Rejection is Hard, But Good
Rejection may be one of the most painful things we have to face in life. We all have been rejected. We all have experienced the pain and embarrassment and humiliation of being cast aside, turned down, or overlooked.
Like most kids, I faced rejection in school and sports and even at church. I wasn’t the biggest or strongest or fastest kid, so I was often overlooked by my friends when it came time to pick teams at recess. As hard as I may’ve tried, I never seemed to be in the “in crowd” at my high school. I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. The only girl I ever dated other than Suzy broke up with me suddenly. There are countless examples of rejection in my life. And I’m thankful for each one of them.
By the way, the pain of rejection alerts us to a truth that’s hard-wired into us. Rejection is so hard because we were created to be accepted, by God and by others. The pain of rejection reveals something fundamentally good and true about us: we need and want to be accepted. We need and want to be accepted because God made us to have relationship with him and others.
Rejection is terribly hard. It brings us to tears, leaves us with that empty feeling in our gut, and sends our minds into a tailspin of doubt, despair, and discouragement. But, even though rejection is hard, it’s also good. Why? Because it points us to the God who accepts us. Had I been the strong and fast and smart and cool and popular kid, I may not have seen my need for Jesus. The rejection of the world prepares us for acceptance by God.
Rejection is also good because when we look back over our lives, we begin to see how God used rejection to lead us and shape us and bring us to where we are today. Rejection is often the vehicle that drives us into the blessings that God has for us. Because our offers on a couple houses were rejected, Suzy and I were able to find the house that’s just right for our family. Rejection is often what reveals God’s wise plan for us. It’s often what shows us how sufficient Jesus is for us. Rejection, therefore, is a marvelous gift from God.
God’s Son Was Also Rejected
The passage of Scripture we’re going to study this morning says that Jesus also experienced rejection, but that it was marvelously used by God to accomplish his purposes. The main point of Mark 12:1-12 is that God’s Son will be rejected only to be vindicated, and that those who rejected him will be judged.
We can divide the text up into three sections. First, the tenants reject the servants (vv. 1-5). Second, the tenants reject the son (vv. 6-8). And third, God rejects the tenants (vv. 9-12).
The Tenants Reject the Servants
In verses 1-5, we see the tenants of the vineyard reject the owner’s servants. Let’s quickly identify who and what each element of Jesus’ story represents. The vineyard is God’s people Israel. The owner is God. The tenants are Israel’s leaders. The servants are the prophets. And the owner’s “beloved son” is Jesus.
Jesus is saying that God (the landowner) leased his property to tenant farmers (the Jewish leadership), but when he sent his servants (the prophets) to collect fruit from the vineyard (Israel), they were mistreated and killed. So he sent more servants, but they received the same treatment. Finally, the owner sends his son (Jesus), because surely they’ll respect him. But the tenants get rid of him in hopes of gaining the vineyard for themselves. At this point the landowner intervenes decisively. He destroys the wicked tenants and gives the vineyard to other people.
Who is Jesus talking to in this parable? The “them” in verse 1 are the delegates from the Jewish Sanhedrin (11:27). Verse 1 would’ve immediately reminded them of one of the most famous parables from the Old Testament (Isa. 5:1-7). There are many similarities between these two parables. But the one major difference is that, in Isaiah’s parable, the problem is a fruitless vineyard. The nation of Israel was failing to produce the fruit of righteousness (v. 7). In Jesus’ parable, the problem is the unrighteousness of the tenants, or leaders of the nation of Israel. The men Jesus was speaking to understood this (Mk. 12:12).
Jesus’ story is addressing the corrupt and wicked leadership at the temple. Remember the context of this section of Mark. In chapters 11-16, Jesus goes to Jerusalem and the temple to pronounce judgment on the temple and replace it as the place where God meets with humanity. Just as the fruitless fig tree withered away, so will the fruitless temple.
Starting in 11:27 through the end of chapter twelve, Mark presents a series of seven conflict stories between Jesus and the religious leaders. The temple and its leaders must be exposed for their corruption. We saw last week (11:29-30) that what happened at John’s baptism of Jesus tells us why Jesus has authority to do what he’s doing: he’s God’s Son filled with God’s Spirit. Jesus thus speaks and acts with the authority of God.
