Mark 12:1-12 Looking at the madness of Rebellion:
He Will Come
A Devotional Narrative on Mark 12:1–12 and the Return of the King
Text: Mark 12:1–12 (KJV)
“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…”
(Full passage: Mark 12:1–12)
A Boy’s Understanding of Ownership
When I was just a young boy, I didn’t need a law book to understand property rights.
I knew my house, my Nana and Pop’s house, and what “Don’t touch that” meant.
Rules were understood. And pretty much universal and so Not debated. Not resented or even thought about all that much. There was order, and there was peace because of it.
In our house, my mother and father made the rules. In my grandparents’ house, they did and on either side of the family it was pretty much the same . If Pop said to stay out of the garden, we did—and not just me, but anyone who came over. “That’s Pop’s garden” was enough. Stay out of the garage? Done. Don’t wander off? Understood. Don’t touch the gun? It wasn’t mine—it was Dad’s or Pop’s. It was theirs. That meant something.
And we weren’t afraid—we were anchored. Authority didn’t threaten us. It kept us safe.
I remember the old Grants department store where my Nana ( My Mothers mother) had her shop—G.J. Wigs. It was a whole little world in itself. She had a section aet up in the store she rented space based on the number of floor tiles it took up. Department stores back then did that sort of thing, and everyone knew her. She ran her place like a queen runs her castle. She hired girls to help out, but every once in a while, someone would try to cheat her, take over, or run a little competition on the side. That never ended well. Nana had contracts. She had a right to be there. And when someone crossed the line, they would prefer security to my grandmother to help them leave the store. She didn’t lose her booth—she held her ground. Because it was hers and she worked hard for it.
I remember that was even a restaurant in Grants—so going there wasn’t just shopping, it was an event. My mom worked nights, and sometimes she’d take us to visit Nana. If she needed to try on clothes, we’d sit in the dressing room and play with wooden blocks they kept for kids. The air smelled like cosmetics, coffee, and new shoes. I didn’t worry about where we were or what might happen. We didn’t have to understand the world—we just had to know who we were with.
We knew Mom loved us. Nana owned her booth. And Dad , he worked for my other grandfather and he would be home when we got there.
That was enough.
The Madness of the Murderers
That’s why the parable Jesus told in Mark 12 stings so deeply. He speaks of a vineyard—a place prepared, hedged, cultivated, protected. A tower. A winepress. It was someone’s property—built with care, let out to tenants who didn’t own it, but were given stewardship.
Then came harvest.
The owner sent servants to collect what was rightfully his. But the tenants beat one, stoned another, killed another. Finally, he sends his son, his beloved, thinking, Surely they will reverence him.
But they said:
“This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.”
—Mark 12:7
That’s not just criminal. That’s delusional. And it’s exactly what sin does to the soul.
It convinces you that you can kill the rightful heir and inherit the kingdom.
It forgets that there’s still a Father. That He still holds the deed. That He will come.
“What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.”
—Mark 12:9
They Knew—And Still Rejected
This wasn’t vague or symbolic. Verse 12 tells us:
“And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them…”
—Mark 12:12
They knew.
They knew the parable was about them.
They knew the Son in the parable was standing right in front of them.
But like Cain killing Abel and thinking no one would know…
Like Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss and thinking it could be covered up…
Like fools storming a home and thinking the man of the house won’t come back…
They moved forward with hatred in their hearts and rebellion that induces the kind of madness that convinces the fool that in their rebellion they actually serve God.
Even after witnessing Lazarus raised from the dead:
“The chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.”
—John 12:10–11
That is the logic of sin:
If we can’t destroy the truth, we’ll destroy the evidence.
The Old Paths and the Order of Things
The men I grew up around—the Greatest Generation and the one before it—were quiet, but fierce.
They were farmers, welders, well-drillers, hunters. They kept gardens. They minded their business.
They owned rifles , shotguns and horses, not to make a statement—but to protect life.
My grandfather—who served in the South Pacific during World War II—had an M1 carbine mounted on his bedroom wall. Fully loaded. Not for show. Not out of fear. But in case order needed to be enforced.
None of these men were crazy. None would have dreamed of walking into another man’s home, killing his family, and thinking they could just take over. That was unthinkable. It was moral insanity.
And yet, in Jesus’ parable, that’s exactly what they did.
And it’s exactly what the chief priests tried to do to Christ.
They said, “We will not have this man to reign over us.”
—Luke 19:14
But the Vineyard is not vacant.
The Father is not dead.
And the Son is not defeated.
And So—He Will Come
Jesus wasn’t just telling a parable about Israel’s history.
He was warning every heart that thinks it can reject the King and still rule the kingdom.
He was warning us.
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him…”
—Revelation 1:7
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me…”
—Revelation 22:12
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout…”
—1 Thessalonians 4:16
He’s not coming back to argue.
He’s not returning to ask permission.
He’s not sending another messenger.
He will come.
A Final Word
I come quickly—
With reward in my hand and fire in my eyes.
I come surely—
And every eye shall see Me.
They that pierced Me shall mourn,
And none shall stand who once stood against Me.
I come eternally—
To reign with those who confessed Me.
To vindicate the martyrs.
To crush the rebellion.
To claim the vineyard.
And to all who once said,
“We will not have this man to reign over us…”
I will come.
An Invitation: Before He Comes
Dear soul,
Why risk the Revelation when you can receive the Resurrection?
Why face the wrath of the returning King when you could kneel now before the crucified Lamb?
Christ has already come once—not to condemn, but to save.
He bore your sin. He took your punishment. He died your death.
he Became sin for you that you might become the righteousness of God in Him
And He rose again, not as a defeated martyr, but as the victorious Son of God.
“He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
—John 5:24
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
—Romans 10:13
Don’t wait for Him to come in judgment when today He comes in mercy.
Don’t harden your heart like the husbandmen who killed the heir.
You don’t own the vineyard—but you’ve been invited into it.
If you’re lost, repent and believe the gospel.
If you’ve wandered, return while there’s time.
If you’ve doubted, look again to Calvary.
Jesus is coming.
The only question is—will you face Him as Judge or welcome Him as Savior?
He will come.
And today is the day of salvation.