Mark 12
12
Tenants of a vineyard
(Matthew 21.33-46; Luke 20.9-19)
1Jesus then told them this story:#Is 5.1,2.
A farmer once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he let his vineyard and left the country.
2When it was harvest time, he sent a servant to get his share of the grapes. 3The tenants grabbed the servant. They beat him up and sent him away without a thing.
4The owner sent another servant, but the tenants beat him on the head and insulted him terribly. 5Then the man sent another servant, and they killed him. He kept sending servant after servant. They beat some of them and killed others.
6The owner had a son he loved very much. Finally, he sent his son to the tenants because he thought they would respect him. 7But they said to themselves, “Some day he will own this vineyard. Let's kill him! That way we can have it all for ourselves.” 8So they grabbed the owner's son and killed him. Then they threw his body out of the vineyard.
9Jesus asked, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? He will come and kill those tenants and let someone else have his vineyard. 10Surely you know that the Scriptures say,#Ps 118.22,23.
‘The stone that the builders
tossed aside
is now the most important
stone of all.
11This is something
the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’ ”
12The leaders knew that Jesus was really talking about them, and they wanted to arrest him. But because they were afraid of the crowd, they let him alone and left.
Paying taxes
(Matthew 22.15-22; Luke 20.20-26)
13The Pharisees got together with Herod's followers.#12.13 Herod's followers: People who were political followers of the family of Herod the Great and his son Herod Antipas. Then they sent some men to trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 14They went to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. And you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
15Jesus knew what they were up to, and he said, “Why are you trying to test me? Show me a coin!”
16They brought him a silver coin, and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.
17Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” The men were amazed at Jesus.
Life in the future world
(Matthew 22.23-33; Luke 20.27-40)
18The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said:#Ac 23.8.
19Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.#Dt 25.5. 20There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. 21The second brother married his brother's widow, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22and finally to all seven brothers. At last the woman died. 23When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? After all, she had been married to all seven brothers.
24Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 25When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26You know about people being raised to life. You know that in the story about Moses and the burning bush, God said, “I am the God worshipped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”#12.26 “I am the God worshipped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”: Jesus argues that if God is worshipped by these three, they must still be alive, because he is the God of the living.#Ex 3.6. 27He isn't the God of the dead, but of the living. You Sadducees are all wrong.
The most important commandment
(Matthew 22.34-40; Luke 10.25-28)
28One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”#Lk 10.25-28.
29Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God.#Dt 6.4,5. 30You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ 31The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”#Lv 19.18.
32The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God.#Dt 4.35. 33It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make.”#Ho 6.6.
34When Jesus saw that the man had given a sensible answer, he told him, “You are not far from God's kingdom.” After this, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions.
About David's son
(Matthew 22.41-46; Luke 20.41-44)
35As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the teachers of the Law of Moses say that the Messiah will come from the family of King David? 36The Holy Spirit led David to say,#Ps 110.1.
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side#12.36 right side: The place of power and honour.
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’
37If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?”#12.37 David…his son: See the note at 10.47.
The large crowd enjoyed listening to Jesus teach.
Jesus condemns the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses
(Matthew 23.1-36; Luke 20.45-47)
38As Jesus was teaching, he said:
Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the market. 39They like the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets. 40But they cheat widows out of their homes and pray long prayers just to show off. They will be punished most of all.
A widow's offering
(Luke 21.1-4)
41Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. 42Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins that were worth only a few pennies. 43Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said:
I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 44Everyone else gave what they didn't need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn't have a penny to live on.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
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, letʼs 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. 10Havenʼt 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 arenʼt 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 shouldnʼt 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?”
“Caesarʼs,” they replied.
17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesarʼs and to God what is Godʼs.”
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 manʼs 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 widowsʼ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The Widowʼs 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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