Are You Just A “Tenant”? - Mark 12:1-12
Are You Just A “Tenant”? - Mark 12:1-12
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 07, 2010 AM
We like being in control. However, the Psalmist tells us to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:12) Many have deliberately forgotten this Scriptural truth because the convoluted reasoning goes: “If I can ignore God in my life, then I can do whatever I want whenever I want, even if it concerns ungodliness.” This was true for Israel. Yet time after time God had tried to bring them back to himself. Rather than being the people of God they should have been, they became mere tenants, renters of God’s truth, despising God and desperately trying to control their lives without acknowledging Him.
Harvest time, before the advent of modern computerized corporate farms, was a time of great community celebration. A good harvest could mean survival through the winter and being able to plant new crops in the spring. A bumper crop could mean extra seed, perhaps a profit, and being able to expand your farm. Jesus however uses the example of a harvest, and its owner who comes to collect his crop as a means to teach his listeners that they had blown it. What Jesus shares angers his listeners and it should give Christians today pause in its implications for our time as well. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are we just being a tenant in our Christianity?” Let’s find out…
READ: Mark 12:1-12
As we listen to Jesus’ example, we discover…
I. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
1. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7) Notice Jesus begins to speak to his audience “in parables.” It literally meant, “to cast alongside of,” and so it meant a teaching that is placed within a story that people could relate to from their daily lives. Jesus uses the common tale of a landowner who plants his fields and goes on a trip. He leaves others in charge of his holdings. He does all the hard work, he makes all the investments to improve the land, and he uses his own resources. In Jesus’ day this was a common practice. The owner then rents his land to some farmers to take care of it while he is away. They would get paid for their work, and if they did a good job, they usually would earn a share of the profit from the harvest. But we discover that those left in charge did not honor their contract. Sadly, resentment can build between those who begin to think they deserve what does not belong to them. Here, it was the harvest. Tenants can forget that they are renters and not the owners. Christians can become just like the Jews of Jesus’ day. They had been entrusted with the sacred things of God, but they began to think their personal interpretation was far more important. They actually thought they were the owners! Believers can begin to think that what they feel about their faith or think about Jesus is far more important than what they have been entrusted. Christians can arrogantly begin to think they own the gospel and determine who hears it or not! It is a sign of disrespect. The harvest belongs to God alone. It cannot be prepackaged or commercialized because when it is, it begins to be cheapened and disrespected. Remember, Jesus had just cleansed the temple for a reason. The Jews had begun to disrespect the temple and thereby the message of God. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
EXAMPLE: I can remember when my parents rented out our basement they never demanded any kind of deposit. Most owners did no because renters knew that the property was not theirs, and they took care of it. They prided themselves in leaving it in better shape than when they first moved in. Nowadays there are security deposits, with first and last month’s rental fees. There are key deposits, cleaning deposits, and pet fees as well. The reason is because renters disrespect owners and feel they have a right to leave places in poor shape or skip out entirely on paying the rent they owe! The realization that this is true for many Christians is startling. Bonheoffer called it “cheap grace.” Oz Guinness believes Christianity has been “dining with the Devil” by cheapening the message of the cross. Some Churches have become corporations with a message to sell. The gospel has been reduced to a concept for living life rather than a life-changing message! Believers disrespect the message. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
We also discover that…
II. A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
1. “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.” (Proverbs 14:10) It is not only the owner who suffers from the convoluted view of a disrespectful tenant, but even those who represent him suffer as well. Jesus related the misguided view of the tenants. He also mentions how they became violent to those the owner sent to represent his interests. One after another, the landlord sends his representatives. They beat one, strike one on the head and treat him shamefully, they continue to beat or kill others he sends! Finally, the owner, who seems to be far more patient than I would have been, decides to send his own son. He incorrectly surmises, “They will respect my son.” True to form, they don’t. Instead, they actually plot among themselves to kill the young man sent to them. And in their convoluted thinking, they take his body and throw it in the owner’s vineyard! Jesus rhetorically asks his listeners, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” Jesus’ listeners were not dense; they knew he meant that the story was actually about Israel. They had killed the prophets God sent them and now they were going to kill his Son as well! Israel was “the builders” who had “rejected” the “capstone” Jesus! There is within Christianity today those who have rejected the capstone just as the Hebrews had. They reject Jesus through their inaction. They are silent as a world dies in its sin. They refuse to be part of a local church, making weak excuses as to why. They greedily keep God’s tithe to spend on themselves. They disdain their responsibilities; resent his church and its leadership. When asked to serve or give, they leave. I wonder what they will do when the owner of the vineyard suddenly returns and demands payment. A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
EXAMPLE: A mere tenant resents the owner because deep inside they think they should be in charge or that they are owed because of their perceived sacrifice. What they fail to realize is that they are tenants and not the owner. I can remember working at Continental Can and some of those who worked there would justify their stealing tools from the company as their “right.” These were union workers who had good incomes, great hours, fantastic vacation packages, and they enjoyed the best medical benefits and retirements. Yet, they had become resentful of “the man” and those who actually liked working for the company. They had not invested their money, bought any of the equipment, paid for their training, or invented any of the processes involved. Many drank while on the job, cheated by taking long breaks and lunches, and sought to steal anything they could from the company. Can Christians be guilty of some of the same things? Far too many Christians enjoy the grace of God, salvation through his Son, the prayers and fellowship of his church all the while contributing very little in return. Some even get resentful when they are asked to do so! Christians steal their time, talent, and treasure from the Lord, thinking that he owes them for their unfaithful attitudes. Perhaps it is time that Christians “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.” Remember, that a mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
Conclusion:
A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner! A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
Are you just a “tenant”?
