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Today’s Scripture

Psalm 34         Genesis 50:15-21        Mark 12:1-12

 

            As we have been reading through the Genesis accounts we have read again about Joseph.  Throughout his life God used him as a messenger.  At first, the messages were not well received by his brothers.  There was jealousy as he was Jacob’s favorite son.  They did away with the messenger who would later save them during the great famine.  The messenger would later show them forgiveness and how God works for the good of those whom he loves, whom he has called by his word.

 

            In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the tenants who kept beating up on the messengers and eventually killing the owner’s son, the heir of the vineyard.  We know as we read this parable exactly how Jesus is speaking about God’s ongoing relationship with his people.  Jesus is speaking how the leaders of the church and many people rejected and despised and denied and attacked all of the prophets, even John the Baptist.  Elijah was hunted down by the queen and king.  Isaiah was supposedly sawn in half by the king (Manassah) [2 Kings 21:16, Hebrews 11:37].  The end of the parable is prophecy about himself in the upcoming suffering and death at the hands of the temple leaders and the Roman occupation.  Jesus concludes the parable with the prophecy that the one who is rejected becomes the one who holds all things together.  Jesus is the capstone of God’s grace and our faith.  Without him it all falls apart.

 

            You and I are messengers.  The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, the risen and ascended Lord and Savior who sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  At the last day Jesus will come in judgment on this earth, gathering all believers in him to eternal life in heaven.  Those who have rejected him as to who he really is, bring eternal judgment on themselves.  That judgment is an eternal life in hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth [Matthew 13:42, 50], where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched [Mark 9:48].

 

            Satan has convinced a great number of people in this community, in this nation, and in this world that this Gospel of Jesus Christ is not true or does not stand alone as God’s love to redeem his people.  Satan has multitudes convinced that after life on earth all will go to a “better place” just because it sounds so nice.  In the news this week is the report of a new “Jesus” movie.  Newscasters report that this movie is not produced according to the Bible, but depicts Jesus from the Moslem viewpoint.  According to the Moslem faith, Jesus is another prophet, not true God and true man, and is not the savior of the world.  

 

            Another example of false teachings and faith is Mormonism that acknowledges the Bible but only as part of God’s word.  Mormonism adds to the Bible additional writings and revelations that conflict with God’s law and do not acknowledge God’s grace in Jesus Christ as the single means of salvation to eternal life.  These two examples are evidence of the active messengers in this world who are not believers in Jesus Christ the Son of God and our savior.  We can go on with false teaching after false teaching including the attractive “New Age” philosophies so prevalently espoused by many popular entertainers and pundits. 

 

            Again, you and I are the messengers God has sent into this vineyard, this world that is ripe for the harvest.  There are many souls misled.  There are many souls just sitting there not knowing what to believe.  There are many souls both quietly and actively searching for truth, the one truth God gives in Jesus Christ.  We know that faith comes only through hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ [Romans 10:17].  We know that those who call on the name of the Lord, the triune God, will be saved [Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13].  We also know that we live in a culture and world that does not like hearing this truth. 

 

            In this world and within the auspices of Christianity we keep hearing that phrase, “Oh, we all believe in the same God, don’t we?”  All too often this well-meaning quote does not acknowledge the false teachings and beliefs that deny God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  The apostle Paul connects grace and faith no less than 12 times in his writings.  Jesus sates that whoever believes in him believes in the one who sent him who is God the Father almighty [John 12:44].  Jesus is the “narrow gate, “ [Matthew 7:13-14] that leads to heaven.  All other ways lead to destruction.

 

            Satan is alive and well but on this earth only.  As he prowls around looking for someone to devour [1 Peter 5:8], Jesus has sent believer after believer out into this world to teach his truth and to bring new believers from infancy to old age to baptism [Matthew 28].  God has given us this nation with all of its freedoms for people to be here where we can freely practice this one true faith, and also freely proclaim this faith.  This parable tells us we are not always going to be a welcome sight as messengers, but the message will always cut through.

 

            We see how this message cut through as the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest Jesus.  They did not know that they were fulfilling God’s plan of salvation.  They did not have a clue that within two months thousands would be baptized in the streets of Jerusalem.  They did not have a clue that their persecution would result in God’s word being proclaimed at Lee and Thacker streets in Des Plaines or in the most primitive communities in Nigeria today.  They did not have a clue that Gideon Bibles would find their way into countless hotel rooms, prison cells, soldiers and sailors bunks, and a multitude of public places.  They did not have a clue that grade school and high school and college students would witness their faith in classrooms and hallways in every community in our nation and throughout the world.  They did not have a clue that workers in all professions would share this one true faith at the copy machine, at the water cooler, from desk to desk and while bolting steel beams many stories above the ground.  They did not have a clue that neighbors would share this gospel across back yard fences, at the kitchen table over coffee, from one hospital bed to another, or with those they do business with day to day.  When the word goes out, it does not come back empty, but brings a harvest of saved souls with it [Isaiah 55:11].

 

            The messengers may be persecuted.  The messengers may be intimidated.  The messengers may be physically and orally and emotionally attacked.  But the message gets through.  God’s word created all things.  God’s word keeps all things going.  God’s word works faith in forgiveness and everlasting life to all who hear that word and believe in his son.  God’s word convicts those who deny him.  God’s word is truth, the one and only truth.  God’s word connected with water washes away your sins and gives you eternal life.  God’s word connected with bread and wine brings you the very body and blood that won all of this for you.  God’s word never leaves or forsakes you, but brings you to everlasting life with him.  In Jesus’ undying love we can all together say, “Amen..”