So we're going to Mark chapter
12, and we're going to read verses one to 12. And he began, that is the Lord
Jesus, to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted
a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place
for the wine-fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen,
and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to
the husbandmen a servant that he might receive from the husbandmen
of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat
him, and sent him away empty. 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. And again he sent another,
and him they killed, and many others, beating some and killing
some. Having yet therefore one son,
his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying,
They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among
themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the
inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed
him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore
the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the
husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have
ye not read this scripture? The stone which the builders
rejected is become the head of the corner. This was the Lord's
doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. and they sought to
lay hold on him, but feared the people, for they knew that he
had spoken the parable against them, and they left him and went
their way. Amen, may the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. As we work through this chapter
12, in the coming weeks, God willing, we shall discover that
everything in it occurs on the same day. It's a very full day
for the Lord. It's Tuesday of the Lord's final
week before his death on Friday. Now you'll remember with me the
Lord had entered Jerusalem on the Sunday, we sometimes call
that Palm Sunday. He had entered Jerusalem that
day on the back of an unbroken colt and we gave some attention
to that a few weeks ago. He had visited the temple and
he had turned over the money changers tables and he'd returned
in the evening to Bethany and it appears that that was where
he was staying, where his accommodation was. On the Monday he went back
into the city and on his way into the city he cursed a fig
tree and he also wept over Jerusalem as he saw it in the distance. It appears that he cleansed the
temple another time that day, perhaps because the money changers
had just set up shop again the following morning. And then again
he leaves the city in the evening and heads out probably to Bethany. And now it's Tuesday. And after
noticing the withered fig tree and teaching his disciples more
about the nature of faith as they made their way into Jerusalem
again on this morning, the Lord returns to the temple and he
begins to teach. And we remember last week how
we thought about the fact that he had been stopped by members
of the Sanhedrin with questions about his authority, who gave
him authority to do this. and he counters their questions
with his own question about John's ministry and he does so to their
confusion and to their anger because they're not prepared
to answer his question because they know that it would be self-condemning
to say that John came from God and they know that if they say
that John wasn't a prophet from God that the people would be
angry against them. So they're angry at the Lord
for what he does and we're told that they conspired to do him
harm. But before they could leave,
the Lord spoke several parables in their hearing. He, as it were,
transfixed them with these stories that he told, so that there were
his disciples, there was the large crowd who had gathered
to hear him teaching, and here were these members of the Sanhedrin,
the high priest, the other priests, and the scribes. and they are
transfixed, they are listening to the words that flow from the
lips of the Lord Jesus. These parables that he told. Now, Matthew gives several of
the parables and there's one about a wedding feast. There's
a parable about two sons in the vineyard who are told to go and
do work for their father. One says he's not going and then
goes, and another says he's not going and then, or he says he
is going and doesn't go, and these parables are spoken. But Mark, here in chapter 12,
the passage that we read, moves straight into this parable about
a vineyard owner and the wicked tenants of that vineyard. And so with Mark we will leave
these other parables for another day and we will concentrate on
what the Lord says here in this chapter. There was wisdom shown by the
Lord in speaking in parables, in situations like this, especially
at this time. Had he spoken more explicitly,
had he conveyed his message, the message that was clear from
the parable, and which was understood more generally certainly by the
scribes and Pharisees, but had he spoken those words explicitly
amid the heightened tensions of the feast, there may well
have been riots there in the temple. And it's clear that the
scribes and the priests were fearful of the people. And while
the Lord wasn't afraid of the crowd, who were mostly on his
side, were eager to hear him speaking, he was nevertheless
careful for their well-being and for their safety. If he had
stirred up the people by using evocative and emotive language,
then many of them might have been slain or hurt. when the
Romans came to quell the riot or if there was a stampede of
some kind. And so the Lord is careful in
the way in which he deals with this situation. There's this
caring and protective attitude frequently seen with the Lord. But that is not to say that the
Lord held back in his criticism. And to be sure, this parable
is a stinging rebuke of the Sanhedrin and indeed we might well think
that its effect is all the more powerful for the skill with which
the Lord showed this gathering the guilt and responsibility
due to these men who were the blind leaders of the children
of Israel. He laid the crimes of past generations
against God and against God's servants at the feet of these
men and their forebears. And he also lays the guilt for
the imminent death of himself, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ,
at the feet of these men. He shows that the people, the
tenants that he's speaking about, are these Jewish leaders. Now I'm not going to retell the
story of this parable. It's really very straightforward
when you think about it. It's clear in its language and
in the pictures that it forms. And I hope you read the little
thoughts about it that I sent to you yesterday in the introduction
because I'm not going to just rehearse the story for you. But
in giving us the content of this parable, Mark shows again the
Lord's disciples being informed and prepared for his death and
the judgment that would follow in the days and months and indeed
years ahead. The disciples were being given
a potted history lesson about Israel's rejection of God's prophets
and a forecast about the Lord's death and the nation's judgment. so that it would be no surprise
to them as these things unfolded during the days of the week and
the days of their lives. In the parable, the vineyard
tenants abused and killed the owner's servants before ultimately
killing the vineyard owner's son. And for generations, these
Jews had abused and killed the Lord's servants in the Old Testament,
the prophets that had been sent to them. And now they were about
to slay God's own son, God's only son. by condemning him and
handing him to the Romans for execution. However, the disciples should
also learn the days of these men and their religious hypocrisy
were numbered. Soon the ruin would fall on them. Soon the priesthood would be
ousted in its entirety. Their privileged position as
principal custodians of God's message of salvation would be
removed from them and the gospel would be sent to the ends of
the earth. God's people and God's word would
be scattered amongst the nations and the whole Jewish system would
be overthrown as the Lord had overthrown the money-changers'
tables. Judgment would come upon them,
and the disciples were not being told this could happen, but they
were being informed that it would happen, and they should prepare
and live in expectation of it. There was a judgment coming.
