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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Mark 12: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Mark 12
12
1Then Jesus began to speak to them using illustrated stories.#12:1. See on 3:23.
“Once there was a man who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to some farmers, and left on a journey.
2When harvest-time came, he sent one of his servants to the tenant farmers to collect some of the grapes from the vineyard. 3But they grabbed hold of him, beat him up, and sent him away with nothing. 4So the man sent another servant. They hit him over the head and abused him. 5He sent another servant, and this one they killed. He sent many other servants, and they beat some of them and killed others. 6In the end the only one left was his son whom he loved, and eventually he sent him, thinking ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But the farmers said to themselves, ‘Here's the owner's heir—if we kill him, we can get what he would have inherited!’ 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9Now what is the owner of the vineyard going to do? He will come and kill those farmers, and then he will lease the vineyard to others.
10Haven't you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone rejected by the builders has become the chief cornerstone. 11This is from the Lord, and it's marvelous to see!’”#12:11. Quoted from Psalms 118:22-23.
12The Jewish leaders tried to have him arrested because they realized that the illustration was directed at them, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him alone and went away. 13Later they sent some Pharisees with some of Herod's supporters to Jesus in an attempt to catch him out by what he said.
14They arrived and said, “Teacher, we know you are a truthful person and you don't look for approval, because you don't care about status or position.#12:14. Literally, “You have no concern for anyone because you do not look at the face of men.” However, this literal translation could make it seem that Jesus was uncaring and indifferent. Instead you teach God's way in accordance with the truth. So is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay up, or should we refuse?”
Jesus, realizing how hypocritical they were, asked them, “Why are you trying to catch me out? Bring me a coin to look at.”
16They gave him a coin. “Whose is this image, and whose inscription?” Jesus asked them. “Caesar's,” they replied.
17“Then give back to Caesar what belongs to him, and give back to God what belongs to him,” Jesus told them. They were amazed at his reply.
18Then the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, came and asked a question:
19“Teacher, Moses instructed us that if a man dies, leaving his widow childless, then his brother should marry his wife, and have children by her on his behalf.#12:19. See Deuteronomy 25:5. 20Once there were seven brothers. The first one got married, and then died without having children. 21The second married his widow, and then died, childless. The third did the same. 22In fact all seven died without having children. In the end the woman died too. 23In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, because she was the wife of all seven brothers?”
24Jesus told them, “This proves you're mistaken, and that you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God. 25When the dead rise, they don't marry, and aren't given in marriage. They're like the angels in heaven. 26But concerning the resurrection, haven't you read in Moses' writings the story of the burning bush, where God spoke to Moses and told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’#12:26. See Exodus 3:2-6. 27He's not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are completely mistaken!”
28One of the religious teachers came and heard them arguing. He recognized that Jesus had given them a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”
29Jesus replied, “The first commandment is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your spirit, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’#12:30. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:4. 31The second is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’#12:31. Quoting Leviticus 19:18. There's no more important commandment than these.”
32“That's right, Teacher,” the man replied. “It's true as you said that God is one, and there is no other. 33We are to love him with all our heart, all our understanding, and all our strength, and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is far more important than offerings and sacrifices.”
34Jesus saw that he gave a thoughtful answer, and said, “You're not far from the kingdom of God.” After this no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.
35While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the religious teachers state that Christ is the son of David? 36David himself declared, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that the Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’#12:36. Quoting Psalms 110:1. 37Since David himself calls him Lord, how can he be David's son?” The large crowd listened to what Jesus said with great delight.
38Jesus continued to teach them, saying, “Beware of religious leaders! They love to walk around in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the marketplaces. 39They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues, and the best places at banquets. 40They cheat widows out of what they own,#12:40. Literally, “devour widow's houses.” and cover up the kind of people they really are with long-winded prayers. They will receive severe condemnation in the judgment.”
41Jesus sat down opposite the treasury collection box, watching people tossing in coins. Many of the rich were extravagantly throwing in a lot of money. 42Then a poor widow came along and put in just two small coins.#12:42. Literally, two lepta,, of little value. 43He called his disciples together and told them, “I tell you the truth: this poor widow has put in more than all the rest together. 44All of them gave from their wealth what they had, but she gave from her poverty what she didn't have. She put in all she had to live on.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com