Mark 12

The Parable of the Tenants

1 And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.2 When the season came, he sent a servantt to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'7 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you not read this Scripture:
"'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;t
11 this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances,t but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denariust and let me look at it."16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the mant must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."

24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither 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 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about 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 quite wrong."

The Great Commandment

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"29 Jesus answered, "The most important 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 and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
"'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. So how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

The Widow's Offering

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.t43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Mark 12

1 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country.2 When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.3 They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.4 Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.5 Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.6 Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’7 But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’8 They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

10 Haven’t you even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the head of the corner.
11 This was from the Lord,
it is marvelous in our eyes’?”t
12 They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.13 They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.14 When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give?”
But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”

16 They brought it.
He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

17 Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
They marveled greatly at him.
18 There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,19 “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.21 The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;22 and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
24 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?25 For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.26 But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’t?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”

28 One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’t This is the first commandment.

31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’t There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,

33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
No one dared ask him any question after that.35 Jesus responded, as 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 in the Holy Spirit,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’t

37 Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?”
The common people heard him gladly.38 In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,39 and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts:

40 those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.42 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins,t which equal a quadrans coin.t43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,

44 for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”