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Day 255

Acts 2:18 "And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy." Acts 2:18"

Day 255 – Mark 12

“And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:18

SHORT AND LONG PARABLES

Jesus was master at telling both short and long parables. Both types have their own complex challenges. The long parable must have sufficient relevant details, and must also have a strong conclusion. The longer parable seemed to require consummate skill from the Storyteller.

CONTINUING WITH THE PARABLE


“Therefore still having one son, his beloved,
he also sent him to them last, saying,
‘They will respect my son.’
But those vinedressers said among themselves,
‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him,
and the inheritance will be ours.
So they took him and killed him and cast him out
of the vineyard.”
MARK 12:6-8

The in-built lessons would have been plain for the discerning to see.

1. Who was this “son”?

a) Jesus often referred to Himself as “the Son of Man”.
b) He also acknowledged the title given to Him by others- “Son of David”.
c) In exceptional instances He made reference to Himself as “Son of God”.

The hint of “the son” in the parable was an obvious reference to Himself.

2. Prediction veiled in the parable

Jesus had told His disciples that He would be slain by His enemies. In the privacy of their conversations, Jesus could speak to them freely and candidly. However, in public, Jesus wisely chose to predict His suffering and death within the context of His clever parable.

a) The Disciples would have no trouble understanding what Jesus was saying.
b) The multitudes may or may not have come to the same conclusion.
c) The religious leaders could not have failed to see that Jesus was making reference to them. However, they were powerless to act against Him. This was only a parable that He was telling the crowds! They could not charge Him with heresy. They must have been fuming as they listened to Jesus!