Mark 12
12
The Parable of the Vineyard and the Farmers
Matt. 21:33-46; Lk. 20:9-19
1 Then He began to speak to them in parables: “ A man planted a vineyard and placed a fence around it, and dug a trough under the winepress and built a tower. Then he leased it to farmers and embarked on a journey. 2 And he sent a servant to the farmers at the proper time * to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 And they took hold of him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again, he sent to them another servant, and that one they struck on the head and treated him disgracefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6 He still had one beloved son. He sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will have respect for my son.’ 7 But those farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And when they took hold of him, they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 Therefore, * what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders * rejected,
this has become the cornerstone.
11 This was from the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” *
12 And they were seeking to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, for they knew that He had spoken the parable against them.* And having left Him, they went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
Matt. 22:15-22; Lk. 20:20-26
13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him,* so that they might entrap Him in His speech. 14 And when they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true and are not influenced by anyone, for You do not consider the external appearance of men,** but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. Is it lawful to pay tribute* to Caesar or not? Should we pay, or should we not pay?” 15 But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, “Why are you putting Me to the test? * Bring Me a denarius so that I may look at it.” 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, “Of whom is this image and inscription?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar,* and to God the things that belong to God.”* And they marvelled at Him.
Concerning Resurrection
Matt. 22:23-33; Lk. 20:27-40
18 Then Sadducees came to Him, who say there is no resurrection, and they began to question Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies and he leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother is to take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving behind no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 So the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise,* of which of them will she be wife? For the seven had her as wife. 24 Jesus began to say to them, “Are you not misled for this reason, that you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither enter into marriage nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. * 26 Now concerning the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, with reference to the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are greatly misled.”
The Great Commandments
Matt. 22:34-40; Lk. 10:25-28
28 Then one of the scribes came up and heard them arguing. When he saw that He answered them well, he asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 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.’ * 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 So the scribe said to Him, “Rightly so, Teacher. You have spoken truthfully, that He is one and there is no other besides Him. 33 And to love Him from your whole heart, and from your whole understanding, and from your whole strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And Jesus, when He saw that he had answered wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.
Concerning David’s Son
Matt. 22:41-46; Lk. 20:41-44
35 And Jesus, while teaching in the temple,* was saying in response, “How is it that the scribes assert that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 David himself said in* the Holy Spirit,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.” ’ *
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ how then is He his Son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with pleasure.
The Denouncing of the Scribes
Matt. 23:1-36; Lk. 20:45-47
38 And in His teaching, He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and the most honourable seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts, 40 who devour the houses of widows, and, as an outward show, make lengthy prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Poor Widow’s Contribution
Lk. 21:1-4
41 And when He sat down opposite the treasury, He was watching how the crowd was putting money into the treasury. And many wealthy persons were putting in large sums.* 42 And when one poor widow came, she put in two small copper coins, which is equivalent to a penny.* 43 And calling His disciples to Himself, He said to them, “ Truly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have contributed to the treasury. 44 For they all put in out of their abundance, * but she, out of her poverty, contributed all that she had—her entire means of livelihood.”
Notes
2 Or harvest time
9 Some ancient manuscripts omit the transitional signal Therefore
10 Greek those who build
10-11 Quoted from Ps. 118:22-23
12 One ancient Greek manuscript ends the verse at this point
13 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the prepositional phrase to Him
14 Or individuals, as the term is genetically understood
14 Greek and it does not concern you about anyone, for you do not look on the appearance of men
14 Or to pay taxes
15 Some ancient manuscripts read Why are you putting Me to the test, hypocrites? in order to harmonise the text with a parallel in Matt. 22:18
17 Greek the things of Caesar
17 Greek the things of God
23 Some ancient manuscripts omit the expression when they rise, in order to harmonise the reading with parallels in Matt. 22:28 and Lk. 20:33
25 Greek in the heavens
30 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the expression and from your whole mind
30 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the expression This is the first commandment, as an abridged interpolation from Matt. 22:38
35 Or the outer courts of the temple
36 Or by
36 Quoted from Ps. 110:1
41 One ancient Greek manuscript gives a mutilated reading of the verse as: And when He sat down opposite the treasury, He was watching how the crowd was putting in large sums
42 Greek which is a penny
44 Greek they all put in out of what was abounding to them
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
