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 in the Vineyard
(Mt 21.33–46; Lk 20.9–19)
1 #
Is 5.1–2
Then Jesus spoke to them in parables: “Once there was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence round it, dug a hole for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he let out the vineyard to tenants and left home on a journey. 2When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. 3The tenants seized the slave, beat him, and sent him back without a thing. 4Then the owner sent another slave; the tenants beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. 5The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others. 6The only one left to send was the man's own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. ‘I am sure they will respect my son,’ he said. 7But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and his property will be ours!’ 8So they seized the son and killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?” asked Jesus. “He will come and kill those tenants and hand the vineyard over to others. 10#Ps 118.22–23Surely you have read this scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.
11 This was done by the Lord;
what a wonderful sight it is!’ ”
12The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
The Question about Paying Taxes
(Mt 22.15–22; Lk 20.20–26)
13Some Pharisees and some members of Herod's party were sent to Jesus to trap him with questions. 14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?”
15But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it.”
16They brought him one, and he asked, “Whose face and name are these?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.
17So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay God what belongs to God.”
And they were amazed at Jesus.
The Question about Rising from Death
(Mt 22.23–33; Lk 20.27–40)
18 #
Acts 23.8
Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said, 19#Deut 25.5“Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.’ 20Once there were seven brothers; the eldest got married and died without having children. 21Then the second one married the woman, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22and then to the rest: all seven brothers married the woman and died without having children. Last of all, the woman died. 23Now, when all the dead rise to life on the day of resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.”
24Jesus answered them, “How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power. 25For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry. 26#Ex 3.6Now, as for the dead being raised: haven't you ever read in the Book of Moses the passage about the burning bush? There it is written that God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 27He is the God of the living, not of the dead. You are completely wrong!”
The Great Commandment
(Mt 22.34–40; Lk 10.25–28)
28 #
Lk 10.25–28
A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 #
Deut 6.4–5
Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord.#12.29 The Lord our God is the only Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31#Lev 19.18The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two.”
32 #
Deut 4.35
The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, “Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. 33#Hos 6.6And to love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is more important than to offer animals and other sacrifices to God.”
34Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Question about the Messiah
(Mt 22.41–46; Lk 20.41–44)
35As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked the question, “How can the teachers of the Law say that the Messiah will be the descendant of David? 36#Ps 110.1The Holy Spirit inspired David to say:
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit here on my right
until I put your enemies under your feet.’
37 David himself called him ‘Lord’; so how can the Messiah be David's descendant?”
Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law
(Mt 23.1–36; Lk 20.45–47)
A large crowd was listening to Jesus gladly. 38As he taught them, he said, “Watch out for the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and be greeted with respect in the market place, 39who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts. 40They take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers. Their punishment will be all the worse!”
The Widow's Offering
(Lk 21.1–4)
41As Jesus sat near the temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money; 42then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny. 43He called his disciples together and said to them, “I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others. 44For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had — she gave all she had to live on.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.