Sermon Summary: “The Patient Heart of God”
Mark 12:1–12
Introduction: The Gospel That Captivates, Not Terrifies
Coleton began with a story from his childhood — his first time hearing the gospel at a Vacation Bible School in Riverdale, Georgia. The preacher was loud, red-faced, and terrifying. Young Coleton walked down the aisle, not because he loved Jesus or wanted to follow Him, but because he was afraid of hell.
He reflected, “The preacher’s message was true — but it didn’t lead me to turn...
Sermon Summary: “The Patient Heart of God”
Mark 12:1–12
Introduction: The Gospel That Captivates, Not Terrifies
Coleton began with a story from his childhood — his first time hearing the gospel at a Vacation Bible School in Riverdale, Georgia. The preacher was loud, red-faced, and terrifying. Young Coleton walked down the aisle, not because he loved Jesus or wanted to follow Him, but because he was afraid of hell.
He reflected, “The preacher’s message was true — but it didn’t lead me to turn to Jesus because I was captivated by Him. Jesus wasn’t made beautiful or awesome to me; He was made out to be brutal, angry, mean, and threatening.”
Coleton shared that his goal was to communicate the same truth that preacher did — that rejecting Jesus brings death — but in a completely different way: showing the beauty, patience, and love of God who relentlessly pursues us.
From this parable, Jesus reveals two truths:
- The patient heart of God.
- What we invite into our lives when we reject the Son.
1. The Patient Heart of God
Mark 12:2–5 – “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… He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.”
Coleton explained that this parable paints the long history of Israel’s rejection of God’s prophets. Time and again, God sent messengers calling His people to repentance — and time and again, they refused to listen.
Yet, instead of destroying them, God patiently sent another messenger. And another. And another.
That’s the heart of God: He keeps coming after His people, giving chance after chance.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise… Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
God’s patience isn’t weakness — it’s love in action. He longs for every person to experience life and repentance.
Coleton said, “This isn’t just about ancient Israel. This is how God pursues each of us. Even when we run, ignore, or push Him away — He keeps sending reminders, people, and moments to get our attention.”
Examples of God’s Patient Pursuit
C.S. Lewis described his conversion as a “chess game with God.” He was an atheist who wanted nothing to do with religion, but God kept making “moves” — awakening a longing in him for beauty and joy that the world couldn’t satisfy.
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis
Lewis later wrote about the night he finally surrendered:
“I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” – C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
Similarly, St. Augustine — once consumed by lust and pride — found himself restless and unsatisfied. One day, he heard a voice say, “Take up and read,” and his eyes fell on this verse:
“Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery… Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 13:13–14
That moment changed him forever. “There was infused in my heart something like the light of full certainty and all the gloom of doubt vanished away.” – St. Augustine, Confessions
Coleton then shared his own story — how God patiently pursued him through emptiness, injury, and unlikely people:
- First, through the emptiness he felt in high school after trying everything to fill the void.
- Then, through pain, when he tore his knee and began thinking about God.
- Then, through a person, a man named Mark McClendon, who shared the gentle love of God.
- Finally, through conviction, one night when he felt God chasing him — even in his brokenness.
“He is always pursuing us with great patience,” Coleton said. “Because He doesn’t want any to perish.”
Paul wrote the same in Romans 1:19–20:
“What may be known about God is plain… since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen… so that people are without excuse.”
God’s pursuit is relentless. His heart is patient, and His goal is repentance and relationship.
2. Why God Sent the Son
Mark 12:6 – “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’”
Coleton pointed out the beauty and heartbreak of this verse. The owner of the vineyard — representing God — has one last hope: his beloved son.
Instead of crushing the tenants, he sends his son in love, saying, “Surely they will respect my son.”
God sends Jesus not to condemn, but because He desperately hopes humanity will respond.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son… For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” – John 3:16–17
Even knowing the risk — that the world would reject and kill His Son — the Father sent Him anyway. That’s how deeply God values us.
“Despite our sin, our Creator thinks we are worth experiencing a hellish death for. In fact, it was for the joy of spending eternity with us that Jesus endured the cross.” – Greg Boyd, Present Perfect
Jesus was sent because He was humanity’s best and final chance to respond to God’s love.
The cross is not just proof of our sin — it’s proof of our worth.
3. What We Invite When We Reject the Son
Mark 12:7–9 – “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him…’ So they took him and killed him… What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
Coleton explained that rejecting the Son always leads to death and loss — not because God is cruel, but because there is no one else left to send.
God has exhausted every avenue. Jesus is the final messenger, the final offer of grace.
Rejecting Him means rejecting life itself.
Coleton warned that this truth applies both spiritually and practically:
- When we reject Jesus’ words about marriage, we invite destruction into our relationships.
- When we ignore His words about generosity, we lose joy and peace.
- When we refuse His words about forgiveness, bitterness eats away at our hearts.
Jesus’ words are life. To reject them is to invite death.
“To reject the Son is to reject the one person who can bring you to God. To reject the Son is to shut the door to the life He offers.”
Coleton admitted that as a boy, the preacher in Riverdale made it sound like God joyfully “flicked people into hell.” But Scripture paints a different picture:
“God our Savior… wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth… For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” – 1 Timothy 2:4–6
C.S. Lewis captured the freedom God gives us:
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’” – C.S. Lewis
God’s desire is life and joy, but He will not force it. We choose life or death, acceptance or rejection.
Application: Responding to the Son
Coleton closed with a question: How is God patiently pursuing you — and who is He pursuing through you?
For the believer, this means joining God in His patient pursuit of others:
- Like J.R.R. Tolkien pursued C.S. Lewis through friendship.
- Like Mark McClendon spoke gently to Coleton.
For the Christian, it means asking, “What is my response to Jesus’ words?”
For the skeptic, it means asking, “Can I see the ways God has been patiently pursuing me?”
Even the Pharisees, who hated Jesus, could feel that the parable was directed at them (v.12). Coleton asked his listeners, “Do you feel Him speaking to you too?”
He concluded, “If you feel like this is God speaking to you, then this is Him still patiently pursuing you. Don’t reject the Son.”
Discussion Questions
- How have you personally experienced God’s patience and pursuit in your life?
- Why do you think God continues to pursue people who continually reject Him?
- What does it mean that Jesus is both the best and the last messenger God sends?
- In what ways might we “reject the Son” in daily life — not through unbelief, but by ignoring His words?
- Who might God be patiently pursuing through your life right now, and how can you join Him in that pursuit?
