A Serving Leadership Insight from the Life of Jesus Christ (Mark 12:1-9)

“…At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard…some of them they beat, others they killed…He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’…But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’” (See Mark 12:1-9 for full text)

In Mark 12:1–9 Jesus pointed out the real motives of the religious leaders through his parable about the vineyard. Having established a vineyard, a landlord invited some tenants to come and manage it. Clearly, he had rights to the harvest and, like many landowners with tenants in that day, would have paid them with a portion of the produce. The tenants didn’t see it that way. Any servants sent by the landowner to collect his rightful share of the harvest were seized, beaten, and turned away empty-handed. Some were killed. Like the tenants, the religious leaders had stewardship of a vineyard: the children of Israel. To serve Israel’s best interests they should have prepared them for a Messiah. Their true intent was to control the people, however, and maintain their position of power. Jesus closed his parable with prophetic force. The landowner finally would come, kill the tenants, and hand his vineyard over to others.

KEY QUESTIONS: What are my motives when taking on responsibility? When have I attempted to maintain power by controlling others? Have I ever taken drastic actions to stay in charge that I now regret? How does a “stewardship” mindset change everything?