Mark 12

Parable of the Vine-growers

11And He began to speak to them in parables: “2A man 3planted a vineyard and put a 4fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to 5vine-growers and went on a journey. 2And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What will the 6owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘7A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the 8chief cornerstone;119This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

1210And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the 11people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so 12they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes

1313Then they sent some of the Pharisees and 14Herodians to Him in order to 15trap Him in a statement. 14They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and 16do not care what anyone thinks; for You 17are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it 18permissible to pay a 19poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a 20denarius to look at.” 16And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17And Jesus said to them, “21Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

1822Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to 23Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that 24if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to 25marry the wife and raise up 26children for his brother. 20There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21The second one 27married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. 23In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” 24Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not 28understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26But 29regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, 30in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘31I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 2732He is not the God 33of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

2834One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and 35recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the 36foremost of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The 37foremost is, ‘38Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; 3039and 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.’ 31The second is this: ‘40You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that 41He is One, and there is no other besides Him; 3342and 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, 43is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 44And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

3545And Jesus responded and began saying, as He 46taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the 47Christ is the 48son of David? 36David himself said 49in the Holy Spirit, ‘50The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ 37David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And 51the large crowd 52enjoyed listening to Him.

3853And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like 54personal greetings in the marketplaces, 39and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, 4055who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Coins

4156And Jesus sat down opposite 57the treasury, and began watching how the 58people were 59putting 60money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. 42And a poor widow came and put in two 61lepta coins, which amount to a 62quadrans. 43Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all 63the contributors to the treasury; 44for they all put in out of their 64surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, 65all she had 66to live on.”