Mark 12

A Story About God’s Son

1 Jesus began to use stories to teach the people. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress and built a tower. Then he leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip. 2 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then the man sent another servant. They hit him on the head and showed no respect for him.

5 So the man sent another servant, whom they killed. The man sent many other servants; the farmers beat some of them and killed others.

6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours.’

8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those farmers and will give the vineyard to other farmers.

10 Surely you have read this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone.

11 The Lord did this, and it is wonderful to us.’ ” t

12 The Jewish leaders knew that the story was about them. So they wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.

Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?

13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

15 Should we pay them, or not?”
But knowing what these men were really trying to do, Jesus said to them, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a coin to look at.”

16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose image and name are on the coin?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.”

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus

18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.)19 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.20 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no children.21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother.22 All seven brothers married her and died, and none of the brothers had any children. Finally the woman died too.

23 Since all seven brothers had married her, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be?”
24 Jesus answered, “Why don’t you understand? Don’t you know what the Scriptures say, and don’t you know about the power of God? 25 When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Surely you have read what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush, 

27 God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are wrong!”

The Most Important Command

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 32 The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said God is the only Lord and there is no other God besides him.

33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

34 When Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely, Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?

36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side, until I put your enemies under your control.” ’ t

37 David himself calls the Christ ‘Lord,’ so how can the Christ be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.
38 Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing fancy clothes, and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at feasts.

40 But they cheat widows and steal their houses and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. They will receive a greater punishment.”

True Giving

41 Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money.

42 Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.
43 Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”

Mark 13

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! How beautiful the buildings are! How big the stones are!”

2 Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”
3 Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the Temple, he was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They asked Jesus,

4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are going to happen?”
5 Jesus began to answer them, “Be careful that no one fools you. 6 Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the One,’ and they will fool many people. 7 When you hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming, don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes.

8 Nations will fight against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms. There will be earthquakes in different places, and there will be times when there is no food for people to eat. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
9 “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court and beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. 10 But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people.

11 When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will give their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause them to be put to death.

13 All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.
14 “You will see ‘a blasphemous object that brings destruction’ 15 If people are on the roofs 16 If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats. 17 At that time, how terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! 18 Pray that these things will not happen in winter, 19 because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world, until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again. 20 God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen. 21 At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 22 False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible.

23 So be careful. I have warned you about all this before it happens.

24 “During the days after this trouble comes,
‘the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light.

25 The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ t; t
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

27 Then he will send his angels all around the earth to gather his chosen people from every part of the earth and from every part of heaven.
28 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 30 I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living.

31 Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
32 “No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Always be ready, 34 It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it, giving each one a special job to do. The man tells the servant guarding the door always to be watchful. 35 So always be ready, because you don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. It might be in the evening, or at midnight, or in the morning while it is still dark, or when the sun rises. 36 Always be ready. Otherwise he might come back suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’ ”

Mark 14

The Plan to Kill Jesus

1 It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a trick to arrest Jesus and kill him.

2 But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”

A Woman with Perfume for Jesus

3 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. While Jesus was eating there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4 Some who were there became upset and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume?

5 It was worth a full year’s work. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they got very angry with the woman.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She did an excellent thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me. 8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial.

9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”

Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus

10 One of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading priests to offer to hand Jesus over to them.

11 These priests were pleased about this and promised to pay Judas money. So he watched for the best time to turn Jesus in.

Jesus Eats the Passover Meal

12 It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus’ followers said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
13 Jesus sent two of his followers and said to them, “Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 When he goes into a house, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is my guest room in which I can eat the Passover meal with my followers?” ’

15 The owner will show you a large room upstairs that is furnished and ready. Prepare the food for us there.”

16 So the followers left and went into the city. Everything happened as Jesus had said, so they prepared the Passover meal.
17 In the evening, Jesus went to that house with the twelve.

18 While they were all eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against me—one of you eating with me now.”

19 The followers were very sad to hear this. Each one began to say to Jesus, “I am not the one, am I?”
20 Jesus answered, “It is one of the twelve—the one who dips his bread into the bowl with me.

21 The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

22 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers, and they all drank from the cup.
24 Then Jesus said, “This is my blood which is the new 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine 

26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him

27 Then Jesus told the followers, “You will all stumble in your faith, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.’ t

28 But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

29 Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith, but I will not.”

30 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows twice you will say three times you don’t know me.”

31 But Peter insisted, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays Alone

32 Jesus and his followers went to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.”33 Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled.

34 He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch.”
35 After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering.36 He prayed, “Abba, 37 Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour?

38 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
39 Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing.

40 Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were very heavy. And they did not know what to say to him.
41 After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That’s enough. The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful people.

42 Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against me.”

Jesus Is Arrested

43 At once, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders.
44 Judas had planned a signal for them, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him and guard him while you lead him away.”45 So Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” and kissed him.46 Then the people grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

47 One of his followers standing nearby pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus said, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. 49 Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to make the Scriptures come true.”

50 Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
51 A young man, wearing only a linen cloth, was following Jesus, and the people also grabbed him.

52 But the cloth he was wearing came off, and he ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Leaders

53 The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest, where all the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of the law were gathered.

54 Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something that Jesus had done wrong so they could kill him. But the council could find no proof of anything.

56 Many people came and told false things about him, but all said different things—none of them agreed.
57 Then some people stood up and lied about Jesus, saying,58 “We heard this man say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that people made. And three days later, I will build another Temple not made by people.’ ”

59 But even the things these people said did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood before them and asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?”

61 But Jesus said nothing; he did not answer.
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed God?”

62 Jesus answered, “I am. And in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds in the sky.”
63 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “We don’t need any more witnesses!

64 You all heard him say these things against God. What do you think?”
They all said that Jesus was guilty and should die.

65 Some of the people there began to spit at Jesus. They blindfolded him and beat him with their fists and said, “Prove you are a prophet!” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.

Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus

66 While Peter was in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came there.

67 She saw Peter warming himself at the fire and looked closely at him.
Then she said, “You also were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”
68 But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard. And the rooster crowed. 69 The servant girl saw Peter there, and again she said to the people who were standing nearby, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.”

70 Again Peter said that it was not true.
A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee, too.”

71 Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72 At once, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter lost control of himself and began to cry.