no one would venture to ask him
310. 14:13any more questions.
311. 14:16There's two things that are that are
312. 14:18very important to see here.
313. 14:20One, there is not a place in the New
314. 14:24Testament that we can find such a clear
315. 14:29compliment from Jesus
316. 14:32to this crowd of people. He argues with
317. 14:35them. He calls them brood of vipers,
318. 14:38hypocrites.
319. 14:40He does all manner of discourse with
320. 14:42them. But he does not ever say, "You are
321. 14:45not far from the kingdom of God." He
322. 14:48only says it when the man confirms the
323. 14:51oneness of God. that God is one, that
324. 14:55there is no one beside him, and that to
325. 14:59love him with all the heart and soul and
326. 15:02mind and strength is greater than all
327. 15:04burnt offerings and sacrifices.
328. 15:07The singularity of God, the oneness of
329. 15:11Yahweh is the most important
330. 15:14commandment. And when this man affirms
331. 15:17that, Jesus says, "You're not far from
332. 15:20the kingdom of God." He does not qualify
333. 15:22it. He does not say, "I'm going to show
334. 15:25you a different revelation." He does not
335. 15:27say, "That used to be the most important
336. 15:29commandment, but I've brought a new
337. 15:31one." He says, "That's it."
338. 15:35Then the other thing that we should
339. 15:36notice from this passage is that Jesus
340. 15:39adapts the schma
341. 15:41here, O Israel, Schma Israel, Yahweh
342. 15:43Elohu, Yahweh Ehad. He adapts it just
343. 15:47slightly.
344. 15:48He adds the mind. prior in the Hebrew
345. 15:52it's you shall love the Lord your God
346. 15:55with all your heart, with all your soul,
347. 15:58and with all your strength. He adds with
348. 16:00all your mind and with all your
349. 16:02strength. Because now that grace has
350. 16:05come, the mind can be subjected to the
351. 16:08spirit of God.
352. 16:10And there's an order to this. You can't
353. 16:13change that order. You can't say, "I'm
354. 16:15going to love God with all my strength
355. 16:17and hopefully get to the mind and then
356. 16:20maybe to the emotions, the soul, and
357. 16:22eventually, who knows, I may be able I
358. 16:25may get to the heart." No, you got to
359. 16:27start with the heart. You got to come as
360. 16:29a child, and then you got to go to the
361. 16:32mind. You got to go to the strength in
362. 16:34that order.
363. 16:37And Jesus began to say as he taught in
364. 16:40the temple, "How is it that the scribes
365. 16:44say that the Christ is the son of David?
366. 16:47David himself said in the Holy Spirit,
367. 16:49the Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my
368. 16:52right hand until I put your enemies
369. 16:54beneath your feet." David himself calls
370. 16:57him Lord. So in what sense is he his
371. 17:00son?
372. 17:02And the large crowd enjoyed listening to
373. 17:05him.
374. 17:06In his teaching, he was saying, "Beware
375. 17:09of the scribes who like to walk around
376. 17:11in long robes and like respectful
377. 17:15greetings in the marketplaces and chief
378. 17:18seats in the synagogues and places of
379. 17:20honor in banquetss, who devour widows
380. 17:24houses, and for appearance sake offer
381. 17:28long prayers. these will receive greater
382. 17:32condemnation.
383. 17:35So
384. 17:37he asks them a question. He says, "How
385. 17:39is it that David, speaking of his son,
386. 17:42calls him his Lord?" And the answer is
387. 17:45that David was going to have a son who
388. 17:48in the flesh was his offspring, but who
389. 17:52in the spirit was not just fleshly, was
390. 17:55the son of God. And that child was
391. 17:58Jesus. So in a sense, he was David's
392. 18:01son, speaking of natural heredity. And
393. 18:04in a sense, [music] he was David's Lord.
394. 18:06But they didn't understand it. And then
395. 18:08he says, "Beware of the scribes who like
396. 18:11to walk around in long robes and like
397. 18:14respectful greetings and taking
398. 18:17advantage of old ladies and uh making
399. 18:21long prayers. They're going to receive
400. 18:23the greatest condemnation.
401. 18:27And he sat down opposite the treasury
402. 18:30and began observing how the people were
403. 18:33putting money [music] into the treasury.
404. 18:36And many rich people were putting in
405. 18:38large sums.
406. 18:40A poor widow came and put in two small
407. 18:44copper coins which amount to a cent.
408. 18:49Calling his disciples to him, he said to
409. 18:51them, "Truly I say to you, this poor
410. 18:54widow put in more than all the
411. 18:58contributors to the treasury.
412. 19:01For they all put in out of their
413. 19:03surplus,
414. 19:06but she out of her poverty put in all
415. 19:09she owned, all she had to live on."
416. 19:15So in this [music] he's telling us that
417. 19:18when we give to God
418. 19:22the amount is not what God is looking
419. 19:24at.
420. 19:26The percentage is what [music] God is
421. 19:28looking at. How much it costs us what it
422. 19:32means to us to give it. They're giving.
423. 19:35The rich people are giving way more than
424. 19:38the widow. But in the eyes of God, she
425. 19:40was giving way more than them because
426. 19:42they were giving from their surplus and
427. 19:45she was giving from her poverty. When
428. 19:48you give to God and it costs you more,
429. 19:51it's more valuable to him than someone
430. 19:53who gives more in quantity that costs
431. 19:56him less. And that's the lesson.