and they should be aware of its coming, and they should speak
of its coming, and they should live in the light of its coming.
A little bit like us today, wouldn't you say? But in the things that the Lord
said to these men, it's the words at the close of his parable that
shall take our attention now. All the Lord prophesied in his
parable came to pass and it's a long time past now for us in
these days. Yet the Lord's closing words
to these particular men of the Sanhedrin continue to echo and
reverberate today. drawing on the words of a messianic
passage in Psalm 118. And speaking of himself, Christ,
the Messiah, he says, the stone which the builders rejected is
become the head of the corner. This was the Lord's doing and
it is marvellous in our eyes. And today, what I'm simply going
to do is divide up that little statement, and I trust for your
help, and mine, and for your comfort, so that we can see the
Lord Jesus Christ more clearly in these words that the Saviour
quoted and applied to himself. So the first point is this. The
Lord refers to the stone which the builders rejected. Now that
stone which the builders rejected is the Lord Jesus Christ and
I don't think any of us will be surprised to hear that. But
why is our Saviour likened to a stone or a rock? Not only here
in this passage and of course in the Old Testament passage
which was referring to the Lord and His coming, but very frequently
in Scripture we hear the Lord, the Lord God being referred to
as a stone or a rock. Well, the Lord takes this picture,
takes this type, this stone, this rock because of his strength,
because of his durability, because of the stability that comes from
a rock or a stone and for his usefulness in that spiritual
building which is his church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
foundation and the cornerstone of the building of his saints,
which is the church of Jesus Christ. We who are built on him,
stand on him. He is the solid rock foundation
and his stability and his strength is the reason for our perseverance. Christ is the rock of whom Moses
speaks when he tells us that the Lord stood on the rock at
Horeb in the Old Testament. And Paul tells us that the rock
at Horeb which Moses struck and out of which water flowed to
save the children of Israel in the desert was Christ. Paul tells us that spiritual
rock that followed them and that rock was Christ. And Moses further
says of the Lord in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4 he says,
he is the rock, his work is perfect. so that likening the Lord to
a rock or a stone speaks about his protection and his care for
his people. It speaks about their security
in him and on him, of the provision that he gives to us, of the life-giving
stream that cleanses us, for the living water that refreshes
and nourishes our souls, and for the glorious righteousness
having been struck representatively for us under the condemning rod
of God's judgment. And yet for all the typical and
figurative evidence granted to the Jews in the Old Testament
concerning that stone, concerning that rock, It would be rejected
by the builders. Now the builders were these Jewish
religious leaders, the tenants in the vineyard. It would be
rejected by them. These men whose role it was to
guide and to teach and to point to the coming Christ, the coming
Messiah, they would fail to recognise him. They would reject him. They rejected God's righteousness
by Christ for a self-righteousness of their own making. They rejected
grace for law, believing that by their own works they could
please God. They rejected mercy for just
desserts. Christ's righteousness for man's
righteousness and built themselves a house on sand with no foundation
and with no cornerstone. But, says the Lord Jesus Christ,
he whom the builders, that is the Jews, rejected is become
the head of the corner. And this is our second point
today. He has become the head of the corner. The Apostle Paul
tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20, he says, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. Christ is that cornerstone. A cornerstone joins two otherwise
separated or disjointed parts of the foundation. It's the cornerstone
that binds them together. and the Lord Jesus Christ unites
God and man. The Lord Jesus Christ reconciles
God and man, mediates between God and man, intercedes for us
in heaven and has brought us nigh unto God. Hebrews chapter
7 and verse 19 says, for the law made nothing perfect, but
the bringing in of a better hope did. That's Christ the cornerstone
by the which we draw nigh unto God. We are brought into connection
with God at the corner with the cornerstone. And the cornerstone
gives stability, it gives strength, and it gives dependable lines
for measuring, for straight edges, for beauty, for form, for purpose. It's a plumb line of perfection
and holiness and righteousness for justification for all who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the cornerstone is laid first,
showing the everlasting will and purpose of God in His covenant
purpose to gather to Himself a church and build them up upon
the darling of His own heart, His own Son, Jesus Christ, His
dearly beloved Son. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
is seen as that only fitting cornerstone upon which the church
is built. So that, as the Lord Jesus Christ
says, the stone that the builders rejected is become the head of
the corner, we're then told that this is the Lord's doing. That
God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the eternal God, Jehovah,
the only Lord God, The only one who could devise and execute
such a plan, design such a house as is the Church, lay such a
foundation and build on it such a glorious and beautiful building,
fitly framed together. The Church of the Firstborn.
