Mark 12:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

NIV: Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

NASB: And He began to speak to them in parables: 'A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey.

CSB: He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

NLT: Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: 'A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.

KJV: And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.

NKJV: Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.

In Matthew's Gospel, this is the second of three stories comparing attempts to use God for worldly gain against sincerely following God. In the parable of the two sons, Jesus conveys that tax collectors and prostitutes, despite their initial rebellion, choose to follow God more closely than the religious leaders (Matthew 21:28–32). Here, the "tenants," or religious and civil leaders, assume a higher station than they warrant, and God promises to reward their presumption with destruction (Mark 12:9). In the parable of the wedding feast, the nobles who reject the invitation of the king will be replaced by whatever commoners are willing to come. In all three cases, the religious leaders overestimate their importance to God and, if they do not repent and follow Him, will find themselves deposed.

Jesus' use of this parable involves an unexpected twist. Scholars relate the parable to Isaiah 5:1–7, as this verse has many of the same details as Isaiah 5:2. In Isaiah, God builds a vineyard, representing Israel, but only wild grapes grow, representing rebellious Israelites. In response, God promises to destroy the vineyard: their exile into Babylon (2 Kings 24:10). It's possible, at first, that the religious leaders see themselves as the landowner in the parable: the rightful "owner" of the Jewish nation, and the tenants as the Roman occupiers. It isn't until Jesus mentions the "servants" (Mark 12:2–5), a term used in the Old Testament for prophets (Jeremiah 7:25–26), that the leaders understand what Jesus is saying.

Reading these words two thousand years after the resurrection, the roles in this allegory are clearer. The landowner is God. The tower is God's protection over Israel, Judaism, and the temple. The tenants are the religious and civil leaders (Matthew 23:31). The trip the landowner takes could be the four hundred years of silence between Malachi and John the Baptist, but it can also mean the entire history from Joshua's conquest of Canaan until this point.

Assigning a specific identity to the vineyard is harder. Not every single nuance of a parable is meant to have a specific application in the real world. If the vineyard is meant to have a specific meaning, it appears to be the Jewish people, but considering they will be dispersed with the "tenants" during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the meaning is probably broader. The valuable farmland is God's favor, the way of salvation, and the knowledge of how to worship Him. These responsibilities will pass on to the church, which is the "others" of Mark 12:9. At this time, however, the listeners would have no way of knowing this.

Mark 12:1–12 takes place days before the crucifixion, while Jesus is in the temple courtyard, teaching. Chief priests, elders, and scribes—representatives of the Sanhedrin—have demanded to know the source of Jesus' authority to cleanse the Temple (Mark 11:27–28, 15–19). After exposing their hypocrisy, Jesus tells at least three additional stories that show how God will replace falsely-pious religious leaders with sinners who truly follow Him (Matthew 21:28—22:14). The second of these three stories is recorded here, in Matthew 21:33–46, and in Luke 20:9–19.

Days before, Jesus has entered Jerusalem, hailed as a hero by the people (Mark 11:1–11). While teaching in the temple courtyard, Jesus shows superior understanding of Scripture over the chief priests, scribes, and elders (Mark 12:27–33), the Pharisees and Herodians (Mark 12:13), the Sadducees (Mark 12:18), and the scribes again (Mark 12:35, 38). Sadly, even in the instance where a scribe does understand Scripture, that is no guarantee he will follow it to its logical conclusion: Jesus (Mark 12:28–34). In contrast, a humble widow exemplifies the faithfulness and piety the leaders lack (Mark 12:41–44). Jesus leaves the temple for the last time to teach the disciples on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13). In Mark 14, He prepares for the crucifixion.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.