Article Display
Email  |  My Account  |  Donate

During the last few hours before Jesus sits down for the Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus begins to speak in parables.

In Mark chapter 11, Jesus taught on the law of faith, which includes forgiveness. But in Mark chapter 12, Jesus begins to speak in parables. This takes place in the wake of Judas selling out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, the crowd saying, "Crucify Him," and Jesus hanging on the Cross, saying, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?" During His last remaining hours, Jesus shares some final words.

And He [Jesus] began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let [leased] it out to husbandmen. and went into a far country.
(Mark 12:1)

The vineyard Jesus is talking about is the earth. God rented out the vineyard. Renting is leasing. God leased out the earth. When did He do that?

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

God made Adam the "god" of this world. He leased the earth out to him.

Now a lease doesn't mean that you have permanent possession. There is a time when the lease runs out, and the property returns to the rightful owner. Mark 12:1 says,

...A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen [God leased it out to mankind], and went into a far country.

Adam Turns Over the Lease to Satan
Now remember, Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. Second Corinthians 4:4 says, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

Who is "the god of this world" in this verse? It's not Adam; it's Satan. Somehow Satan, who blinds the minds of people who don't know Jesus, became god of this world. When did that take place? In the Garden of Eden.

God had told Adam, "You can have everything in this Garden except the one tree in the middle" (Gen. 2:16,17). The Garden of Eden stretched from Saudi Arabia to Central America.

There were thousands of miles of every kind of fruit tree, plant, and anything Adam could desire. God met his needs physically, mentally, and even socially - He gave him a woman to love him and help him. God gave Adam everything he wanted and said, "All this is yours except the one tree in the middle."

Of course, you know what Adam did. Actually, he and his wife both disobeyed God. They obeyed Satan, and Satan then became the god of this world.

As long as Adam and Eve obeyed God, things worked for them and for God; His plan was being accomplished. But when they obeyed Satan, things worked against them and for Satan. And Adam and his wife Eve became slaves in the slave market of sin.

Thank God, this deal was only a lease and not a complete sale! If it had been a complete sale, there would be no hope for us at all, But Jesus came to help us while the lease was still in effect. He came to set us free from that tyrant Satan and to bring back what He intended for Adam in the first place.

Jesus Restores the Lease
God told Adam, in effect, "As long as you have this lease, you have dominion over everything in the planet. You have dominion over everything that flies, walks, swims, or crawls. You're the man! You're in charge; whatever you say is what will come to pass."

Man lost that dominion when he sinned, but through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus restored that dominion to you and me.

Let's continue with this parable in Mark chapter 12:

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.
(Mark 12:2-4)

According to this parable, God kept sending servants to His vineyard. Now before Jesus came to the earth, the servants that the Lord sent were the prophets.

He sent the prophets to preach the Word of God. And since the prophets preached the Word of God, we know God intended for men to hear that Word, repent of their sins, bow their knees to Him, and become servants of God Almighty. God expected to reap a return from the lease He let out.

But this passage says they (the husbandmen or "tenants") beat those prophets and killed them. This happened to prophet after prophet. Satan understood that those prophets were handling the Word of God. So he decided to get rid of them, and he used man to do it.

And again he [God] sent another [servant]; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, 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 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.
(Mark 12:5-9)

Notice verse 7: "But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours."

In other words, Satan said in verse 7, "The Son has come. If we kill Him, we get everything forever."

There was a first group of husbandmen - the chosen ones, the Jewish people under the Old Covenant - that God wanted to get His salvation to. So God sent His Son, Jesus, to see that they be restored.

But who are the "others" mentioned in verse 9 who would get the opportunity to receive eternal salvation? It's you and me, the Gentiles who didn't even know God. The Gospel was sent to you and me who weren't the chosen people.

God sent the Apostle Paul to bring the Gospel to us, to give us the opportunity to get in on the blessings of God and His plan for the earth.

New Recipients of the Earth Lease
You can't work for or earn something that is given to you as a gift. The only thing you can do with something given to you is just receive it. The salvation offered by Jesus does not come by your good works.

You're not saved because you give money to the poor or because you don't smoke, drink, steal, commit adultery - or because you think you're better than somebody else!

You don't have the power to wash away the sin that came upon mankind. But God sent One who was sinless. God said, "I'm going to give My Son, My only begotten Son. And He will carry your sin.

All you have to do is receive the gift of salvation offered to you through Him." John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...." Thank God for the Gift!

God said, "I will give the earth to anyone who will believe, anyone who will receive the Son. The earth will belong to him." When they speak to a tree, it has to act. When they tell mountains to move, the mountains have to move.

When they speak to anything on the planet and believe, it will come to pass, because they are the recipients of the earth lease.

I'm glad God didn't give up on us. After Adam disobeyed, God could have said, "This is My planet, and I'll just wait until the lease is up. Let them die. I'll start all over again with another group."

He could have left us in this destroyed earth with nothing but sin, sickness, poverty, degradation, fear, and depression. We would have no way out - no hope! But God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus.

A New Creation and a New Plan
As I said, God could have left the earth the way it was - steeped in sin - until the lease ran out whereby He could have taken it back and cleaned it up again. In a sense, that's what He did the first time.

Genesis 1:1 and 2 says, "...God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void...."

The place was destroyed. How do I know that? Because when God creates something, it is not without form and void!

You see, there was a battle between Satan and one third of the angels and God and the other two thirds of the angels. The Bible tells us that Satan lost. He was thrown out of Heaven. Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning to the ground" (Luke 10:18). When Satan hit this planet, he destroyed everything (see John 10:10).

There was a civilization here before the re-creation of the earth. Remember what God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He said, "Multiply and replenish the earth" (Gen. 1:28). What does "replenish" mean? The word replenish means to restock.

There were dinosaurs on the earth at one time, and there were many other things as well. But they were wiped out when Satan came and destroyed everything. So God said, "Wait a minute!

Let Me re-create this thing." He said, "Light be!" And light was! So He re-created the planet. Then He created a lease and gave it to Adam, telling him to do with the earth what he wanted. Satan got back at God by getting to Adam. But God said, "I'm not quitting."

Remember, God never loses! And if you stay with God and trust Him, you aren't going to lose, either. Romans 8:37 says, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." First John 5:4 and 5 says, "... this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

You are an overcomer! You are a winner - even if you don't feel like one, even if you don't look like one, even if others say you aren't one! You need to say what God says about you!

Source: The Last Week of Jesus by Keith A. Butler
Excerpt permission granted by Word of Faith Publishing

Author Biography

Keith Butler
Web site: Keith Butler
 
Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center. He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).
Read more...

About Us

The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

At cfaith, you can strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Word of God by digging into the vast collection of teaching articles, streaming audio and video messages, and daily devotionals. No other website offers such a unique and extensive collection of spiritual-growth resources aimed at helping you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Read More...

 

 

Support Us

Why support cfaith?


(All contributions are 100% tax deductible)


SUPPORT CFAITH WITH ONE CLICK!

For every Internet search you make using
goodsearch, cfaith will receive one penny!

GS Logo 250x38

Contact Us

Business Hours:


Monday—Friday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. CST
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Phone:

(763) 488-7800 or (800) 748-8107

Mailing Address: 

CFAITH.com
9201 75th Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 

Login Form

Please ignore the “Secret Key” field; it is not needed to log in to cfaith.

Login Change Article

Spring360x442
You need to enable user registration from User Manager/Options in the backend of Joomla before this module will activate.