Mark 12

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

1 Then He began to speak to them in parables: A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 2 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 5 And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 6 Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son. 7 But those vinedressers said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. 8 So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.9 Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture: The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.11  This was the Lords doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes?12 And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

Question of Taxes

13 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.14 When they had come, they said to Him, Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?16 So they brought it. And He said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him, Caesars.17 And Jesus answered and said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods. And they marveled at Him.

Question of the Resurrection

18 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:19 Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a mans brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.20 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.21 And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise.22 So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also.23 Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.24 Jesus answered and said to them, Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.

Question of the Greatest Commandment

28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?29 Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.32 So the scribe said to Him, Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love ones neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. But after that no one dared question Him.

Jesus Questions the Leaders

35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.37 Therefore David himself calls Him Lord; how is He then his Son? And the common people heard Him gladly.

Jesus Condemns the Leaders

38 Then He said to them in His teaching, Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.

MARK 12

Renters of a Vineyard

(Matthew 21.33-46; Luke 20.9-19)

1  t Jesus then told them this story:
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 rented out his vineyard and left the country.
2 When it was harvest time, he sent a servant to get his share of the grapes.

3 The renters grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him away without a thing.
4 The owner sent another servant, but the renters beat him on the head and insulted him terribly.

5 Then the man sent another servant, and they killed him. He kept sending servant after servant. They beat some of them and killed some.
6 The owner had a son he loved very much. Finally, he sent his son to the renters because he thought they would respect him. 7 But they said to themselves, “Someday he will own this vineyard. Let's kill him! That way we can have it all for ourselves.”

8 So they grabbed the owner's son, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 Jesus asked, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard.

10 t You surely know that the Scriptures say,
‘The stone the builders
tossed aside
is now the most important
stone of all.

11 This is something
the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’ ”

12 The 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)

14 They 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?”

15 Jesus knew what they were up to, and he said, “Why are you trying to test me? Show me a coin!”

16 They brought him a silver coin, and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.

17 Then 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)

18  t The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said:
19  t Teacher, 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. 20 There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. 21 The second brother married his brother's widow, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22 and finally to all seven brothers. At last the woman died.

23 When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? After all, she had been married to all seven brothers.

24 Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 25 When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 t You surely 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 worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”t

27 He 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)

28  t One 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?”
29  t Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30 You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’

31 t The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
32  t The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God.

33 t It 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.”

34 When 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)

36 t The Holy Spirit led David to say,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right sidet
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’

37 If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?”t
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)

38 As 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. 39 They like the front seats in the synagogues and the best seats at banquets.

40 But 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)

43 Jesus 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. 44 Everyone else gave what they didn't need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn't have a cent to live on.