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
God Sends His Son
(Mt. 21:33–46; Lk. 20:9–19)
1Jesus used stories to teach the people. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around the field and dug a hole for a winepress. Then he built a tower. He leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip.
2“Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him. They sent him away with nothing. 4Then the man sent another servant to the farmers. They hit this servant on the head, showing no respect for him. 5So the man sent another servant. The farmers killed this servant. The man sent many other servants to the farmers. The farmers beat some of them and killed the others.
6“The man had only one person left to send to the farmers. It was his son. He loved his son, but he decided to send him. He said, ‘The farmers will respect my son.’
7“But the farmers said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son, and this vineyard will be his. If we kill him, it will be ours.’ 8So they took the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
9“So what will the man who owns the vineyard do? He will go and kill those farmers. Then he will lease the land to others. 10Surely you have read this in the Scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders refused to accept
became the cornerstone.
11The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.’” Psalm 118:22-23
12When these Jewish leaders heard this story, they knew it was about them. They wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of what the crowd would do. So they left him and went away.
The Jewish Leaders Try to Trick Jesus
(Mt. 22:15–22; Lk. 20:20–26)
13Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some men from the group called Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to catch him saying something wrong. 14They went to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All people are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”
15But Jesus knew that these men were really trying to trick him. He said, “Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong? Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it.” 16They gave Jesus a coin and he asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on it?” They answered, “It is Caesar’s picture and Caesar’s name.”
17Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
(Mt. 22:23–33; Lk. 20:27–40)
18Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no one will rise from death.) They asked him a question: 19“Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and had no children, his brother must marry the woman. Then they will have children for the dead brother.#12:19 if … dead brother See Deut. 25:5, 6. 20There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children. 21So the second brother married the woman. But he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22All seven brothers married the woman and died. None of the brothers had any children with her. And she was the last to die. 23But all seven brothers had married her. So at the time when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
24Jesus answered, “How could you be so wrong? It’s because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know anything about God’s power. 25When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. All people will be like angels in heaven. 26Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book where Moses wrote about the burning bush,#12:26 burning bush See Ex. 3:1-12. it says that God told Moses this: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’#Quote from Ex. 3:6. 27So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people. You Sadducees are so wrong!”
Which Command Is the Most Important?
(Mt. 22:34–40; Lk. 10:25–28)
28One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked him, “Which of the commands is the most important?”
29Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘People of Israel, listen! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’#Quote from Deut. 6:4-5. 31The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor#12:31 your neighbor Or “others.” Jesus’ teaching in Lk. 10:25-37 makes clear that this includes anyone in need. the same as you love yourself.’#Quote from Lev. 19:18. These two commands are the most important.”
32The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is the only Lord and that there is no other God. 33And you must love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And you must love others the same as you love yourself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”
34Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely. So he said to him, “You are close to God’s kingdom.” And after that time, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
Is the Messiah David’s Son or David’s Lord?
(Mt. 22:41–46; Lk. 20:41–44)
35Jesus was teaching in the Temple area. He asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36With the help of the Holy Spirit, David himself says,
‘The Lord God said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
and I will put your enemies under your control.#12:36 control Literally, “feet.”’ Psalm 110:1
37David himself calls the Messiah ‘Lord.’ So how can the Messiah be David’s son?” Many people listened to Jesus and were very pleased.
Jesus Criticizes the Teachers of the Law
(Mt. 23:1–36; Lk. 20:45–47)
38Jesus continued teaching. He said, “Be careful of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing clothes that look important. And they love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. 39They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40But they cheat widows and take their homes. Then they try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. God will punish them very much.”
True Giving
(Lk. 21:1–4)
41Jesus sat near the Temple collection box#12:41 collection box A special box in the Jewish place for worship where people put their gifts to God. and watched as people put money into it. Many rich people put in a lot of money. 42Then a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth less than a penny.
43Jesus called his followers to him and said, “This poor widow put in only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. 44They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. It was money she needed to live on.”
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