Breaking the Word

He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?" They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.  (Mk 12:1-12)

In this parable Jesus is conscious of who he is and what his mission is and the out come of the mission would be. The people of Israel believed themselves to be the vineyard of God (Is 5: 1ff; Ps 80:15ff). Jesus was aware that he was the son sent by God to work in the vineyard to bring to produce good wine. This consciousness of being the son of God was also accompanied by the facts; the way he was treated by the leaders and how he would be treated in the days to come.

Not only Jesus was aware that he was the son of God; the listeners were also aware that he was talking about them. Usually the parables were revealing some hidden messages about the kingdom and the disciples needed explanations after the narration of the parable. Here the listeners, probably the leaders, understood that he was talking about them so they went away angry and they did not do anything to Jesus because of the crowd.

'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes' (Ps 118: 20) Jesus entered into the mindset of the Psalmist to thank the Lord for the great things done to Israel. It is a song of victory. (Does the author of the Psalm imply the stone used by the David to defeat the Philistines? Such stones will not be used for buildings. Here it becomes the cornerstone). It is the work of God. 

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." (Mt 7:21-27)

In this passage the author continues his attack on the false prophets (Mt 7:15-20). The false prophets will be known by their actions (fruits). Here the attack is broadened to include the disciples who also perform works of miracles in the name of Jesus but their lives show that they are evil. Calling on the name of God will also not bear fruit. Even though, Jesus has told the disciples that whatever they ask in his name will receive the favour.

Kingdom does not function as the people expect. In the kingdom calling on the name is not important (though it will be done). Mighty acts and miracles are not guarantee for entrance into the kingdom. Entrance into the kingdom is only for those who do the will of the Father.  Discernment of the will of God acting accordingly will be the sign of God’s acceptance. Interestingly even the miracle workers are called evil ones and asked to depart from him.

Listening to the word of Jesus and acting accordingly is considered wise. Listening to the word of God is not only for the disciples but for every follower of Jesus. Word of God should b the foundation for the life of the followers. Where shall we go you have the words of eternal life should be the response of the listeners.