Free and Short Daily Devotionals

SATURDAY, 8 APRIL 2023

TEXT: Mark 12:1-12

1: Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

2: At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

3: But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

4: Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully.

5: He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6: “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7: “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

8: So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9: “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

10: Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

11: the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12: Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

(New International Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: DON’T WASTE YOUR GOD-GIVEN PRIVILEGE

This parable is about the tenants who rented an already planted vineyard. This is a privilege because the garden had already been cultivated, the vines planted, well fenced and secured. The landlord also dug a winepress where the vines would be processed after harvest and a watchtower to provide adequate security.

When the chief priests, scribes and elders heard Jesus, they immediately knew He was referring to them as the unfaithful tenants who wasted their God - given privilege. Unfortunately, they led the people away from the Messiah and in the end, conspired and had Him killed.

Jesus had already died and paid the price for the forgiveness of our sins and the redemption of our lives. The people around us can be compared to the vines in the garden, ready for harvest. It is a privilege that you and I should never waste because, very soon, the gardener will return to reward each one of us, according to what we have done with His garden.

QUESTION: As a follower of Jesus Christ, what are you doing with the Lord's garden?

PRAYER: Your answer to the question above should guide your prayers.