In verse 12, they sought to lay
hold on him, but feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken
the parable against them. This was very clear to them. Well, who are they? The same
people who at the end of chapter 11 and verse 27, and they came
again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, There
came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
and said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? Who
gave thee this authority to do these things?" Now, this is the
group that he speaks this parable against, and this is a very remarkable
parable. Verse 1, And he began to speak
unto them by parables. And remember, this is the last
few days of the Lord upon the earth. He knew he would be dying
shortly on Calvary's tree. And he said, a certain man planted
a vineyard and said, and hedge about it and dig the place for
the wine fat, for the grapes to be crushed. And he built a
tower. I mean, this was complete. This was a real vineyard. It
belonged to him. He made it. It was his. And he
rented it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. And at the season, the time when
it was time to collect the money that would have been made, 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. Now, what would you do? You'd do the same thing I would.
You'd go to the authorities, you would have these men kicked
off the property, you would take the money, and you'd have them
thrown in jail. Verse four. Now this shows the
amazing long-suffering of the owner of the land. And again
he sent unto them another servant, and in 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. Now that's obviously talking
about the prophets. But what I'm so struck by is
this could only describe God. Me and you wouldn't have this
much longsuffering. Only the Lord God is like this. It doesn't
describe anyone else but him. To think of his longsuffering. Verse six, having yet therefore one son,
his well beloved, he sent him also. Can you imagine that? Him sending his son after all
that had happened to these other people, he sent his well-beloved
son. And the Lord Jesus is speaking
of himself at this time in this parable. Having therefore one
son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying,
they will reverence my son. Someone that doesn't reverence
him ought to be sent to hell, shouldn't they? Verse 7, but those husbandmen,
and Luke's account says when they saw Him, they saw the well-beloved
Son, they saw the Heir. That's when men begin to HATE
the Lord Jesus Christ, when they see who He is. They may have
ideas about Him that are not accurate, and they don't feel
such hatred, but when they SEE Him, For who he is, that's what
stirs up the anger and the hatred. But those husbandmen said among
themselves, this is the heir. Now they were right about that,
weren't they? He's the heir of all things. By whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of God's glory and express image
of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power.
He is the heir. He's the heir of all things,
and we like it that way, don't we? He's the heir, he's the well-beloved
of the father. But what did they say? Those
husbands said among themselves, this is the heir, come, let us
kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. They wanted him dead, and they
wanted what belonged exclusively to him to be theirs, the glory. The glory, that's what exclusively
goes to him. And they wanted what exclusively
went to him. So they said, come, let us kill
him. Verse eight, they took him and
killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. They seized him,
they murdered him, and they cast the dead body out of the vineyard
as not even worth burial in their contempt of the well-beloved
son. Now, let me say this. Every one
of us have some idea, some idea, some small idea, actually, of
our own sinfulness. Now, you're not gonna get a true
picture of what you are by looking at what you've done or what's
inside you. The only way you're gonna get
a true picture of what you are is what these fellas did to the
well-beloved son. the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the one time God allowed men to act out what they wanted to
do, they put his son to death, and you and I are just as guilty. I hope you believe that. If God
left me and you to ourselves, we would be doing the same thing,
and the only way you can understand just a little bit of your sin,
the only way I can understand just a little bit of my sin is
by looking at the cross, not looking within. but looking to
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the full revelation of
me and you willful contempt of and hatred for the Lord Jesus
Christ. I think of what Isaiah said,
we're all guilty if we esteemed him not. The altogether lovely
son of God, we esteemed him not. Now if the Lord asks a question,
What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? Well, you
know the answer to that question. He will come and destroy the
husbandman and will give the vineyard unto others. Now, the end of these men is
exactly what they had coming. And then the Lord says, and I
love it, how often does He say this? He looks at these fellows
and says, haven't you read this? They'd read it. Plenty of times,
didn't know what it meant, but they'd read it. They'd read the
118th Psalm and the 118th Psalm says this, the stone which the
builders refused is become the head of the corner. This is the
Lord's doing. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Have you not read this scripture?
The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of
the corner, this was the Lord's doing." And you know what? It is marvelous in our eyes,
isn't it? And they sought to lay hold on
him, but feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken
this parable against them. And they left him and went their
way. There's a lot of scriptures about
Christ being a stone. The stone which the builders
refused. The stone which the builders rejected. And I have
no doubt that Peter was thinking about this very time when he
referred to this stone. But let's look at a couple of
Old Testament scriptures. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
eight. Isaiah the eighth chapter, verse
14. And he, the Lord Jesus Christ,
shall be for a sanctuary, for a holy place, for a place of
refuge, for a place of safety. You know, it is amazing to me
that churches call these auditoriums the sanctuary. He's in the sanctuary. He is the sanctuary. HE IS THE HOLY PLACE. OF HIM ARE YOU IN CHRIST JESUS,
WHO OF GOD HAS MADE UNTO US WISDOM, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SANCTIFICATION,
AND REDEMPTION. HE IS A SANCTUARY TO HIS PEOPLE,
A PLACE OF HOLINESS, A PLACE OF GOD'S ACCEPTANCE, A PLACE
OF GOD'S PLEASURE. HE IS A SANCTUARY. for a stone of stumbling, and
for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin
and for a stare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Now, men stumble
over him and find him an offense. Stumble at the freeness of his
grace, offended by what he says about his sovereignty over me,
What he says about my personal righteousness, that it's filthy
rags. What he says about my rights,
that I don't have any. What he says about my wisdom,
that I can't figure this thing out. I'm totally dependent upon
him for revelation. Shut up. What he says about my
efforts, that they're no good, that they stink. Men are offended
by that. He's either a sanctuary or a
stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. This is the stone
which the builders, the supposed builders refused and rejected.
