This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him,  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"   But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

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 vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; 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 vinedressers said 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 vinedressers, 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'?"

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

- Mark 11:27-12:12

Yesterday's reading told us that the day after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him,  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"   But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."   The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders come to Jesus in order to question Him about the cleansing of the temple (see yesterday's reading), in which Jesus drove out those who bought and sold in the temple, including the money changers and those who sold doves.  He's not a Levitical priest, and they want to know by what authority He has cleansed the temple.  My study bible says that, as Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John.  The elders' question regarding Christ's authority and well as Jesus' question about John require the same answer.   To answer His question would require confessing that His authority is from heaven, as was John's baptism.  In not answering these men directly,  Christ teaches us not to answer those who ask about holy things with a malicious intent.

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 vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; 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 vinedressers said 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."  Jesus gives a parable to the leadership, depicting a history of prophets sent to care for the people and the leadership that rejected them.  The man represents God the Father, the vineyard is God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews who are entrusted to care for the people -- those whom He addresses are representatives of that contemporary leadership.   Each servant which is sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet, who comes to call people back to God.  The beloved son is reference to Christ Himself.

Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, 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'?"  And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.   Jesus quotes to them from Psalm 118:22-23.

In telling the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, Jesus presents us with an idea of God.  God wants care and nurturing for God's people.  There are those who are in charge of this important duty, of nurturing and caring for the vineyard, and these are the leaders of the people, those who form the elders and scribes and chief priests.  It's important that by contrast Jesus has been providing lessons in leadership -- the type of leadership He wants -- to His own disciples.  He has taught them about humility, that those who would rule among them must be servants of all, and that the one who would be first must be slave to all.  He has taught them that in caring for the least among them, they must behold those "least" as if they were receiving Christ Himself.  He has taught them about the immense power of prayer, but that prayer must always be accompanied by offerings of forgiveness as well:  all given to the Father.  We may therefore contrast such notions of leadership with the vinedressers in today's parable.  These care for the vineyard as possession, with a sense of ownership.  They behave as thieves, not as those who nurture and grow to provide fruit and harvest and to give a share to its owner.  When the owner sends servants to request that such due be honored, the vinedressers treat those servants as objects to be gotten rid of, with no regard for life, or care, or their relationship to the owner.  We can see in human nature these basic choices that are to be made in relationship both to the world and to one another.  We are either stewards of what God has provided, or we feel we are owners who can exploit at will simply for personal gain.  The parable teaches us what one way of thinking leads to, as opposed to proper relationship to all things which are created and given by God.  It is a parable that is meant to apply to the understanding of the care and nurturing of God's people, but one which we can apply to many things in life.  Do we have friends we care for, or relatives or loved ones, such as spouses and children?  If we apply the same parable to brothers and sisters in Christ, do we see a particular way in which we are being taught to relate to one another in this parable?  Is Church a place where we are to command a place in the social hierarchy, or where we find a possession we wish to control?  Are children and spouses a blessing, or are they possessions?  Our answer to each of these questions will determine the ways in which we care for each of them.  We are stewards of our world as well, as Christ has come and given Himself not only for each of us but for the life of the world, the whole of the world and everything in it which is God's creation.  The ways in which we understand all of this as God's creation and gift will also determine how we care for all of life itself.  What is the difference between exploitation and care?  But Jesus also adds the caveat of the working of God's power in the world.  Such a situation cannot go on forever.  This vineyard will go to others, because there is a law that cannot be denied -- and that very law is the authority these men question Jesus about.  We should remember that this parable applies to all of us, as well a the power of the stone that may be a stumbling block or one that crushes to dust.  We repeatedly violate the reality of God and God's teachings at our own risk.  We are lucky who merely stumble over this stone, and so have a chance to learn from our mistakes.  None of us are owners, we are all stewards with a charge to care for the life of our world, the little bit we may be responsible for, and to produce fruits from it.  The stone remains for us to accept and understand, or to reject in a foolish blindness.  And this, too, comes down to how we view the life of the world.