Mark 12:13-44
When a serpent (snake) strikes, it strikes hard and it strikes fast. In a snake infested area, being the second person in a group of travellers is the most dangerous place to be: the first person disturbs the snake, the second person gets bitten! Bam! Quick as a flash.
But have you ever seen a snake try to bite something through glass. All the venom is there, all the speed, the power, the apparent danger – but then BONK! all that happens is that the snake gets a sore nose!
And that’s what happened in last week’s passage. The chief priests, elders and scribes slithered up to Jesus, loudly demanding to know where he got his authority to do what he was doing. Jesus commands them to repent of ignoring God’s authority over them, and tells the story of the vineyard to illustrate it. They then slither up again with the brilliant question about paying taxes, and again BONK! their nose gets squashed against the wisdom of Jesus, where he again challenges their refusal to give to God what belongs to God: themselves. They are rebels against God, trying to throw off the “chains” of God’s Anointed King: Jesus, the Christ.
And tonight the snakes come thick and fast to strike Jesus, but each time BONK! How embarrassing. This uneducated carpenter from the backwater village of Nazareth is piercing right through all their excuses and self-justification, and putting his finger again and again on the only relevant point: are you listening to God the King? Do you live with him as King, or are you rebelling against him. In the words of Psalm 2: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry”!
1. Have you not read the Scriptures?
After the Pharisees and Herodians failed (interesting aside: those two groups were politically opposed – like Frp and Rødt working together!), the Sadducees then step up to bat. Mark helpfully tells us in v18 that they don’t believe in the resurrection. They were a Jewish sect, denying certain doctrines of Judaism. And they come to put Jesus in his place.
“Ah-ha, Jesus, now listen here to this foolish example we’ve just made up about one poor woman being married multiple times.” Their proposal is simple: resurrection is foolish because if you’ve been married, then widowed, then marry again – at the resurrection, who are you married to? Both of them?! How foolish to think that we will be resurrected! It’s illogical.
But, of course, they take this question to the extreme, milking it for all its worth. You can imagine them telling this story to the crowd, people laughing as the seeecond husband dies, then the thiiiiird. They were probably rolling their eyes in scorn as they bring home the argument “whose wife will she be”, to the enjoyment of the crowd.
All eyes are then on Jesus. What will he do? What will he say?
His answer is brutally honest: “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?”
How often is that us? How often are we wrong because we do not know the Scriptures, and do not know the power of God.
I had a comedy postcard once which said “I’ve made up my mind, now don’t confuse me with the FACTS!”
That’s exactly what the Sadducees have done here. They’ve made up their mind as to what the Bible says, and then read it to find their own ideas. So dangerous! Have you not read, says Jesus. And ends with you are quite wrong! Their arrogant attitude to the Bible has lead them astray. Instead of reading to find out what God thinks, they read to find their own thoughts confirmed. And they missed the resurrection! The resurrection! The hope of the future. The restoration of all things. The return to Eden. What a colossal mistake! And very soon Jesus was going to demonstrate the truth of the resurrection in a very real way. The reality of the resurrection is standing before them and they miss it completely because of their arrogance.
Where are you a Sadducee? What do you refuse to believe?
Where I most struggle is with the holiness of God, and my own sinfulness. I always want to make God less holy, and myself less sinful.
God’s holiness is white-hot, like the sun. His holiness, his glory, burns fierce and bright. Our “holiness” is like a burning match – utterly dwarfed by the sun. Light a match on a summers’ day and you can’t even see it. So it is with God and us. Our best efforts are insufficient. Even the very best of us fall short. Stop fooling yourself – you cannot reach God. God must reach you.
2. Understanding the Law (Scriptures) can get us close
Enter the scribe. This is a “good” man. He is one of the best of us. He has understanding and insight. He sees the spirit of the Law. Listen again to his brilliant answer to Jesus: 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
He gets it! The law is about love, not about rules. But his love is too weak. Love is not a feeling. It is not being nice. It is not burning like a flame. This is love: Ro 5:6–8 (ESV) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is love with power.
The scribe may have understood love intellectually, but lacked the power to carry it out.
Because how far can the law take you, even properly understood? “Not far” from the Kingdom.
But it cannot take you in. Only the King of the Kingdom, only Jesus, can grant you access.
The man has understanding, but his heart is not right. He, too, does not understand scripture. He has forgotten Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Or perhaps he does not believe it.
He refuses to believe that the only way to love God and love his fellow men properly is if Jesus has first loved him, and transformed him from the inside out. And so he falls silent, and no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The fools! What question should they have been asking?
“How do I get into the kingdom?”
“How do I get right with the owner of the vineyard?”
“Can I appeal to the king?”
For to do nothing is just as foolish as to oppose the King. Only those who come to Jesus will receive mercy. The rest of us, those who oppose, and those who do nothing, will be his enemies.
And his enemies will be soon crushed underfoot.
3. Jesus is the King
After his accusers fall silent, Jesus begins to question them, exposing their lack of belief in the Scriptures. How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ 37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?”
