Mark 12, verses 1 to 12, part 2, let us kill him

 

Mark 12:3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. 4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

This is a history of the nation of Israel literally and doctrinally and all the prophets you can read about in the Old Testament as they tried to keep Israel straight and turn it back on the path that God had set. Trying to line up which prophets were stoned and which were beaten might be a problem, though, as there were probably many prophets that didn’t write books that God preserved for us nor were mentioned. Not knowing who Antipas was in Revelation 2:13 is an example of the fact that God has not chosen to reveal everything to us and we do err when we demand that His Book must satisfy our every curiosity.

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The Bible represents God’s revelation of Himself to mankind in writing. It is, in type, Jesus Christ, the visible image of God, in written form. Notice the importance that God gives the Scriptures as being in His place in the following verses.

Romans 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Now, look what that verse was a reference to and see where the Scripture replaces God.

Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Note this placement of the word, scripture.

Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

And the verse that the verse in Galatians alluded to;

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

See Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; & 27:9. God has elevated His Bible on a par with Himself. Note how God views His words.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

If you can wrap your mind around this, or “attain unto it” as the Bible says, you will not want to mess with the Bible. Do not view God’s book like a textbook, demanding a detailed explanation of all you desire to know. View it as a conversation with God speaking to your heart and making His will for your life and for the history of humanity, both in yours and humanity’s relationship to Him.

Don’t be too concerned about what God doesn’t tell you, as you are not believing and following what He does tell you. Questions like where do the heathen go who have never heard of Christ or “been given a chance?” are meaningless questions. One might just say, “well, they go to Walmart and Starbucks.”

Read God’s word with an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out. Read it with a mind open to His leading and His understanding and His wisdom. Read it over and over asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. God speaks to you through it. Don’t make it a rationale for your fears, bigotry, and paranoia.

5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

This is a lot tougher parable than it looks. The husbandmen, typology for Israel’s historical rulers, admit, “This is the heir: come, let us kill him.” They had rejected God’s authority over them, even while paying lip service to God, when they demanded a king like the nations around them a thousand years before Jesus.

1Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

And yet, on the Cross, Jesus implores God the Father to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing and Peter acknowledges that in Acts. Well, it might be asked, what is it? Did the Jews knowingly kill God in the flesh, the Son of God, or did they not know what they were doing?

Paul says that Jesus was the seed for whom God made promises to Abraham.

Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

All things are His. See Colossians 1:16. Christ is the heir. This parable reveals the paradox of human evil. We know but we don’t believe. Knowledge is in the head, belief is in the heart. Knowledge doesn’t necessarily result in obedience, belief demands obedience. If I know the fire will burn my hand, I still may test it to see if that is indeed so, but if I believe the fire will burn my hand, I will not put my hand in the fire. Christ was revealed through the Scriptures and yet the Jews did not believe what they said although they knew what they said. We are willfully ignorant, and that’s when we’re at our best. Many times we know and believe something is sin, and still do it anyway. Our lust for sin is then greater than our reverence for God.

Head knowledge and heart knowledge are two different things, and the Jews killed Christ not out of a lack of head knowledge but a lack of heart knowledge.

Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

To hearken is to obey. If you heard, an act of will, not an accident of sound, you will obey.

Deuternonomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

1Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

The Jews ignorance revolved around their substitution of their own righteousness for God’s which Christians do when they are all puffed up.

Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.