Mark 12
12
The Parable of the Tenants
1Jesus 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. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’ # 12:11
Psalm 118:22,23 ?”
12Then 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.
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They 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#12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens to Caesar or not? 15Should 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.” 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17Then 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.
Marriage at the Resurrection
18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23At the resurrection#12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
24Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’#12:26 Exodus 3:6? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
The Greatest Commandment
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.#12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’#12:30 Deut. 6:4,5 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’#12:31 Lev. 19:18 There is no commandment greater than these.”
32“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.” ’ # 12:36
Psalm 110:1
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
38As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The Widow’s Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Mark 12
12
Parable of the tenant farmers
1Jesus spoke to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. 2When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4Again the landowner sent another servant to them, but they struck him on the head and treated him disgracefully. 5He sent another one; that one they killed. The landlord sent many other servants, but the tenants beat some and killed others. 6Now the landowner had one son whom he loved dearly. He sent him last, thinking, They will respect my son. 7But those tenant farmers said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9“So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this scripture,The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 11The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?”#12.11 Ps 118:22-23
12They wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
A question about taxes
13They sent some of the Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap him in his words. 14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you’re genuine and you don’t worry about what people think. You don’t show favoritism but teach God’s way as it really is. Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay taxes or not?”
15Since Jesus recognized their deceit, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin. Show it to me.” 16And they brought one. He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” His reply left them overcome with wonder.
A question about the resurrection
18Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus and asked, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a widow but no children, the brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.#12.19 Deut 25:5; Gen 38:8 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman; when he died, he left no children. 21The second married her and died without leaving any children. The third did the same. 22None of the seven left any children. Finally, the woman died. 23At the resurrection, when they all rise up, whose wife will she be? All seven were married to her.”
24Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are wrong, because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power? 25When people rise from the dead, they won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like God’s angels. 26As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read in the scroll from Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to Moses,I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?#12.26 Exod 3:6, 15-16 27He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. You are seriously mistaken.”
God’s most important command
28One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29Jesus replied, “The most important one isIsrael, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.#12.30 Deut 6:4-5 31The second is this,You will love your neighbor as yourself.#12.31 Lev 19:18 No other commandment is greater than these.”
32The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. 33And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Jesus corrects the legal experts
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “Why do the legal experts say that the Christ is David’s son? 36David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said,The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool.’#12.36 Ps 110:1 37David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
38As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. 39They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. 40They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”
A poor widow’s contribution
41Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money. 42One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny.#12.42 Or two lepta (the smallest Greek copper coin, each worth 1/128 of a single day’s pay), that is, a kodrantes (the smallest Roman coin, equal in value to two lepta) 43Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. 44All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”
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