Mark 12

Chapter 12

Parable of the Evil Farmers

1 Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.2 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.3 But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.4 The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head.5 The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,

6 until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’

8 So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

10 Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.11 This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’t”

12 The religious leaderst wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

Taxes for Caesar

13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”

Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,t and I’ll tell you.”

16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.

Discussion about Resurrection

18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.t20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her.22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died.

23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

25 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,t ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’t

27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”

The Most Important Commandment

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.30 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’t

31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’t No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.

33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus 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 Messiah?

35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?

36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’t

37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
38 Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces.39 And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

40 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.t
43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.

44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

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.