Israel: The Kingdom’s 42nd Immortal Generation
Today’s Focus: Spiritual Israel: The Parable of Vineyard Husbandmen
Scripture: Mark 12:1-12; Matthew 23:37; 21:43
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ we know that the leaders of physical Israel consistently rejected Christ and tried to trap Him. Jesus being a Son understood that this would happen but He maintained His poise through the Father and the Father revealed some stark revelations through His Son to the Jews. Now we have been maintaining that physical Israel was a physical nation carrying the name of God and the seed UNTIL Jesus comes and restores the eternal ways of the Father in the Earth. So let’s look at our first confrontation between the Jews and Spiritual Israel.
In Mark 12:1-12 we have the parable of the husbandmen and the vineyard.
Mark 12:1-2: And He began to speak unto them by parables, A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season He sent to the husbandmen a servant, that He might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
The Lord lays this parable out here and we know that the Lord is speaking in type and shadow so let’s put the reality out there about what the Lord is saying. The certain man is God. The vineyard is Israel. The hedge is the Law of Moses. The tower is the Temple at Jerusalem. The far country is Heaven. The sent servants from God are the prophets. Now with all of this said, insert the realty in the parable and watch the story unfold right before your eyes. The parable continues and it states that the husbandmen would take the sent servants and beat them and sent them away empty with nothing to show. In some cases they even killed the sent servants. We know the servants are the prophets. So what is being said is that the religious leaders of Israel beat and killed the prophets of God that were sent by God to them. Is this true?
Matthew 23:37: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem thou killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Now God continues to send the prophets and now the Father changes and sends His Son and watch this.
Mark 12:6-8: Having yet therefore one son, His wellbeloved, He sent Him also last unto them, saying They will reverence my Son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, THIS IS THE HEIR; COME, LET US KILL HIM AND THE INHERITANCE SHALL BE OURS. And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
So the Father sends the Son, Jesus into Israel and they beat him and kill him so they can keep the inheritance to themselves. This was the last straw for the Father and watch what happens.
Mark 12:9-10: What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard (Israel) do? HE WILL COME AND DESTROY THE HUSBANDMEN AND WILL GIVE THE VINEYARD UNTO OTHERS. AND HAVE YE NOT READ THIS SCRIPTURE, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS (PHYSICAL ISRAEL) REJECTED IS BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER:
So the Father will destroy the husbandmen, the people who deny the Son of God, and give the vineyard to others. Who are the others? The Gentiles. So physical Israel had all of the types and shadows to understand who Jesus is and Jesus demonstrated by the power of the Father that He is the Messiah come to gather the people, not just Israel, but all of mankind. Now watch what Jesus says in the correlating parable recorded by Matthew.
Matthew 21:43: Therefore say I unto you, THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHALL BE TAKEN FROM YOU (PHYSICAL ISRAEL) AND GIVEN TO A NATION (SPIRITUAL ISRAEL) BRINGING FORTH THE FRUITS THEREOF.
So the Kingdom of God WILL NOT BE GIVEN TO PHYSICAL ISRAEL IF THEY DO NOT REVERENCE THE SON OF GOD AND RECEIVE HIS SPIRIT WITHIN THEM. This is a very stern word but the Lord was very clear to them. This is why they wanted to kill him.
In the next message we will look the first century church and see how they had the same conflicts of the Lord Jesus Christ with physical Israel.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
