Respect Christ’s Authority – Mark 11:11-19; 11:27-12:12
11 (11) Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
(12) The next day, when they came from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. (13) Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he came to it, hoping that he might find some fruit on it. But when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. (14) Then he said to it, May no man eat any fruit from you ever again. Now his disciples heard this.
(15) When they came into Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple. There he began to throw out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple courts; and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold the doves. (16) He would not allow anyone to carry any merchandise through the temple courts. (17) As he taught, he said to them, Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?” But you have made it into “a den of robbers!” (18) The chief priests and the scribes heard about this, and sought a way to get rid of him; they feared him, because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.(19) Each evening Jesus went out of the city…
(27) They returned to Jerusalem; and as Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came up to him (28) and asked him, By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you the authority to do these things? (29) Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question, if you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. (30) The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me. (31) But they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; He will say, Why then did you not believe him? (32) But if we say, From men—(they feared the people, for everyone believed that John really was a prophet.) (33) So they answered Jesus by saying, We do not know. Then Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and put a wall around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard out to some tenant farmers and went away to another country. (2) When the harvest season arrived, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that he might receive some of the fruits of the vineyard from them. (3) But they took the servant and beat him, and sent him away empty handed. (4) Then he sent another servant to them; but they him wounded in the head, and treated him shamefully. (5) Then the owner sent another servant; but the tenants killed him. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. (6) He had only one man left whom he could send, a beloved son. As a last resort he sent him to the tenants, thinking, They will respect my son. (7) But those tenants said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. (8) So they took him, and killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. (9) Now then, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and get rid of the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. (10) Have you not read this scripture, “The stone that the builders rejected, that very stone has been made the cornerstone; (11) the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” (12) They wanted to seize him, for they understood that he spoke the parable against them; but they feared the crowd. So they left him, and went away.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