The Church of God. You know, men and women, they
like to boast about their works and their achievements and their
accomplishments. But it's all wood and hay and
stubble. And it will all fall down and
it will all burn up and it will all be, what was it David said? It's a vanity. It's a shadow. This is all we are is a shadow. And yet God is mindful of us
in Jesus Christ. Only that which is built on Christ
will endure. Only that which is built on the
solid foundation will last and endure when trials come and troubles
come. All we are and all we have is
in Christ and is the Lord's doing. We have nothing and are nothing
except what God has freely given to us in Christ by his covenant
promise out of his grace and goodness alone. But there's more here as well.
because the rejection of Christ by these priests and leaders,
and indeed by men and women of all ages, is also according to
the Lord's determinate counsel and foreknowledge. Whether it's
the Jewish nation, the scribes and the priests, or men and women
of every age and generation, they reject Christ Because salvation
would be all of grace or not at all. And this is God's purpose
and this is God's plan. We preach election boldly. We preach God's sovereignty and
grace boldly. Because this is the Lord's doing,
this work of salvation. And there will be none who will
glory in the presence of God, for He will have all the glory. Men and women will by nature,
must by nature, because of the fall, because of Adam's rebellion,
be in that continuous state of rebellion until the Lord breaks through
and changes their heart. The exaltation of Christ, the
preeminence of Christ, the superiority of Christ, the excellence and
dominion, the authority of Christ above every name and beyond all
else is owing to God. This is the Lord's work. It is
all the Lord's doing from start to finish, from beginning to
end, from top to bottom. Men talk about their free will
and their good works and their rights and their just desserts.
And today's religion, like the Jewish religion of old and like
every religion of every country of every nation that has ever
been upon the face of this earth, has its hope in self and in what
men do. And yet man's free will will
always reject Christ, every time. Man's good works are no better
than filthy rags before the holiness of God. Man's just desserts is
an eternity of separation and punishment, until and unless
there is a mediator. and a representative who will
stand for them in the presence of God. Punishment in hell is
all that will be had by those who reject the stone that God
has placed at the corner. Outside of Christ, man's hope
of acceptance with God is a pipe dream and a delusion. This is
God's sovereign work. Grace is His gift. Salvation
is His doing. And, says the Lord Jesus Christ,
quoting the psalmist, it is marvellous in our eyes. Grace is marvellous
to the lost who find Christ. Grace is marvellous to a guilty
sinner because God has done what we never could do. Grace is marvellous
to His people. He has loved us everlastingly. He has sanctified us unalterably. He has justified us impeccably. He has redeemed us particularly,
and He has saved us most assuredly. You neither willed yourself into
Christ, and you can never will yourself out of Christ. He who
saves, keeps. He who preserves, protects his
own. and it is marvellous in our eyes. All we can do is praise His name
and thank Him for His goodness. There's wonder in God's wisdom,
in His grace and mercy and power and faithfulness to raise our
spirits. There is wonder to thrill our
souls in every situation, despite every problem or trial that we
might face. Because we learn in this great
work of salvation that there is nothing in this world that
can overwhelm or extinguish the excellence of God's ways and
means of salvation. And that's the song of the Lord's
people. It's the song of the Lord's people
now, and it shall be their song to all eternity. David could
say, I'll play, I'll sing a new song upon a 10-stringed harp. how blessed we are to sing that
new song to the Lord. We will be singing it for all
eternity. Revelation chapter 15 verse 3
says, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints. David knew the secret of peace
for a troubled heart and he knew the secret of rest for a weary
soul. He knew that to find peace and
rest we had to go to the stone that the builders rejected and
rest on him. Go to the foundation that is
Christ and be built upon that cornerstone. What was he, he
said, we read it in the Psalm, and be polished after the similitude
of our Saviour. David knew that secret, and therefore
he says to us in Psalm 61, verse two, when my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. May we all be led to
such a rock and such a one today. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to our hearts and encourage us in them. For Jesus' sake, Amen.