Mark 12
12
1 And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man dug a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a pit, and built a tower, and he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out on a long journey.
2 And in time, he sent a servant to the farmers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.
3 But they, having apprehended him, beat him and sent him away empty.
4 And again, he sent another servant to them. And they wounded him on the head, and they treated him with contempt.
5 And again, he sent another, and him they killed, and many others: some they beat, but others they killed.
6 Therefore, having still one son, most dear to him, he sent him also to them, at the very end, saying, 'For they will reverence my son.'
7 But the settlers said one to another: 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him. And then the inheritance will be ours.'
8 And apprehending him, they killed him. And they cast him out of the vineyard.
9 Therefore, what will the lord of the vineyard do?" "He will come and destroy the settlers. And he will give the vineyard to others."
10 "And so, have you not read this scripture?: 'The stone which the builders have rejected, the same has been made the head of the corner.
11 By the Lord has this been done, and it is wondrous in our eyes.' "
12 And they sought to take hold of him, but they feared the crowd. For they knew that he had spoken this parable about them. And leaving him behind, they went away.
13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him, so that they might trap him with words.
14 And these, arriving, said to him: "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and that you do not favor anyone; for you do not consider the appearance of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give the tribute to Caesar, or should we not give it?"
15 And knowing their skill in deception, he said to them: "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, so that I may see it."
16 And they brought it to him. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17 So in response, Jesus said to them, "Then render to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar; and to God, the things that are of God." And they wondered over him.
18 And the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, approached him. And they questioned him, saying:
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if any man's brother will have died and left behind a wife, and not have left behind sons, his brother should take his wife to himself and should raise up offspring for his brother.
20 So then, there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and he died without leaving behind offspring.
21 And the second took her, and he died. And neither did he leave behind offspring. And the third acted similarly.
22 And in like manner, each of the seven received her and did not leave behind offspring. Last of all, the woman also died.
23 Therefore, in the resurrection, when they will rise again, to which of them will she be a wife? For each of the seven had her as wife."
24 And Jesus responded by saying to them: "But have you not gone astray, by knowing neither the scriptures, nor the power of God?
25 For when they will be resurrected from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but they are like the Angels in heaven.
26 But concerning the dead who rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him from the bush, saying: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?'
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore, you have gone far astray."
28 And one of the scribes, who had heard them arguing, drew near to him. And seeing that he had answered them well, he questioned him as to which was the first commandment of all.
29 And Jesus answered him: "For the first commandment of all is this: 'Listen, O Israel. The Lord your God is one God.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength. This is the first commandment.'
31 But the second is similar to it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
32 And the scribe said to him: Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth that there is one God, and there is no other beside him;
33 and that he should be loved from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole soul, and from the whole strength. And to love one's neighbor as one's self is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices."
34 And Jesus, seeing that he had responded wisely, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to question him.
35 And while teaching in the temple, Jesus said in answer: "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 For David himself said in the Holy Spirit: 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I set your enemies as your footstool.'
37 Therefore, David himself calls him Lord, and so how can he be his son?" And a great multitude listened to him willingly.
38 And he said to them in his doctrine: "Beware of the scribes, who prefer to walk in long robes and to be greeted in the marketplace,
39 and to sit in the first chairs in the synagogues, and to have the first seats at feasts,
40 who devour the houses of widows under the pretense of long prayers. These shall receive the more extensive judgment."
41 And Jesus, sitting opposite the offertory box, considered the way in which the crowd cast coins into the offertory, and that many of the wealthy cast in a great deal.
42 But when one poor widow had arrived, she put in two small coins, which is a quarter.
43 And calling together his disciples, he said to them: "Amen I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all those who contributed to the offertory.
44 For they all gave from their abundance, yet truly, she gave from her scarcity, even all that she had, her entire living."
Currently Selected:
Mark 12: CPDV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Mark 12
12
The Story About a Vineyard
1-2Then Jesus started telling them stories. “A man planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, erected a watchtower, turned it over to the farmhands, and went off on a trip. At the time for harvest, he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect his profits.
3-5“They grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him off empty-handed. So he sent another servant. That one they tarred and feathered. He sent another and that one they killed. And on and on, many others. Some they beat up, some they killed.
6“Finally there was only one left: a beloved son. In a last-ditch effort, he sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7-8“But those farmhands saw their chance. They rubbed their hands together in greed and said, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for ourselves.’ They grabbed him, killed him, and threw him over the fence.
9-11“What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. He’ll come and get rid of everyone. Then he’ll assign the care of the vineyard to others. Read it for yourselves in Scripture:
That stone the masons threw out
is now the cornerstone!
This is God’s work;
we rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!”
12They wanted to lynch him then and there but, intimidated by public opinion, held back. They knew the story was about them. They got away from there as fast as they could.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13-14They sent some Pharisees and followers of Herod to bait him, hoping to catch him saying something incriminating. They came up and said, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, that you are indifferent to public opinion, don’t pander to your students, and teach the way of God accurately. Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
15-16He knew it was a trick question, and said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it.” They handed him one.
“This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”
“Caesar,” they said.
17Jesus said, “Give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”
Their mouths hung open, speechless.
Our Intimacies Will Be with God
18-23Some Sadducees, the party that denies any possibility of resurrection, came up and asked, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to marry the widow and have children. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her. He died, and still no child. The same with the third. All seven took their turn, but no child. Finally the wife died. When they are raised at the resurrection, whose wife is she? All seven were her husband.”
24-27Jesus said, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know what God said; two, you don’t know how God works. After the dead are raised up, we’re past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don’t you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You’re way, way off base.”
The Most Important Commandment
28One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”
29-31Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”
32-33The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So clear-cut and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!”
34When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”
After that, no one else dared ask a question.
* * *
35-37While he was teaching in the Temple, Jesus asked, “How is it that the religion scholars say that the Messiah is David’s ‘son,’ when we all know that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said,
God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.”
“David here designates the Messiah ‘my Master’—so how can the Messiah also be his ‘son’?”
The large crowd was delighted with what they heard.
38-40He continued teaching. “Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”
41-44Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.