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 07, 2010 AM
We like being in control. However, the Psalmist tells us to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:12) Many have deliberately forgotten this Scriptural truth because the convoluted reasoning goes: “If I can ignore God in my life, then I can do whatever I want whenever I want, even if it concerns ungodliness.” This was true for Israel. Yet time after time God had tried to bring them back to himself. Rather than being the people of God they should have been, they became mere tenants, renters of God’s truth, despising God and desperately trying to control their lives without acknowledging Him.
Harvest time, before the advent of modern computerized corporate farms, was a time of great community celebration. A good harvest could mean survival through the winter and being able to plant new crops in the spring. A bumper crop could mean extra seed, perhaps a profit, and being able to expand your farm. Jesus however uses the example of a harvest, and its owner who comes to collect his crop as a means to teach his listeners that they had blown it. What Jesus shares angers his listeners and it should give Christians today pause in its implications for our time as well. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are we just being a tenant in our Christianity?” Let’s find out…
READ: Mark 12:1-12
As we listen to Jesus’ example, we discover…
I. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
1. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7) Notice Jesus begins to speak to his audience “in parables.” It literally meant, “to cast alongside of,” and so it meant a teaching that is placed within a story that people could relate to from their daily lives. Jesus uses the common tale of a landowner who plants his fields and goes on a trip. He leaves others in charge of his holdings. He does all the hard work, he makes all the investments to improve the land, and he uses his own resources. In Jesus’ day this was a common practice. The owner then rents his land to some farmers to take care of it while he is away. They would get paid for their work, and if they did a good job, they usually would earn a share of the profit from the harvest. But we discover that those left in charge did not honor their contract. Sadly, resentment can build between those who begin to think they deserve what does not belong to them. Here, it was the harvest. Tenants can forget that they are renters and not the owners. Christians can become just like the Jews of Jesus’ day. They had been entrusted with the sacred things of God, but they began to think their personal interpretation was far more important. They actually thought they were the owners! Believers can begin to think that what they feel about their faith or think about Jesus is far more important than what they have been entrusted. Christians can arrogantly begin to think they own the gospel and determine who hears it or not! It is a sign of disrespect. The harvest belongs to God alone. It cannot be prepackaged or commercialized because when it is, it begins to be cheapened and disrespected. Remember, Jesus had just cleansed the temple for a reason. The Jews had begun to disrespect the temple and thereby the message of God. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
EXAMPLE: I can remember when my parents rented out our basement they never demanded any kind of deposit. Most owners did no because renters knew that the property was not theirs, and they took care of it. They prided themselves in leaving it in better shape than when they first moved in. Nowadays there are security deposits, with first and last month’s rental fees. There are key deposits, cleaning deposits, and pet fees as well. The reason is because renters disrespect owners and feel they have a right to leave places in poor shape or skip out entirely on paying the rent they owe! The realization that this is true for many Christians is startling. Bonheoffer called it “cheap grace.” Oz Guinness believes Christianity has been “dining with the Devil” by cheapening the message of the cross. Some Churches have become corporations with a message to sell. The gospel has been reduced to a concept for living life rather than a life-changing message! Believers disrespect the message. A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner!
We also discover that…
II. A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
1. “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.” (Proverbs 14:10) It is not only the owner who suffers from the convoluted view of a disrespectful tenant, but even those who represent him suffer as well. Jesus related the misguided view of the tenants. He also mentions how they became violent to those the owner sent to represent his interests. One after another, the landlord sends his representatives. They beat one, strike one on the head and treat him shamefully, they continue to beat or kill others he sends! Finally, the owner, who seems to be far more patient than I would have been, decides to send his own son. He incorrectly surmises, “They will respect my son.” True to form, they don’t. Instead, they actually plot among themselves to kill the young man sent to them. And in their convoluted thinking, they take his body and throw it in the owner’s vineyard! Jesus rhetorically asks his listeners, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” Jesus’ listeners were not dense; they knew he meant that the story was actually about Israel. They had killed the prophets God sent them and now they were going to kill his Son as well! Israel was “the builders” who had “rejected” the “capstone” Jesus! There is within Christianity today those who have rejected the capstone just as the Hebrews had. They reject Jesus through their inaction. They are silent as a world dies in its sin. They refuse to be part of a local church, making weak excuses as to why. They greedily keep God’s tithe to spend on themselves. They disdain their responsibilities; resent his church and its leadership. When asked to serve or give, they leave. I wonder what they will do when the owner of the vineyard suddenly returns and demands payment. A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
EXAMPLE: A mere tenant resents the owner because deep inside they think they should be in charge or that they are owed because of their perceived sacrifice. What they fail to realize is that they are tenants and not the owner. I can remember working at Continental Can and some of those who worked there would justify their stealing tools from the company as their “right.” These were union workers who had good incomes, great hours, fantastic vacation packages, and they enjoyed the best medical benefits and retirements. Yet, they had become resentful of “the man” and those who actually liked working for the company. They had not invested their money, bought any of the equipment, paid for their training, or invented any of the processes involved. Many drank while on the job, cheated by taking long breaks and lunches, and sought to steal anything they could from the company. Can Christians be guilty of some of the same things? Far too many Christians enjoy the grace of God, salvation through his Son, the prayers and fellowship of his church all the while contributing very little in return. Some even get resentful when they are asked to do so! Christians steal their time, talent, and treasure from the Lord, thinking that he owes them for their unfaithful attitudes. Perhaps it is time that Christians “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.” Remember, that a mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
Conclusion:
A mere tenant disrespects the rightful owner! A mere tenant resents those who are sent by the owner!
Are you just a “tenant”?
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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