But not all receive his authority. The Son’s authority will be rejected by the religious leaders. This is what we see next in Jesus’ parable.
The Tenants Reject the Son
In verses 6-8, we see the tenants of the vineyard kill the owner’s son. Verse 6 is the climax of the parable. The tenants are mistreating and killing the owner’s servants at an increasing rate until finally the owner sends someone who’s not a servant. He sends “a beloved son” (v. 6).
Think about this for a moment. The owner’s servants are getting slaughtered. They’re getting beat worse than the Dallas Cowboys on a Sunday afternoon. “Many” of them were beat and killed (v. 5). And yet the owner decides to send his most precious possession to these evil, murderous men.
What landowner in their right mind would send their kid to talk to people like this? What kind of Father would send his Son to people who despise his authority and mistreat his servants, to people who’ve beaten and killed every single other person that he’s sent?
God is the kind of the Father who would. The simple act of God sending his Son shows us how much he loves people who don’t love him. God loves us so much that he sent us his Son (Jn. 3:16). God is holy. We’ve rejected him. We thus deserve his judgment. But in mercy he sends us Jesus instead of judgment. The sending of the Son of God reveals the love of God. We need to remember this when we doubt or wonder whether God loves us. He does. He sent Jesus.
The Son comes with the Father’s authority. This is why the owner says, “They will respect my son.” The son isn’t a hireling like the servants, he’s the heir. But he also comes with the Father’s compassion. He’s the “beloved son” (v. 6). We know this is referring to Jesus because two other times in Mark’s Gospel God the Father calls Jesus his “beloved Son.” Once when he was baptized by John, “You are my beloved Son” (1:11). And once when he was transfigured, “This is my beloved Son” (9:7).
Jesus was sent like the prophets were sent. But he’s fundamentally different from the prophets. He is God’s own Son. He has an unprecedented role in Israel’s history and in God’s plan of redemption. To say that Jesus is merely a prophet or a good teacher fails to reckon with what Jesus says about himself in this parable. As Byron said on Wednesday night, having a low view of Jesus is why many Christians and churches fall into heresy.
Verses 7-8 say that the tenants reject the love of the owner. In first century Palestine, a piece of land could be acquired by its tenants if there was no living person to claim it. These tenants want the vineyard for themselves, so they kill the son thinking that they’ll then have what is rightfully his. The son was treated just like the servants. Jesus is saying that Israel killed and mistreated everyone God sent to them. Israel didn’t want to hear from God, so they tried to silence his spokespersons.
The Word of Lord Is Rejected, but Will Be Heard
We must not be too hard on Israel. We also don’t want to hear from God because he says things that we don’t like to hear. I think it’s Tim Keller who says that if your God always agrees with you, then you aren’t worshipping the one true God.
We want to rule our own lives, so if we can dispense with God, then we can become God. This is why many try to silence God by doing all they can to silence his people and his preachers. But his Word will continue to go out. His voice will be heard. “‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Pet. 1:24-25).
One commentator says, “What is the sum total of human history if not the attempt to rid the universe of God?” Ever since the Garden of Eden, we’ve believed the lie of the Serpent and questioned the goodness of the Word of God, assuming that God is keeping something from us, that he’s against our joy rather than for it. But, in his grace, he stubbornly refuses to not be heard. He keeps sending his word out, the word of his grace and love in Jesus.
This is the main thing God is doing in the world: revealing his love to his people through his word. This has massive implications for our lives. Is the Word of God heard and cherished and studied and memorized and meditated on in your life? Is its goodness seen in proportion to the amount of time you spend in it compared to games and shows and videos and the little computer in your pocket? Do you pray for the preaching of the Word? Do you want others to hear the Word of God? Is God functionally silent in your life? Does anyone hear his voice through you?
The Word of the Lord is rejected by many, but it will be heard and received and loved and spread. It will not fail.
God Rejects the Tenants
Those who reject the Word of God and the Son of God will receive the judgement of God. Verses 9-12 say that God will reject the tenants, the leaders of Israel because they rejected his Son.
Jesus answers his own question in verse 9. He says that the owner of the vineyard will destroy those who killed his son and give his vineyard to others. God will reject those who rejected his Son. He will judge those who judged his Son. Notice that it’s not the vineyard that’s judged, but the tenants. The nation of Israel is not totally rejected by God, but its corrupt leaders are. God still has a plan for Israel.
