Mark 12:1-11
‘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. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ?””
Mark 12:1-11 NIV
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 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 in grade school. I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. 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 we been the strong and fast and smart and cool and popular kid, we may not have seen our 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.
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.
Jesus and His message can be the cornerstone of our lives, the guiding truth and love that gives security and conviction to all of life. All love and goodness is created through him.
The way we live and try to live by His gospel is the Lord's doing also. Life itself and love are gifts of God, the touchstone of God's continual creation of us all.
Jesus reminds us that there are many ways in which the message of God arrives. We easily develop habits that enable us to dismiss or ignore these messages. We realize that we need to be more aware of how God is communicating with us and we ask for help.
Jesus finished His story by quoting an Old Testament Scripture that became one of his early followers favorite passages. The point of the quotation is simple. God can turn things around and do great things with what looks like rejection and disaster. This redemption of apparently bad situations is precisely what God does.
God raised His Son Jesus from the dead and vindicated His life, His ministry, and His teachings. What began horribly, the Son being murdered and His body desecrated outside the city ended in something marvelous. Jesus being raised and death being defeated.
While we abhor the rejection, the wounds, the humiliation, and the death that Jesus endured, God has made Jesus suffering precious to us. It is marvelous grace!!!
Father thank You for this day and the only one adequate response that we can give to all that You have given to me through Your Son is a never ceasing worship and prayer. Lord use let Your abundance pour out from the storehouses of heaven upon my friend and family today. Lord, we want our thank You to be more than words. Lord we want to say thank You with all of our being and show our appreciation with the way that we live. Lord we sense the greed, selfishness, and fear that lurks within us and is expressed in all we do to get status, security, and control. We know the truth. We are the ones who want to keep the vineyard all to ourselves. Forgive us and lead us to a new way of being. Lord use my friend to be someone’s blessing today. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya
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