Mark Chapter 12
Story About a Vineyard
1 He started telling stories.
“A man planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine pit with a trough under it, rented it out to tenants, and left on a trip. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to receive the fruit from the vineyard. 3 They took him and beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 He sent another servant, and they beat him over the head and abused him. 5 He sent another, and they killed him. He sent many others. They beat up some and killed others.
6 “He still had one, dear son. He sent him to them last, ‘They’ll respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will belong to us.’ 8They took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 9What will the owner do? He’ll come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to other people. 10Didn’t you ever read this scripture:
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11That has come from the LORD;
it’s amazing to us.’” [Ps 118:22-23]
12 The Pharisees were looking for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds. They knew he’d aimed the story at them, and they left.
Mk 12:1-12
Question About Tribute to Caesar
13 They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to trap him in what he said. 14 They said, “Rabbi, we know you tell the truth, you don’t defer to anybody, you don’t respect persons, you teach the way of God correctly. Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar?”
15 He saw through their hypocrisy, “Why are you trying to put me on the spot? Bring me a denarius.”
16 They brought him one, and he said, “Whose image and inscription are these?”
“Caesar’s.”
17 “So pay Caesar what you owe Caesar and pay God what you owe God.”
They were stunned.
Mk 12:13-17
Question About Resurrection
18 The Sadducees came—who say there’s no resurrection,
19 “Rabbi, Moses wrote to us that if someone’s brother dies and leaves a wife and no child, his brother is to take the wife and raise up heirs for his brother [Gen 38:8; Deut.25:5]. 20 There were seven brothers. The first married a wife and left no offspring when he died. 21The second married her and died, with no offspring. The third did the same thing. 22All seven died, not leaving any offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? The seven had her as a wife.”
24 Jesus said,
“Don’t you err because you don’t know the scriptures or God’s power? 25 When people resurrect, they don’t get married. They’re like angels in heaven.
26 “As to the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read in the book of Moses in the bush passage how God spoke to him: ‘I’m Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s God’? [Ex 3:6, 15-16] 27 He’s not a God of the dead but of the living. You’re greatly mistaken.”
Mk 12:18-27
Question About the Most Important Commandment
28 When one of the scribes heard them arguing and saw that Jesus had answered them well, he came and asked, “What is the most important commandment?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the LORD your God is LORD alone. 30 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength’ [Deut 6:4-5]. 31 The second is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” [Lev 19:18]. There’s no commandment more important than those.”
32 The scribe said, “Well put, Rabbi; you’re right that he is the only one [Deut 6:4]; there is no other God besides him [Deut 4:35; Is 45:21]. 33 Loving him with all your heart, mind [Deut 6:5; Josh 22:5], and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself [Lev 19:18] is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Jesus saw he’d made a sensible comment, “You’re not far from God’s kingdom.”
Nobody dared ask him any more questions.
Mk 12:28-34
Question About the Son of David
35 After he answered those questions, as he was teaching in the Temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is David’s son? 36 David said by the Holy Spirit,
‘The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
till I put your enemies under your feet”’ [Ps 110:1].
37 David himself called him ‘Lord’; how can he be his son?” The huge crowd loved it.
Denunciation of the Pharisees
38 In his teaching, he was saying, “Watch out for the Pharisees. They like to walk around in long robes, receive greetings in marketplaces, 39 occupy prominent seats in synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 40 They confiscate widows’ houses and offer long prayers for show. They’ll receive more severe condemnation.”
Mk 12:35-40
The Widow’s Mite
41 He sat down across from the Treasury and was watching people from the crowd put copper coins in the Treasury. Wealthy people were putting in big amounts. 42 A poor widow came and put in two leptons, which equal a quadrans. 43 He called his disciples over, “That poor widow put in more than all the others. 44 They donated out of their abundance, but she donated out of her poverty—everything she had to live on.”
Mk 12:41-44