1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
11 This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. ~ Mark 12:1-12 (NASB)
All of us killed Jesus. Although we weren’t there in Jerusalem crying out “His blood be on my hands,” yet we often sin, and sin is the reason for His death. If we—all of mankind—could control ourselves and stay away from sin, there would have been no need for Jesus to die for all sin—past, present, and future. Praise God, He did sacrifice Himself for us.
Lord, Forgive me for killing Your Son. Forgive me for all the times I put other things—even good things—before You. Help me through the Holy Spirit to put You first in every circumstance. Thank You that You forgive my sins and wash them away when I repent and ask for Your forgiveness. Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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