Just as in the parable, the workers crossed over to believing they were owners and therefore, could control the vineyard, control the temple and control those who were coming to it. Mark 12:12 says, “for they (the temple leaders) knew that He had spoken the parable against them.” The temple leaders of that time knew Jesus was speaking about them. This is how we know that leaders are the ones who have subtly shifted from being stewards of people and places to believing they are the owner; the one who decides how things are going to go; when, where and for how long. We say we want to be led by the Spirit, but our services are completely scripted. God is harvesting His people out of these systems.
Luke 4:18-19 says, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Who are these people? I have heard many times they are unbelievers, outsiders, Gentiles if you will, but Jesus said, “But He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). So, is it possible, that Jesus came to preach, release, recover the sight set free and proclaim favor to those locked in a system that was not producing life? If we look at all the people Jesus encountered in the temple and in the land of Israel, we see the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed are those He set free. I think Luke 4:18-19 is a salvation declaration for the nation that was locked in a religious system.
So, why was He calling them out of the system? What we see in Scripture is that Jesus called them out, to reconfigure the way they think, so they could join a movement that would advance the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. He moved them out of the temple and into a kingdom, a movement, that would be quoted in Acts 17:6 as having turned the world upside down. I believe what we are seeing is not people who are weak, rebellious or unspiritual leaving churches, but rather those who are hearing Jesus say, “Come, follow Me!” The religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not like Jesus coming to reap His harvest anymore than church leaders like people leaving their church now. History is repeating itself because we have yet to learn the lesson that it is about stewardship, not ownership. {eoa}
Lisa Great is an author, speaker and blogger with Mouthpiece Ministries International. She has been in ministry for over 25 years; she has a B.A. in Youth and Family Studies and a M.A. in Education. She can be reached at mouthpieceministries.net;
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