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Opening at Mark 12: ,Dr. Crawford Loritts at http://www.fbconline.org/VisitorCenter/sermon_series.asp opens with a question; How does God feel when He is rejected? John 1:11 talks about how Jesus came to His own and they rejected Him. We know how we feel to be rejected, but how does God feel? A young pastor friend of Crawford's is the minister of the church who is agonizing over the culture of the city where he is that basically says, if you're not born in the city, you're not a part of it. In Mark 12, Jesus is with the religious leaders who are rejecting Him. So, He paints a picture, a parable, with spiritual insight. The story is about a man who plants a vineyard and then puts a fence around it. The parallel, according to Crawford, is that the people of Israel are God's property, not the property of the religious leaders. Secondly, in the parable there is anticipated fruit. The man digs a winepress and then builds a tower. "Tower" means a big storage area here. The man is expecting a large harvest. Throughout the Bible, anyone who has a relationship with Christ is expected to produce fruit. Jesus talks often about being attached to a vine and producing fruit. Fruitfulness is the proof of the pudding. Continuing the story, the owner of the vineyard leases it to the tenants. The job of the tenants was to cultivate and maintain the vineyard. Typically, tenants were also required to return a portion back to the owner. This was an ROI for the vineyard; a return on investment. God's return on investment is us! He is glorified when we bear fruit for Him. But in vs 2-5, the owner of the vineyard is gone. He leaves the tenants there. Important note; there's a tacid agreement here. The tenants DO NOT OWN THE VINEYARD. Haven't we had experiences where we loaned or leased something to someone and they acted like it was their own? How hurtful it is to God when people are rebellious! In verses 2-5, The owner sends servants to receive his share of the vineyard. Each time he did, the tenants abused them. The first was beaten, the next they stoned and the third they killed. Like the owner, God is enormously patient with us, but His tipping point, where He draws the line, is the rejection of His son. In frustration with the tenants, the owner thinks that surely the tenants will respect His own son as a messenger. In Hebrews, it talks about how God sent many prophets, but His final statement was the sending of His own Son. The tenants spoke amongst themselves and decided to kill the heir and then throw the son off the property of His Father. The inference is that, not only did we reject Jesus, but we said He had nothing to do with God's Kingdom. If you know anything about history, you know that there are many "tipping points" where history could have played itself out in very different ways. Such an example was the Boston Tea Party. Also, Dec 2,1941 was a "day that would live in infamy" when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. In the 50's we saw Rosa Parks trying to attend a school and that was a tipping point for Martin Luther King, who decided it was time for change. 9/11 was a tipping point. Christians have tipping points in their own lives. Some think that they can still hijack the grace of God and keep living their own way. This is a form of rejection of God! In Matthew 23:37, Jesus, speaking of the rejection of those he came to, says, "...how often would I have gathered thy children together..but you would not!" What was the owner of the vineyard to do now? In verse 9, it says He will kill them and give the vineyard to others. Essentially, God would spread the Word to others beyond His chosen people. To wrap up the parable, Jesus quotes a psalm about builders rejecting a stone and that stone is the Cornerstone. Our rejection of God does not mean we will not do business with Him. He will still be exalted. Crawford, previously, had referenced a TIger Woods, who was picked on in school. His rejection did not mean he would not become a great golfer. God is God. Jesus, in a way, was trying to ask the religious leaders if they really understood who He was. Six things we should savor from the message: 1) Do we understand how much God loves us? This is a story of God being patient as He sends us His servants for thousands of years. 2) God expects a return on investment. 3) Don't be casual in our response to God as the owner of the vineyard. 4) Stop to consider who we are saying "No" to. 5) Everyone will eventually do business with Jesus. 6) To reject Jesus is to REQUEST JUDGEMENT! Isn't this last point the point of the passage?