Ok everyone. We are back for part 2. It has been an extremely busy time for my wife and I, so I am sorry for the delay. So, let’s get started on an awesome revelation given to all of us by our Lord Jesus in Mark 12: 1-12. As I shared with you in Part 1, Mark 12 1-12 is one of those sections of scripture that takes you through the entirety of the human race, and sheds light on why things are in the shape they are in today. Before we go any further, lets read this parable one more time and then cover what we learned so far.
“A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again, he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 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.“ Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ”And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
So, in this parable that Jesus told the Pharisees, we learned that the man that planted the vineyard, dug for the wine vat, built a tower and put a hedge around the property was a reference to God the Father. The servants that were beaten and murdered were the profits that came before Jesus, and the son was Jesus Himself. This was a mini history lesson for those standing by and listening to Jesus tell this story. Everyone understands that God created everything. They understand that the profits and men and women of God were beaten and murdered trying to carry out God’s instructions and warnings to a rebellious people. And they also understand that the rebellious and stiff-necked people also killed Gods only begotten son by hanging Him on a cross. Most everyone gets that the 1st time or two that they read this parable. But what gets lost in the parable is a single word at the beginning of it. The word LEASED.
Jesus always chose His words carefully. Actually, Jesus only repeated what His Father told Him to say. However, they were carefully chosen. Now for the sake of those who may not be familiar with how a lease works, let’s start there. A lease is an agreement/contract between 2 or more parties. It lay’s out the terms that the two parties agree to. Those terms would include what party 1 gets (compensation) in return for certain property usage, and what party 2,3,4, etc… gets in exchange for that compensation. It also has a time element attached.
To make this simple, we will use some farm land as an example. Very similar to the parable. Let’s say I owned 200 acres of land in west Texas. I built a farm house, barns, put up fences around it, installed a irrigation system and created the fields with good soil. One day I decided to LEASE it out to another farmer for 20 years. The farmer and I agreed to a price and the farmer starts his 20 year endeavor on my land. One day I decide to drive by the property to take a look at it. I see the farmer decided to raise beats. Now anyone that knows me knows I don’t like beats. For those of you who do, don’t hold it against me, I just don’t like them. After seeing the beats growing in the field, I decide to pull into the farm and talk to the farmer that leased my land. I tell him that he is not allowed to raise beats on my land. What do you think the farmer will say to me? He will likely say, “too bad, I will raise what I want to raise and you can’t do anything about it.” Guess what? He would be exactly right. I can’t do a thing about it until the 20 year lease is up.
Now, going back to the parable, it is a history lesson. Our history. God owns the earth and everything in it. However, He LEASED it, Gen 1:26 “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have Dominion (Authority) over everything…that creeps on the earth…”. He (God) gave mankind the authority over everything on the earth and there is nowhere in the Bible that shows He ever took it back. In fact, it is clear that He did not take it back. Directly after He said to give them authority over the earth, verse 28 say’s that He told Adam what his part, or responsibility of the lease agreement is. Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it… . You don’t subdue something that is where it belongs, or out of order. You subdue something that get unruly or out of place, and God told Adam that he was to handle it. Like Father, like Son. What did Jesus say to the disciples? He told THEM to lay hands on the sick and to raise the dead. He did not say He would come back and do it. Easy now. It is completely understood that it is God that does the work. But how does He do the work?
Going back to the farmer I leased my property to in west Texas, let’s say the crop got infested with diseases, or some type of pest. I can go to the farmer a plead with him to do something about it. I can tell him what he needs to do to keep both of us from suffering loss. But, if the farmer won’t do anything, and he won’t allow me to do anything, I can’t just go in and fix it, even though it is my property. He is the one that holds the rights to the land while the lease is in place. That is the situation that God is in. Unless you and I invite Him into our world, He is severely limited as to what He can do. He needs to be invited into the situation. God can’t just do whatever He wants to do. Otherwise, everyone would be born again, everyone would be healed, and everyone would be in harmony. But, He has limited Himself by His word. Yes, He owns the world. Yes, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Yes, He owns everything, but He cannot violate His word. He gave man authority over this world, FOR A TIME.
He (God) needs a body on this planet to work with. This is why Jesus was born on this planet. He needed to be fully man, BORN on this planet, in order to have authority on this planet. That is why the Bible makes the point of blood and water flowing from Jesus side when He was pierced at His crucifixion. It shows that He was fully a man. In fact, after the resurrection, you never see Jesus heal another person, raise anyone from the dead, or cast out any demons. Also, before the Holy Spirit came upon Him, when john baptized Him in the Jordan river, you never saw Him do any miracles, signs, or wonders. The same goes for you and I. You will never heal the sick, raise the dead or cast out demons without the Holy Spirit in you, or on you. If the hospital is going to get cleaned out, it is going to take somebody and the Holy Spirit to go to the hospital and clean it out. God told you and I to speak to the mountain and it would move. The bible say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” You and Him together, until the appointed time, when the “LEASE” runs out as described in the book of Revelations.
It is the body that gives you authority on this planet. Just like satan needs a body on this earth to do the damage he does; God needs a body on this earth to do what good He does. God has always done it through 3 avenues. A covenant with a man, faith from a man, or special gifting’s through a man. But always a man/woman. Covenants were established in the old testament. They include the Edenic covenant, Noahic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, Mosaic covenant, Priestly covenant, Davidic covenant and the New covenant. Men believed God and co-operated with God for the waters to part, armies to be over thrown, hail from heaven destroying Sodom and Gomora, and so on, because either a covenant was in place (All that is yours is mine and vice versa) Faith was exercised, or a special anointing was placed on a man.
This is why speaking in tongues is so important. It is God speaking, as God directs, through a man, into this world. Who knows what is being said most of the time? We do know the speaking in tongues builds our faith, but it is just as likely that God is stopping something harmful from happening to another person halfway around the world. Which would be beyond what we could ask or think.
It is also why the bible say’s “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” God has always chosen man to work through, and with. He needs faith to work in order to get some things done. Don’t take my word for it. It was Jesus who continually said “according to your faith let it be done.” In one place the bible says, “He therefore could do no mighty works because of their unbelief.
My dear friends, it is MAN that has been running this show since Adam. That is why it is so jacked-up. Everyone wants to blame God for all the problems, but He is not the one running everything on the earth. We are. Think about it. How many dumb things or wrong things have you done? Things that caused hurt, or harm to others? Did God stop you? No! He may have told you before you did it, “Don’t do it”, just as He did Cain before He killed his brother Able. But He did not stop it. But, what He did do afterword was to forgive you if you asked, healed the broken hearted if they allowed Him, turned the situation around for their good, if they love Him, and made something good out of a bad situation. You are to walk humbly with your God and He will walk with you. He will guide you and lead you in the way you should go. That way will always be the right way, and will always put you in a path to help others do the same.
In closing, you may ask if I know when the “LEASE” is up. The answer is no. Do I feel bad about not having that answer? No, Jesus doesn’t even know. Don’t ever listen to those who have a date. They don’t have a clue. Jesus said that only the Father knows the time and season. We are only to be ready.
Love you all and may God richly bless you.
Dr. J. Peterson Th. D
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