Turn to Isaiah 28. Here's another glorious scripture
about the stone. Verse 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Now this is that foundation stone
that is Christ Himself. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus the Lord. And look what it says concerning
him. It says he is a tried stone. You know, he was tried by the
father and found to be perfect. He was tried by Satan. Satan could find nothing in him.
He was tried by death. Death couldn't hold him. He was
raised from the dead. He's tried by his people, and
they found him to be a perfectly sufficient savior. Nothing else
is needed. He's a tried stone, and he's
a precious cornerstone, a precious. I love to think of the way the
Bible speaks of precious, and it's not precious metals. It's
not precious stones. And to you that believe, He is
precious. He's all that you have of value,
isn't He? He's all that you have. We read of the precious promises. How precious are the, all the
promises of God in Him are yea, and amen to the glory of God.
How precious those promises are. Like precious faith. Isn't it
a precious thing to be able to believe? You believe the same
thing every other believer believes, that He is precious. And then
there's the precious blood of Christ. Precious because of whose
blood it is. Precious because of what his
blood accomplished. His blood made it to where I
stand before God. Everybody he died for stands
before God without sin. Without guilt. Perfectly holy. Isn't he precious? Now this is
the mark of every believer. And to them which believe, He
is precious. Not gonna get any argument from
anybody on that that believes He's precious. He is precious.
Look what it says next. He's a sure foundation. Although my house be not so with
God, yet hath He made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. And he that believeth shall not
make haste." Now, you think of this sureness of this foundation
stone. I think of, if God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all. There's nothing that can prevent
Him from giving us freely all things. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Nothing can be brought up to
accuse me. It's God that justifies. Who
is He that condemneth? It's Christ that died. There's
nothing to condemn me. That's sure, isn't it? There's
nothing questionable about this. Oh, the sureness of this foundation,
and he that believeth on him shall not make haste. And I think
it's interesting. In the New Testament, this is quoted as
shall not be confounded, shall not be put to shame. And anybody
that believes on him will not be put to shame. And you will
not be ashamed. You're proud of the gospel you
believe. It saves you. I'm not proud of
myself, but I can say I'm proud of the gospel. It's worthy of
God. It glorifies God. I love the
gospel, how it honors God. I'm not ashamed. Paul said, I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. But here it says he shall
not make haste. You know why? He didn't want
to go anywhere else. He's going to stay right there. He shall
not make haste. Now, Peter heard this and turned
to Acts chapter 4. Peter said in verse 9, If we
this day be examined at the good deed done to the impotent man
by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all, and
to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole." And look
what he says, this is the stone which was said of not of you
builders. Now these were the murderers of Christ. He said,
this is the stone that was said of not of you builders, which
has become the head of the corner. Now this was a favorite scripture
of Peter. Look in first Peter chapter two. First Peter chapter 2, beginning
in verse 4. To whom? Coming. Now there's a description of
a believer. To whom? Coming. Why do you come? You need him. You need his mercy.
You need his grace. You're a sinner. and you're always
coming to Him, Lord, save me. Lord, be merciful to me. To whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. You also as lively stones are
built up a spiritual house and a holy priesthood to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore
also it's contained in the scripture, and he quotes this, that the
Lord quoted, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect,
and there's God's elect, precious. And he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe,
he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, The same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed." Now somebody says, what does
that mean? Exactly what it says. I don't know how else to deal
with it, and it's best if God appointed it. it's best, and
that's where these people stumbled. This seems to be a favorite scripture
of Peter, but the stone which the builders rejected. Now, the builders were looking
for a political messiah, one who would deliver them from Roman
bondage, paying tribute, paying taxes, but they weren't looking
for a deliverer from sin. They wanted deliverance from
a servitude that they did not like, and when they saw he wasn't
doing this, they all turned thumbs down on him. They did not want
him in any way. However, he has become the head
of the corner, the chief cornerstone. And you know that scripture where
the Lord said in Luke 16, that which is highly esteemed among
men is an abomination to God. And do you know the converse
is true? That which God esteems highly is an abomination to men. And you see that in this parable. Now, back to our text in Mark
12. Verse 10, have you not read this
scripture? The stone which the builders
rejected is become the head of the corner. And look at this
next statement. This was the Lord's doing. And you know what? It is marvelous
in our eyes. The Lord's doing is always marvelous
in our eyes. Now, this is the Lord's doing. That's a pretty comprehensive
statement, isn't it? With regard to creation, this
is the Lord's doing. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word was God. The same WAS in the
beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything that was made. Now, this is the
Lord's doing, and it's marvelous in our eyes. with regard to everything
in providence, everything, whatever it is, this is the Lord's doing.
