Mark 12
12
A Story about a Vineyard
(Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19)
1Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.
2“At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. 3The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing. 4So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully. 5The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.
6“He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’
7“But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9“What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you never read the Scripture passage:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11The Lord has done this,
and it is amazing for us to see’?”
12They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.
A Question about Taxes
(Matthew 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26)
13The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod’s followers to Jesus. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing. 14When they came to him, they said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?”
15Jesus recognized their hypocrisy, so he asked them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so that I can look at it.”
16They brought a coin. He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?”
They told him, “The emperor’s.”
17Jesus said to them, “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.”
They were surprised at his reply.
The Dead Come Back to Life
(Matthew 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40)
18Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ 20There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. 21The second married her and died without having children. So did the third. 22None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died. 23When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.”
24Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? 25When the dead come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven. 26Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ 27He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!”
Love God and Your Neighbor
(Matthew 22:34–40)
28One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings went to Jesus during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32The expert in Moses’ Teachings said to Jesus, “Teacher, that was well said! You’ve told the truth that there is only one God and no other besides him! 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus heard how wisely the man answered, he told the man, “You’re not too far from God’s kingdom.”
After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?
(Matthew 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44)
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he asked, “How can the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that the Messiah is David’s son? 36David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Take the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne—
until I put your enemies under your control.” ’
37David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?”
Jesus Disapproves of the Example Set by the Experts in Moses’ Teachings
(Matthew 23:1–12; Luke 20:45–47)
The large crowd enjoyed listening to him. 38As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the experts in Moses’ Teachings! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39and to have the front seats in synagogues and the places of honor at dinners. 40They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The experts in Moses’ Teachings will receive the most severe punishment.”
A Widow’s Contribution
(Luke 21:1–4)
41As Jesus sat facing the temple offering box, he watched how ⌞much⌟ money people put into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42A poor widow dropped in two small coins, worth less than a cent.
43He called his disciples and said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others. 44All of them have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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