"Then I won't tell you where my authority is from."
With this, Jesus is now one step closer to Caiphus’ courtyard, Pilate’s hall, and
mount Calvary. But there are more steps yet to take, and we will turn our attention to this on-going
conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees in the weeks to come. --

Throughout this entire final phase of Jesus’ messianic ministry, we start to get a sense of the
depths of his humiliation. The religious leaders of Israel, who hate each other, are absolutely united in
their opposition to him. They are already seeking to have Jesus killed. The crowds are fickle, and will
not stay with Jesus when he fails to give them what they want. They too will turn on him and fill Pilate’s
palace, calling for Jesus’ crucifixion. His own disciples still do not fully grasp the nature of his mission
and what lies ahead. --KR

Good Friday was still ahead. The betrayal, arrest, suffering, and death of Jesus was not even on the
radar for the disciples, nor anyone else. This is why Jesus’ words to Peter–“have faith in God”–are so
important for us to keep in mind. God will keep his promises–no matter what. He can throw mountains
into the sea if he wishes. He will do what he has promised to do in his word. That same faith which
looks to him for salvation from sin, also must trust that God will answer our prayers and do the
impossible, no matter how desperate the situation may look to us. Jesus was preparing Peter for Good
Friday all the while Peter was still basking in the celebration of Palm Sunday. --KR

This, then, is the background to Jesus’ sayings recorded in Mark 12, in which Mark continues to
describe the increasing tension between Jesus and the members of the Sanhedrin.
In the first twelve verses of Mark 12, Jesus tells a parable which has come to be known as the Parable of
the Tenants. The parable is found in all three of the synoptic gospels. The setting for the parable was the
historical situation in first century Palestine, which, at the time, was a land covered with large estates,
many of which had absentee owners and which were run by tenant farmers, who worked the land in the
land-owner’s absence and who paid rent to the land-owner in exchange for the privilege of working the
land and harvesting whatever crops could be produced. In other words, these farmers rented the land,
worked it as their own, but paid the landowner rent from their profits in exchange for the use of the land.