Comments on: Mark for Lent 29 http://www.signposts.org.au/2006/03/30/mark-for-lent-29/ musings from those on the journey Mon, 1 Dec 2008 04:14:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: just_nigel http://www.signposts.org.au/2006/03/30/mark-for-lent-29/#comment-132653 just_nigel Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:09:15 +0000 http://www.signposts.org.au/2006/03/30/mark-for-lent-29/#comment-132653 Vineyard story: If we side with the tennants we could say there is some rich exploitive absent landlord who is making life hard for the poor land-less renters. If we side with the landlord we see a battle for authority with people taking by force what is not theirs. So how do we read it? This elaborate descriptoin of the vineyard is a clasic from the porphets of the nation as God's property. It is a prophetic parable that reminds all of the chief preist, national leaders, 'teachers of the Law of Moses' that the vineyard / nation is not theirs - there is another owner who despite what evil they do, really has soverignty over it. When Jesus asks the national leaders (who he has just reminded of how they executed God's messenger John the baptiser) what the owner will do to the workers who kill the owner's messenger he is asking them to pass judgement on themselves - Brilliant! 'The stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all. This is something the Lord has done, and it is amazing to us.’ This text reminds us who in Mark's story the 'workers' have 'rejected' and 'tossed aside'. And we are told to expect a miracle, something amazing God does, which is establishing the rejected as the most important. This is the good news of God's sovereignty! Emporer's Coin story: "The Pharisees got together with Herod’s followers..." I say, these are very unlikely coalition partners! Their hatered of Jesus has them compromising their principles all over the place. We return to the temple money changers. Roman coins had a depiction of Emporer as God on them. That meant they were idols and could not be used in the temple. When Jesus' opponants challenge him about taxes he traps them with their own actions once more. He asks for a coin and ... THEY HAVE ONE. If supporting the empire is such a problem what are they doing with the empire's coins? When Jesus says “Give the Emperor WHAT belongs to him." I can seeing him winking and nodding to those who already belonged to the Emporer and by contrast did not belong to God. It is a bit rich trying to complain about what coins are given to the empire's purse, when the national leaders are already in the empire's pocket! Vineyard story: If we side with the tennants we could say there is some rich exploitive absent landlord who is making life hard for the poor land-less renters. If we side with the landlord we see a battle for authority with people taking by force what is not theirs.

So how do we read it?

This elaborate descriptoin of the vineyard is a clasic from the porphets of the nation as God’s property. It is a prophetic parable that reminds all of the chief preist, national leaders, ‘teachers of the Law of Moses’ that the vineyard / nation is not theirs - there is another owner who despite what evil they do, really has soverignty over it.

When Jesus asks the national leaders (who he has just reminded of how they executed God’s messenger John the baptiser) what the owner will do to the workers who kill the owner’s messenger he is asking them to pass judgement on themselves - Brilliant!

‘The stone that the builders tossed aside
is now the most important stone of all.
This is something the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’

This text reminds us who in Mark’s story the ‘workers’ have ‘rejected’ and ‘tossed aside’. And we are told to expect a miracle, something amazing God does, which is establishing the rejected as the most important. This is the good news of God’s sovereignty!

Emporer’s Coin story: “The Pharisees got together with Herod’s followers…” I say, these are very unlikely coalition partners! Their hatered of Jesus has them compromising their principles all over the place.

We return to the temple money changers. Roman coins had a depiction of Emporer as God on them. That meant they were idols and could not be used in the temple. When Jesus’ opponants challenge him about taxes he traps them with their own actions once more. He asks for a coin and … THEY HAVE ONE. If supporting the empire is such a problem what are they doing with the empire’s coins?

When Jesus says “Give the Emperor WHAT belongs to him.” I can seeing him winking and nodding to those who already belonged to the Emporer and by contrast did not belong to God. It is a bit rich trying to complain about what coins are given to the empire’s purse, when the national leaders are already in the empire’s pocket!

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