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 servant 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;
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, 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 denarius 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 man 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 marketplaces 39 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. 43 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 ESV
Mark 12
A man planted a vineyard - This was God taking from all of humanity, Israel, and giving them a land as promised to Abraham. Israel was His tenants.
…17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. 18And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.… Genesis 22: 17-19
Get from them some of the fruit - This was their purpose, to be a light and a blessing to the nations, to bring forth fruits fitting with repentance, to evangelize the world. They were to be a people holy and set apart. We have been talking about fruit prior to this, and Jesus expounds more on the theme. It is much like the fruitlessness of the fig tree. The vineyard is a theme familiar to them from the prophecies of Isaiah as well.
I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Isaiah 5: 1-7
They perceived that He told the parable against them - He is the Cornerstone and they are rejecting Him. Their reaction is to kill Him just like in the parable.
But truly teach the way of God - Beware of flatterers. This is empty praise, the sort of bait in a trap that would work on them.
Why put Me to the test? - They hadn't come to learn; they weren't truth seekers. He sees through them, but answers them with a wisdom like they would never know. He tells them to pay their taxes which some would want out of, yet all his accusers would have hypocritically accused Him of stealing from Rome if He had said otherwise. It's not only wise but true; He is merely saying what He actually believes.
Who say there is no resurrection - They don't believe in it but think they are saying something clever.
You know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God - They only knew the writings and bad doctrine of their scribes.
I am the God of Abraham... - This is written in the present tense, long after these men had departed from this life. God is the God of the living, and these men carry on in eternity. Jesus upholds the resurrection and life after death. He tells them, "You are quite wrong." What they were teaching people about God and the afterlife was in error.
One of the scribes came up - There was one truth seeker in the bunch, a scribe that realized Jesus answered them well, and he has a legitimate question.
You are right Teacher - Jesus said that God is One, that to love Him is the first and greatest commandment, and to love others is the second, which together makes up the whole of the law.
You are not far from the Kingdom of God - Wow!
The Lord said to my Lord - Of the Messiah David says, the LORD Yahweh (God) says to my Lord Adonai (God), come sit at My right hand. This bends the mind of Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Muslims and other aberrant cult groups even to this day.
David himself calls Him Lord so how is He his Son - From eternity He is the eternally begotten, the Word, and He is also the Seed promised of the woman. This is why Matthew and Luke give both lineages of Jesus, one of His earthly father and the other of His mother. Both lineages are from the line of David, the tribe of Judah, and Mary's is important because His was a virgin birth.
Beware of the Scribes - They dress nice, pretend at what Jesus considers a faux holiness, but are inwardly corrupt, and they devour widows' houses. This is a huge point of contention for Him and watch how it carries through even to the next chapter.
Out of her poverty has put in everything she had - This was so backward, that they could look on this and accept it makes them just like the prosperity teachers, fleecers of the flock. Following this look what He speaks of at the beginning of the next chapter. He has evaluated the temple, destroyed their ridiculous take on theology, brought them back to the actual word of God time and again, but they are so hard of heart they don't even see the need of this member of their flock, the widow. She, like and orphan, is useless to them, an inconvenience because she is in need and they are all want. She can starve in their minds because they are obviously holy, I mean that's what they keep telling each other. The widow is like Job was to his friends, certainly she is guilty of some wrong ant they are worthy of much honor because they have much.
1As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!” 2“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Mark 13: 1-2
…26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 26-27
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