Have you ever noticed that people usually don’t go from greater violence to lesser violence? People usually go from smaller acts of violence to greater acts. Playground bullies will get as bad as the environment will allow them to get. Corporate bullies will do the same. So will gang members and looting mobs. Things will get worse until a greater force arrives and forces an end to the violence, often with great violence.
We have just such an escalation of force used in our text today. Jesus is telling a parable about the spiritual condition of the religious leaders of His day. A parable is a story about everyday life and events told to illustrate a spiritual truth. Not every element of the story is to be nit-picked. Generally the story is driving home one main point. Many times in the Gospels there is an explanation of the meaning of the parable given in the text, so we don’t have to guess where Jesus was aiming.
We get the emphasis of this parable as recorded by Mark in the reaction of the three groups of religious leaders that Jesus has been confronting as He is on His final journey in Jerusalem. His death is just days away. They knew He was telling this parable and directing the message at them. I am sure there weren’t very happy with being publically targeted.
The parable tells the history of God’s witness to His people, and especially His witness to the religious leaders down through the centuries. The Old Testament prophets were not the most liked individuals. They often faced harsh treatment by the religious establishment because of their point blank statements about their spiritual failures.
And as we read about the treatment of the prophets, there seems to be an increasing mistreatment of them over time. As the people became more hard-hearted, they mocked them and rejected them. As the walls around Jerusalem were being rebuilt after the rebellion caused exile to modern day Iraq, Babylon back then, the prophet had to sneak around to inspect the wall and then rebuild it with swords attached to their sides. Their message of hope was rejected by so many.
And now Jesus arrives and stirs things up and is rejected by these religious leaders as a whole. There are a few who hear Jesus and respond. More respond after the resurrection, but the vast majority continue in their rebellion against the LORD.
And even though Jesus was rejected, He became the cornerstone, the central anchoring point for all of human history. To take someone so rejected and then make Him central was the plan from the beginning of time. His heal was bruised in the crushing of Satan’s head. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
As we look around the world today, whether it is Islam in it pure form, or street mobs running through downtowns smashing and looting, the levels of violence go up, not down. When the Prince of Peace arrives, things will change.
The Arnold Journey 