Lenten Reader | Day 28

March 21st, 2026

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

Mark 12:1-17

Swayed by the World

In this parable we see Jesus explaining not only the concept of being rejected but also the idea that it happens more than once in the same situation. Through every rejection, we see God’s patience, though more undeserved each time. Christ uses this story as an example of himself being rejected throughout his life, including being crucified later.

The most powerful moment in the story comes when the Pharisees try to trap Jesus by asking about paying taxes and if it is the right thing to do. Jesus responds by saying, “pay to Caesar what is his and pay to God what is his.” This points out that we should give the world what is needed but that our focus should always be on God and the things that we should be giving him (our lives, worship, etc). Through this response, the Pharisees were impressed with his wisdom.

Honestly, how often are we swayed by the world and what we think it wants that we forget that our focus should be on what God wants us to do? We all have moments (probably more than one) every day when we struggle with doing things for the world or for God. I think that those moments challenge us and our struggles of the world and eternity.

When I think of these kinds of moments, I think about the concept of being a Christian man in a public school system. One of the biggest challenges that I face is praying publicly. I have constantly reminded myself that praying in public (with young people specifically) shows who I am and more importantly what I believe in. It demonstrates my love and trust of God, and it shows young people that shining in public is an ok thing to do. I think the world needs more of that. They need to see what we as Christians believe through our actions for the Lord and not simply our actions for the world. We are called to be his light through our actions.

Rob Strong