They could not conceive of the Almighty God making himself as nothing, as a human being. The incarnation (God becoming man) is mind-blowing. That he should walk on earth, limited and frail. That he should be a baby, dependant on his mother and father. Incredible. What love the King has!
But the religious leaders could not imagine such a love, and so they ignore the Scripture which teaches about the incarnation.
Jesus is both King of Heaven, and the earthly descendant of David. Through Mary he is the son of David.
David correctly calls Jesus “Lord”, because he is. And Jesus is also the son of David, according to the flesh.
Do you see the irony in this passage? Because remember who he is talking to v27 the chief priests and scribes and elders. These are the spiritual leaders of Israel, the religious elite! And yet they do not believe in the Word of God.
How timely! When we see the church in the West filled with unbelief, with religion instead of grace, when the very minsters of God’s Word don’t believe in the resurrection, or the incarnation. Good grief! No resurrection, no Christianity. What on earth are you doing then? It reminds me of the poem by JRR Tolkien on the fall of the West: “Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did it come to this?”
It came to this because we, like the Sadducees, like the religious leaders of Israel, abandoned our trust in the Word of God, and put our trust in our own foolish wisdom. Thank God for faithful men of God in the South and East, Africa, Middle East, Asia: bishops in Nigeria threatening to split from the Anglican Communion if the Archbishop of Canterbury does not start taking the Bible seriously; men like Asif in Pakistan, and many like him in Pakistan, India, China, Indonesia, faithfully preaching the gospel despite beatings, threats, and in many cases, martyrdom (being killed for being a Christian).
We in the West must learn from our brothers and sisters in the Majority World. They understand what is important. They understand that Jesus is the King, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, who will crush his enemies underfoot. This is the reality. Jesus came once as servant, to die a sinners death, to set free sinners like you and I. But that was a one time event. He reigns now as King, and will return not to serve but to be served, and anyone who has not bowed the knee will be cast into the lake of fire.
So beware of those who preach a false gospel, those who are full of themselves. V38 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” There are many such men (and women) at large in the “Christian” church today, as there has always been. Be on your guard.
4. The right response
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
And here we see illustrated the spiritual reality behind chapter 12. The rich people: the religious elite, the elders, scribes and chief priests; giving to God their leftovers. We’ve seen that the words of the prophet Malachi lie behind much of chapters 11 and 12, warning of the coming day of the Lord. In Malachi, the Lord had four complaints against his people, the first of them was this: the people are offering impure sacrifices (giving God the worst of the land, instead of the best – lip service, not heartfelt worship). Mal 1:11–14 (ESV) For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.
We cannot fob God off with our cast-offs, with the remainder of our lives, the left-overs of our time and money. God is a great King, and demands and deserves all. Like the widow, we are called to have faith, to trust God with everything. Jump in, no lifelines. She gave everything she had.
What are you holding back from the King?
Are you trying to be good enough? Do you not trust that his death is sufficient for you?
Are you keeping your marriage out of his hands? Men, are you leading your wives? Taking responsibility for your relationship, spiritually, sexually, emotionally. Are you lovingly serving your family? Women, are you helping your husband in his task, joyfully submitting, encouraging, loving?
What about your sexuality? Do you think he is blind when you’re masturbating in front of your computer? Or he does not see when you lust after a woman or man you’re not married to?
Or your money? Is it your money? Or God’s? Do you give to God first, and then decide what to do with the rest? Or take for yourself and give God whatever’s left over?
Or your time? Do you make time to listen to God, in private Bible reading, Wed Bible study, church? Or is it a “if I’ve got nothing better to do”?
Or your reputation? DO people at work or school even know you’re a Christian?
You belong to the King. Trust him. You are his. You are safe in his hands. So stop living a half-hearted Christian life (if there is such a thing), and start living for the King. Do not be like the “rich”, for they will be crushed underfoot by King Jesus. Be the poor widow, and throw yourself on the mercy of God.
Let me end by telling you a personal story:
In 1995 I was 19 years old, and a "good Christian boy". I read the Bible every day. I prayed. I could give you the right answer about pretty much everything when it came to God and Jesus and Christianity. But my heart was far from God. When my daily God-slot was done, ticked off, an empty religious act, then the rest of the day belonged to me, life was mine, and I ran it as I wanted. And I must admit that I ran it badly, wounding many, including my uncle and aunt. I was full of pride and self-righteousness - while I stepped on and hurt people, and where others could see right away that I actually had no relationship with Jesus (or it was at least well hidden!). I fooled myself and felt superior while I was playing with sin.
What grace was shown me on that day God broke through! The day I suddenly heard the voice of the King, challenging me. Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? I was wrong! And as I repented and ask the Lord to forgive me it was like the sun had come out for the first time. The next day I woke up and everything was new. I belonged to Jesus - all of me! I am his child.
Trust Jesus. His grace is sufficient for you. Confess your sin, your rebellion, for he is faithful and just to forgive.
Do it now, because he could return at any moment, and then it will be too late. Do not be fooled: he is the King. Remember last week? What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Give to God what belongs to God: you.
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