Mark 11:27-33, Lessons from the Vineyard (1)

Jesus and the disciples arrived at the temple and were immediately confronted by the religious leaders (chief priests, scribes and elders).  “By what authority?!”  That is a legitimate question for the leaders to ask.  They are shepherds of the flock and need to guard the flock from false prophets.  At least its a question their “job description” required them to ask. 

But the problem here is that they were not genuine in their question.  They had been around long enough to know that Jesus claimed to be One with the Father, to be the One sent from above, to be speaking only the things His Father wanted Him to speak.  Asking this question now is the height of hypocrisy. In addition, Jesus knew they were not genuine.  They had already rejected Jesus and were looking for ways to trick Him into saying something they could use to have Him arrested or discredited in the hearts of the people.  So, Jesus gave an answer by asking His own question about the authority of John the Baptist.

The leaders, of course, refused to answer because they had no easy path.  It revealed their true reason for serving in leadership: they were concerned with their own position and only valued the people as “votes” in the next election, so to speak.  This revelation is consistent with what the OT prophets said about the “shepherds of Israel” who would lead Israel in the time of the Messiah.

Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves!  Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?  You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. (Ezek. 34:2-3)

Thus says the LORD my God, ‘Feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, “Blessed by the LORD, for I am rich;” and their shepherds do not pity them.’ (Zech. 11:4-5)

These are the ones referred to frequently in the OT, especially in the Psalms, as the “workers of iniquity.”  They are driven to organize and facilitate evil.  If Jesus were to go ahead and answer their question it would only increase the hard-heartedness these men had against Jesus. 

However, this is not all that Jesus had to say on the subject.  Mark 12:1 says that Jesus “began to speak to them in parables.”  The conversation continues between Jesus and the leaders with a parable about a vineyard and the wicked vinedressers.  We have seen that the “fig tree” (11:12-24) wat a picture of the nation of Israel.  The vineyard is also a picture of Israel.  The vineyard emphasizes the blessing of the land God had given Israel as well as the leadership of the nation, the “vinedressers.”  The “Song of the Beloved” in Isa. 5:1-7 has much in common with this parable and you would do well to read it.  Isaiah emphasizes fruitfulness while Jesus emphasizes the accountability of the vinedressers.