Mark 12
12
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
1Then #Matt. 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, #2 Chr. 36:16beating some and killing some. 6Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him and #(Acts 2:23)killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
9“Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture:
#Ps. 118:22, 23‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
11This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12#Matt. 21:45, 46; Mark 11:18; John 7:25, 30, 44And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
13#Matt. 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the #Acts 18:26way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their #Matt. 23:28; Luke 12:1hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16So they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to #(Eccl. 5:4, 5)God the things that are God’s.”
And they marveled at Him.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?
18#Matt. 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–38Then some Sadducees, #Acts 23:8who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: 19“Teacher, #Deut. 25:5Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. 21And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. 22So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. 23Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
24Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but #(1 Cor. 15:42, 49, 52)are like angels in heaven. 26But concerning the dead, that they #(John 5:25, 28, 29); Acts 26:8; Rom. 4:17; (Rev. 20:12, 13)rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, #Ex. 3:6, 15‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.”
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
28#Matt. 22:34–40; Luke 10:25–28; 20:39Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: #Deut. 6:4, 5; Is. 44:8; 45:22; 46:9; 1 Cor. 8:6‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30And you shall #(Deut. 10:12; 30:6); Luke 10:27love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31And the second, like it, is this: #Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than #(Rom. 13:9)these.”
32So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, #Deut. 4:39; Is. 45:6, 14; 46:9; (John 1:14, 17; 14:6)and there is no other but He. 33And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, #(1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8; Matt. 9:13; 12:7)is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
#Matt. 22:46But after that no one dared question Him.
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
35#Matt. 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36For David himself said #2 Sam. 23:2by the Holy Spirit:
#Ps. 110:1‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his #(Acts 2:29–31)Son?”
And the common people heard Him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38Then #Mark 4:2He said to them in His teaching, #Matt. 23:1–7; Luke 20:45–47“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, #Matt. 23:7; Luke 11:43love greetings in the marketplaces, 39the #Luke 14:7best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40#Matt. 23:14who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Two Mites
41#Luke 21:1–4Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money #2 Kin. 12:9into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that #(2 Cor. 8:12)this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, #Deut. 24:6; (1 John 3:17)her whole livelihood.”
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Mark 12: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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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