The Righteous Judge and the Rejected Son
Published on: October 12, 2025
Mark 12:9
Text: Mark 11–12 The King Who Reveals Judgment Before He Returns to Reign
Introduction
When Jesus entered Jerusalem during His final week, He did not come as the world expected.
He came not to reign on a throne, but to die on a cross.
Not to conquer Rome, but to conquer sin.
Not to execute judgment yet, but to reveal it.
The King had come to inspect His people.
What He found was religion without repentance and leaves without fruit.
From the Triumphal Entry to the Temple Cleansing to the Parables, every act and every word was divine revelation and divine verdict.
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11)
That rejection marked the final stage of Israel’s long resistance to God.
By the end of this week, the Light of the world would be nailed to a cross, and the darkness of judgment would descend.
Yet even as He revealed wrath, He extended grace.
Before the sword struck, the Savior wept.
Before judgment fell, mercy called.
Context
- Passion Week (Monday): Jesus, knowing His death approaches, enters Jerusalem as the true Passover Lamb.
- On Monday, He is hailed as King; on Tuesday, He curses the fig tree and cleanses the temple—acts of moral indictment.
- On Wednesday, He delivers the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, declaring Israel’s rejection of the Son and the certainty of coming judgment.
| Day | Jewish Date (Nisan) | Event | Key Scriptures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday (Nisan 10) | Triumphal Entry — Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt; the people shout “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” | Mark 11:1–11; John 12:12–15; Zech. 9:9; Ps. 118:25–26 | |
| Tuesday (Nisan 11) | Curses the fig tree (symbol of Israel’s hypocrisy); cleanses the temple, declaring it a “den of robbers.” | Mark 11:12–19; Jer. 8:13; Mic. 7:1–2; Mal. 3:1–3; Ps. 69:9 | |
| Wednesday (Nisan 12) | Parable of the Wicked Tenants — Jesus pronounces judgment; Judas begins plotting betrayal. | Mark 12:1–12; Matt. 21:33–46; Ps. 118:22–23 | |
| Thursday (Nisan 13–14) | Last Supper and Betrayal — Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper; Gethsemane prayer; arrest at night. | Luke 22; John 13–18 | |
| Friday (Nisan 14–15) | Crucifixion Day — The Lamb of God slain as the true Passover sacrifice. | Mark 15; John 19; Ex. 12:3–6 | |
| Saturday (Nisan 15–16) | Sabbath Rest in the Tomb. | Luke 23:54–56 | |
| Sunday (Nisan 17) | Resurrection Morning — The stone rolled away; He is risen! | Mark 16; John 20; Ps. 16:10 |
Main Points
1. The King Who Reveals Judgment (Mark 11:1–19)
The Triumphal Entry fulfilled Zechariah 9:9—“Behold, your King is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey.”
The people cried Psalm 118:25–26, but their hosannas were hollow. They wanted liberation from Rome, not repentance toward God.
When Jesus cursed the fig tree (Mark 11:12–14), He symbolized Israel’s spiritual barrenness—leaves without fruit.
Jeremiah 8:13 and Micah 7:1–2 prophesied this emptiness long before.
His cleansing of the temple fulfilled Malachi 3:1–3 and Psalm 69:9—the Lord suddenly coming to His temple in righteous zeal.
But instead of repentance, He found greed, hypocrisy, and unbelief.
The Light had come, and the darkness loved itself more. (John 3:19)
2. The Rejected Son and the Pronounced Judgment (Mark 12:1–12)
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The Owner | God the Father |
| The Vineyard | Israel (Isaiah 5:1–7) |
| The Tenants | The religious leaders of Israel |
| The Servants | The prophets, beaten and killed |
| The Beloved Son | Jesus Christ |
| The Judgment | Future destruction of the unfaithful tenants (fulfilled in A.D. 70) |
Jesus predicted His own rejection in the Parable of the Vineyard.
He quoted Psalm 118:22–23—“The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”
And He warned,
“The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people producing its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43)
This was not a threat—it was a decree. The vineyard would be taken and entrusted to those who believe, the Church built on the rejected Stone (Ephesians 2:20–22).
3. The Purpose of Parables: Revelation and Judgment
As Israel’s rejection hardened, Jesus’ teaching shifted.
He began to speak in parables.
When His disciples asked why, His reply was devastating:
“To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been granted…
Therefore I speak to them in parables;
because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
— Matthew 13:11–13
He then quotes Isaiah 6:9–10—God’s ancient decree of hardening:
“You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
for the heart of this people has become dull.”
