"The other major example of the concentric [chiastic] pattern in Mark's story [beside 2:1-3:6] is the series of Jesus' conflicts with the authorities in Jerusalem [ch. 12], comprised of seven episodes: Episodes A and A1 involve Jesus' statement of judgment against the authorities (the riddle of the wicked tenants and the warning against the scribes). Episodes B and B1 include a quotation from the psalms followed by a reaction to that citation (the quotations about the cornerstone and David's son); and episodes C and C1 are both legal discussions about love for God and neighbor (Caesar and God, and love for God and neighbor). Episode D is the central episode; its topic is the resurrection, and its theme illuminates all the episodes: the failure of the authorities to understand either the writings or the power of God."283
Matthew's account of this parable is fuller than Mark's because Matthew evidently wanted to show the Jews how wicked and irresponsible their leaders were. Mark probably included the story because it contrasts the behavior of Israel's official servants, the religious leaders, with God's Servant, Jesus.
12:1 Jesus addressed this parable to all the people present (Luke 20:9) but the religious leaders particularly. The man in the parable represents God, the vineyard is Israel (Ps. 80:8-19; Jer. 2:21), and the tenants are Israel's leaders. The parable develops the scene presented in Isaiah 5:1-2 that is part of a prophecy of God's judgment on Israel (cf. Ps. 80:8-16). God spared no expense or effort to make Israel a choice nation. He had left Israel on its own, so to speak, after He had established the nation.
12:2-5 The harvest time stands for the time when God expected to obtain some reward for His investment in Israel. The servants represent the prophets whom Israel's leaders typically rejected, persecuted, and even in some cases murdered. The main point of the parable is the wicked treatment Israel's leaders had given the servants whom God had sent to them.
12:6-8 The sending of the owner's son constituted the supreme test for the tenant farmers. Evidently the tenant farmers in the parable believed that the owner of the vineyard had died and that he had only one son who was his heir. They reasoned that if they killed the son there would be no one else to inherit the vineyard and they could retain control of it. The tenants evidently threw the son out of the vineyard and then killed him (Matt. 21:39; Luke 20:15). Mark's order of events (v. 8) shows that his murder was also an act of rejection.284
The religious leaders certainly behaved as though God was dead. He really had only one uniquely beloved Son (cf. 1:11; 9:7).
12:9 The tenant farmers' rejection of the owner's son was really a rejection of the owner. His logical reaction would be to remove them and give the care of his vineyard to other tenants. Likewise God would remove Israel's leaders and replace them with other leaders, leaders of the church.
"This prediction was fulfilled in the church where the spiritual leadership became entrusted mainly to those of Gentile origin. But the determining factor is their faithfulness, not their national origin."285
12:10-11 Jesus carried His revelation concerning the fate of the Son further by referring to this psalm. This is the same psalm the crowds chanted at the Triumphal Entry (11:9; cf. Ps. 118:22-23). The stone in view is probably the capstone for the building that God is building. In its original use, the stone represented Israel. Here Jesus made Himself the stone (cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7). The Father's reversal of the Son's fate elicited wonder from the beholders because it was an unexpected turn of events that demonstrated divine sovereignty.
It appears that Israel's leaders rejected the Stone that was to be the capstone to complete Israel, God's temple, through which He would work to bring blessing to all mankind (Gen. 12:3). The Stone rejected has become, not the capstone, but the most important Stone in the foundation of a new temple that God is now building, namely the church (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4-10). After God removes the church from the earth (1 Thess. 4:13-18), the Stone will return to the earth (Rev. 19:11-16), and Israel will accept Him (Zech. 12:10). Then He will complete Israel (Isa. 59:20), and Israel will, during the millennium, function as the temple that God intended her to be (Dan. 7:22). He will then bring blessing to the whole earth through Israel.
12:12 The meaning of Jesus' parable was clear to the religious leaders. Jesus had exposed their murderous plot to kill Him. The favor of the multitude shielded Jesus from their wrath temporarily.
Jesus' claims to being God's beloved Son were becoming increasingly clear to everyone. As they became clearer, opposition from Israel's leaders intensified.