You can't take that too far. By Him, all things consist. He is the cause, whatever it
is, it's the Lord's doing. That's why we can rejoice in
all things work together for good, to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose, because it's
the Lord's doing. And with regard to salvation, can we take this
too far? Salvation is the Lord's doing.
When we talk about election, you've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. It's the Lord's doing. And it's
marvelous in our eyes. Redemption is His doing. He by
Himself purged our sins with no help from us. Justification
is His doing. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. Oh, what a, I love, okay, I love
His name. I love His name. But there isn't a word I love
any more than justification. It's in the Bible. You know what
that means? That means I stand before God sinless. Right now. When God looks at me, there is
no sin. Now that's the Lord's doing.
Is there any way I could do anything like that? No! That's the Lord's
doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. Regeneration is His doing. Christ
in you. hope of glory. Preservation is
the Lord's doing. Preserved in Christ Jesus' faith
is the Lord's doing. It's the gift of His grace, and
He is the object of it. Repentance is His doing. Then
hath He to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. It's the
Lord's doing. Glorification is His doing. We know that when He shall appear,
we'll be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Such is the
glory of His person that when we see Him, we'll be perfectly
conformed to His image. The great end of predestination
will be realized. Whom He predestinated, then He
also, whom He foreknow, then He also predestinated to be conformed
to the image of His Son. Salvation is the Lord's doing. And that's what Paul meant when
he said all things are of God. Now, can this be overemphasized? No. This is the Lord's doing. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Now in this parable, both Matthew
and Luke say something else. Turn to Luke chapter 20. Verse 17, And he beheld them, and said,
What is this that is written? The stone which the builders
rejected, the same has become the head of the corner. And look
what he says next, and this is in Matthew's account too. Whosoever
shall fall upon that stone, shall be broken. But on whomsoever it shall fall,
it will grind him to powder." I love the way this verse 18
starts out with the word, whosoever. That's a good word. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Thank God
for this word, whosoever. I can fit myself into that demographic.
I'm a whosoever. Whosoever shall FALL upon that
stone shall be broken, not stumble at that stone. Now this is a
very special word. This is the same word that's
used when people fell down at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the word that's used
to describe the leper falling down before him. This is the
word that's used to describe Peter falling down on his knees
and saying, depart from me, Lord. You don't have anything to do
with me. I'm a sinful man. It means literally the descent
from a high place to a low place. Isn't that precisely what happens
when somebody calls upon the name of the Lord? They descend
from a high place of arrogance and high thoughts of themselves
to a very low place. It's the act of worship. You see, Eric read this just
a few moments ago. God hath highly exalted him. And giving him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee is
going to what? Bow. Bow. You're going to go from a high
place to a low place. And every tongue will confess
that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and this one
that falls before this stone, on this stone. Scripture says
he shall be broken. And this is a good broken. You
won't be saved, I won't be saved apart from being broken. Let
me give you some scriptures. Psalm 34, 18 says, the Lord is
nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. And saveth such as be
of a contrived spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. That's the heart that God will
not despise. Now, when something's broken,
that means it can't work. That's what it means. If I'm
broken, I can't work. I'm broke, I can't do it. I'm
broke. What a glorious place to be. He doesn't fix you. He makes
you new. He gives you a new heart. He
gives you a new righteousness. No, He doesn't fix you. You're
beyond fixing. You're broken. You just need
to be thrown away as far as that goes. But if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. Oh, what a blessing to be broken. If you're broken before God,
broken of any hope of doing anything to please Him, You have nowhere
to look but Christ. His righteousness is the only
righteousness you know anything about. God's blessed you. The Lord God has made His Son
known to you, broken of all hope of self-salvation, broken of
self-righteousness in the sense that you really believe. You
really believe. This is not just something you've
been indoctrinated in. You really believe that your
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And the only righteousness
you have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Do you believe
that? The Lord's done something for
you. What a blessing. And at the heart of a believer,
it's not broken at Mount Sinai, the giving of the Lord, scares
them to death. But the heart of the believer, is broken at
Mount Calvary. That's where the heart's broken.
Law and terrors do but hardly when attended all alone, but
a sense of blood-bought pardon soon dissolves a heart of stone. And that's the only place the
heart is ever really broken, is at Calvary. When we see what
Christ accomplished But if that stone falls on you
in judgment, you'll be ground to powder." And these fellas
knew that the Lord was speaking of them. But what a beautiful
picture of the long-suffering of God, Him sending His Son. Truly, this is the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank You that salvation
is Thy doing. Lord, we're Confess the sinfulness
of having contempt for your son. And Lord, we would have been among
the crowd crying crucify him. And Lord, we confess that the
only reason we love him now is because of your love to us and
your grace to us. Lord, truly, we love you because
you first loved us. I bless this message for your
glory and for our good. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.