This was not mere blindness—it was divine judicial blindness.
Parables became both a mercy and a sentence:
- Mercy to the humble, who would seek understanding.
- Judgment to the proud, who thought they already knew.
The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay.
From that moment, Israel’s fate as a nation was sealed.
Christ still offered salvation to individuals, but the corporate destiny of that generation was fixed.
Luke 11:50–51 declares they would bear “the blood of all the prophets.”
Matthew 23:32–33: “Fill up then the measure of your fathers… how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
It was over. The verdict was rendered.
All that remained was the execution of that judgment in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem burned under Roman siege.
Once God wets His sword, no plea can dull its edge.
Mercy delays judgment, but it never cancels it once the decree is set.
4. The Nature of Judicial Hardening
Isaiah 6:9–10, John 12:37–40, and Romans 11:7–8 reveal this terrifying truth: persistent unbelief invites divine sealing.
The people refused to believe—and therefore could not believe. (Think about Esau)
God gave them over to their blindness, confirming their rebellion as irreversible judgment.
Hardening is not the beginning of unbelief; it is the end of mercy.
5. Judgment Deferred but Certain
Though Christ’s first coming did not bring the sword of wrath, it pronounced the verdict that would bring it.
He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44), foretelling destruction because they “did not recognize the time of their visitation.”
The city’s doom was decreed, delayed only until the appointed time.
Acts 17:31 declares, “He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed.”
The Judge has spoken. The clock of mercy ticks toward midnight.
6. Hope in the Cornerstone
Though rejected, the Son became the cornerstone of redemption.
Acts 4:11–12 — “There is salvation in no one else.”
Psalm 16:10 — “You will not abandon My soul to Sheol,” fulfilled in His resurrection.
The rejected Stone is now the foundation of the redeemed.
The same Christ who pronounces judgment offers mercy to all who come to Him in repentance and faith.
Clarifying Message
Christ’s first coming was the revelation of judgment and the offer of mercy.
His second coming will be the execution of that judgment and the vindication of that mercy.
The call remains: Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, the rejected yet risen Son.
Summary Truth
Even when judgment falls upon a hardened nation,
God still gathers His remnant by grace
through the proclamation of Christ—
the rejected Stone who became the Cornerstone.
God's Judgment References
Old Testament References
Genesis 6:3 – “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” (The withdrawal of divine restraint.)
Deuteronomy 2:30 – “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit.”
Deuteronomy 29:4 – “Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.”
1 Samuel 2:25 – “They would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.”
1 Kings 22:19–23 – The Lord permits a “lying spirit” to deceive Ahab’s prophets.
Psalm 69:22–23 – “Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.” (Quoted by Paul in Romans 11:9–10.)
Isaiah 6:9–10 – “Keep on hearing, but do not understand… make the heart of this people dull.”
Isaiah 29:9–10 – “The Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes.”
Isaiah 44:18 – “He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.”
Ezekiel 14:9 – “If the prophet is deceived… I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet.”
Amos 8:11–12 – “A famine… of hearing the words of the Lord.” (The withdrawal of revelation.)
Zechariah 7:11–12 – “They made their hearts diamond-hard… therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.”
New Testament References
Matthew 13:11–15 – Jesus explains that parables conceal truth from the hardened and reveal it to believers, quoting Isaiah 6.
Luke 8:10 – “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom… but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see.”
John 3:19–20 – “This is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.”
John 8:43–47 – “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word.”
John 12:37–40 – “Though He had done so many signs, they still did not believe… He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart.”
Romans 1:24, 26, 28 – “Therefore God gave them up…” (Moral, spiritual, and mental abandonment.)
Romans 9:17–18 – “He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills.”
Romans 11:7–10 – “The rest were hardened… God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9–12 – “God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe the lie.”
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 – “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” (Satan’s deception permitted by God’s sovereignty.)
Ephesians 4:17–19 – “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God.”
1 Timothy 4:1–2 – “Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits… their consciences seared.”
2 Timothy 3:7–8 – “Always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth… men corrupted in mind.”
2 Timothy 4:3–4 – “They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.”
Titus 1:15–16 – “To the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure… their mind and conscience are defiled.”
Hebrews 6:4–6 – Those who have tasted the truth and fall away “cannot be renewed again to repentance.”
Hebrews 10:26–27 – “If we go on sinning willfully… there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
Revelation 13:14 – “By the signs he is allowed to work, he deceives those who dwell on earth.”
Revelation 17:17 – “For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose.” (Even the deception of the wicked fulfills His decree.)