This Makes Sense of No Sense

Mark 12:1-9 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.

And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.

And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.

And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.

And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.

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.

What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

This parable is so ludicrous it makes almost no sense. What steward would ever do as these husbandmen have supposedly done? One would think that the Lord Jesus could have come up with a more believable scenario than this to illustrate His point. 

Unless it is the unbelievable nature of the parable that illustrates the point. 

The lesson of the parable has to do with Israel's treatment of God's messengers and finally of God's Son. In each case the Jews (and lest we think Gentiles are better, they had long before turned from God) had done as equally unbelievably to the servants of the Lord and would do the same to Jesus. 

• The attitude of the world today toward Jesus is unbelievable - it does not make sense 
• The actions of men, like our current President who says he believes in Jesus is unbelievable - it does not make sense. 
• The positions of so-called Christian denominations over the centuries is unbelievable - it does not make sense

In such a senseless world Jesus' parable makes sense after all.