The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
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What Does Mark 12:2 Mean?
Mark 12:1-12
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus' Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19). Not long before, the scribes, chief priests, and elders had accused Him of taking too much authority upon Himself, but in this parable, they find themselves indicted for high crimes. Having discounted Jesus Christ as the Son of God with all authority, in this story they—and the people (see Luke 20:9)—learn His identity, who sent Him, and the death He would die at their hands. In earlier parables, He had exposed the religious leaders of His day as spiritually empty impostors, and now, in this more condemnatory parable, He reveals them to be persecutors and murderers as well.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
Mark 12:2-5
The servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel, and the fruit borne are those who responded to their efforts. The wicked vinedressers "beat" one servant (meaning to flay or whip so that the skin is taken off), denoting the harsh, unjust treatment God's servants received (Hebrews 11:36-37). They kill another, representing the many prophets who died at the hands of Israel's leaders (Luke 13:34). They stone a third, not necessarily to death, for Mark records, "At him they cast stones and wounded him in the head, and sent him away." God's servants had experienced all these things. The wicked vinedressers' actions show their rejection, not of the servants, but of the landowner, God (I Samuel 8:7). For centuries, He had sent the prophets to warn and witness to the Israelites, and they had been persecuted and slain (I Samuel 22:18). There was no purpose in continuing to send more prophets to the people, so He sent His Son.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Mark 12:2:
Matthew 21:33-46
Mark 12:1-12
Luke 20:9-19
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