But Jesus also says that the vineyard will be given to others. The “others” who’ll get his vineyard are the Gentiles. God’s new people will be made up of Jews and Gentiles. This new people is called the church. It’ll become the new and true Israel. The church will be made up of people from among all the peoples. Jesus signaled this when he cleared the Court of Gentiles at the temple. He wanted to make room for all the nations to worship and know God. The temple authorities failed to include the nations in their system, but Jesus knew that God’s house must be “a house of prayer for all nations” (11:17). God’s vineyard will be as ethnically diverse as the world he made. So if you’re uncomfortable with people of other ethnicities, you’ll be very uncomfortable in God’s kingdom.
In verses 10-11, Jesus suggests that the religious leaders should’ve known what was coming, “Have you not read this Scripture” (v. 10a). Then he quotes from Psalm 118:22-23. He quotes these verses to say that God’s “cornerstone” would be rejected but also vindicated, and that his rejection was all according to plan. Jesus is the “cornerstone,” or “capstone,” that will support and hold together the new building that God is constructing.
The despised and neglected stone cast aside by the builders will become the keystone for a whole new temple that God is building through Jesus. This temple is called the church. It’s where God’s Spirit dwells and where all the nations of the world are drawn together by the love God as revealed in the death of Jesus. Jesus’ death is the foundation for the church, the new and everlasting people of God.
Verse 11 says that Jesus’ humiliation and rejection was planned by God for a greater purpose that will be “marvelous in our eyes.” The rejection and death of God’s beloved Son was all according to plan. It’s a stunning sight to behold for all who have eyes to see God’s glory in the death of his Son.
Jesus Was Rejected So That We Can Be Accepted
Rejection is one of the most painful things we have to face in life. But, even though rejection is hard, it’s also good. Why? Because it points us to the God who accepts us. The rejection of the world reminds us of our acceptance by God.
In a marvelous and mysterious way, God’s acceptance of us is based on the rejection of his Son. Jesus was cast aside so we could be welcomed. Jesus was overlooked so we could be chosen. Jesus was abandoned so we could be adopted. Jesus was rejected so we could be accepted. Jesus died so we could live.
The glory of the gospel is that God sent Jesus to do this for people who don’t like him. We’re the wicked tenants who haven’t respected God’s servants or God’s Son. We’ve not wanted to listen to the owner of the land. We’ve preferred to run the vineyard ourselves. Indeed, we’ve preferred to steal the vineyard for ourselves, taking from God what’s rightly his.
We’re no better than these tenants, or the religious leaders Jesus was speaking to. We deserve the same thing they did. The owner of the vineyard has every right to “come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others” (v. 9). God doesn’t owe us anything but judgment.
But, in love, he decided to send us Jesus instead of judgment. In a marvelous display of mercy, God sends the best thing he has to the worst people he knows. He gives us his Son, his precious boy, so that we can become his sons and daughters.
“This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (v. 11). Is it marvelous to you? How do you view Jesus’ death for your sins? Is it wonderful, amazing, stunning, spectacular, awe-inspiring, and breathtaking? How does your heart respond to the news that God sent his own Son, on purpose, to be rejected and killed so that you, who rejected him, can be accepted and live?
Everyone who admits their sin, confesses their need for a Savior, and puts their trust in Jesus will be granted full acceptance by God.
The “Living Stones” of the Local Church
Everyone who marvels at Jesus’ rejection for their acceptance is called into a new family, the church. The apostle Peter uses the imagery of chosen stones to describe this: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:4-5).
In Christ, we become living, precious, beautiful, choice stones that make up God’s house, the place where the holiness of God dwells on the earth, the place where God is worshipped among all the nations. Christian, don’t underestimate what you are in Christ. You’re not a dirty rock. You’re one of millions of “living stones” holding up the house of God, created by the Word of God, built on the Son of God, full of the Spirit of God. The local church is more precious and powerful than you realize. It’s where God choses to live. It’s where you will find spiritual life. Christians thus neglect the local church to their own detriment.
The rejection of Jesus is marvelous because it brings us to God and makes us the house of God.
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