Mark 12

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

¹He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.²³At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them.⁴⁵But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.⁶⁷Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.⁸⁹Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.¹⁰¹¹He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’¹²¹³But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’¹⁴¹⁵So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.¹⁶¹⁷What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.¹⁸¹⁹Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ²⁰

²¹This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?”²²

²³They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.²⁴

God and Caesar

²⁵Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.²⁶²⁷When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”²⁸

²⁹But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”³⁰³¹They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. “Caesar’s,” they replied.³²

³³Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.³⁴

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

³⁵Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him:³⁶³⁷“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.³⁸³⁹There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.⁴⁰⁴¹The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.⁴²⁴³None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.⁴⁴⁴⁵In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”⁴⁶

⁴⁷Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God?⁴⁸⁴⁹For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.⁵⁰⁵¹And as for the dead being raised — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?⁵²⁵³He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”⁵⁴

The Primary Commands

⁵⁵One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”⁵⁶

⁵⁷Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.⁵⁸⁵⁹Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.⁶⁰⁶¹The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”⁶²

⁶³Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him.⁶⁴⁶⁵And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”⁶⁶

⁶⁷When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.⁶⁸

The Question about the Messiah

⁶⁹While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?⁷⁰⁷¹David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ⁷²

⁷³David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.⁷⁴

Warning against the Scribes

⁷⁵He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces,⁷⁶⁷⁷the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.⁷⁸⁷⁹They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”⁸⁰

The Widow’s Gift

⁸¹Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.⁸²⁸³Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.⁸⁴⁸⁵Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.⁸⁶⁸⁷For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had — all she had to live on.”⁸⁸