UST MARK Chapter 12

◄ MARK 12 ► ║ ═ ©

12 Then Jesus started to tell a story to the ruling priests, the teachers of the Jewish law, and the other Jewish leaders. He said, “A certain man planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it in order to protect it. He made a stone tank to collect the grape juice that they would press out of the grapes. He also built a tower for someone to sit in to guard his vineyard. He rented the vineyard to some people who would take care of it, and he left to travel to a different country. 2 When it was time to harvest the grapes, the man told one of his servants to go to the people who were taking care of the vineyard. He wanted them to give him his share of the grapes that the vineyard had produced. 3 However, the people who were taking care of the vineyard grabbed the man’s servant. They beat him up and told him to go away without giving him any of the grapes. 4 After that, the man told another servant to go to the people who were taking care of the vineyard. However, they beat this servant on the head and insulted him. 5 After that, the man told another servant to go to the people who were taking care of the vineyard. However, they killed this servant. After that, the man sent many other servants. However, they beat up some of them and killed the others.

6 Finally, the man still had only one other person with him, his son, whom he loved very much. So, the man told his son to go to them last of all. He thought that they would treat his son well and give him his share of the grapes. 7 However, when the people who were taking care of the vineyard saw the man’s son arriving, they told each other, ‘This man is the one who will inherit the vineyard. We should kill him, and then we can take the vineyard for ourselves.’ 8 So, they grabbed the man’s son and murdered him. Then, they dragged his corpse outside the vineyard.

9 I will tell you how the man who owned the vineyard will act. He will arrive at the vineyard, and he will kill the people who were taking care of the vineyard. Then, he will arrange for other people to take care of it. 10 What I have said fits with this scripture that you have read:

‘The people who were constructing a building

refused to use a certain stone.

However, that stone is now

the most important one in the building.

11 The Lord God did that,

and we think it is amazing.’ ”

12 Then the ruling priests, the teachers of the Jewish law, and the other Jewish leaders realized that Jesus was accusing them when he told that story. Because of that, they wanted to arrest him. However, they were afraid of how the large group of people would react. So, they left where he was without arresting him.

13 Then, the ruling priests, the teachers of the Jewish law, and the other Jewish leaders told some of the Pharisees and some people who supported King Herod to go to Jesus. They instructed them to try to cause him to make a mistake in what he said. 14 When they arrived where Jesus was, they said to him, “Instructor, we realize that you say what is true. You do not pay attention to how important or powerful people are. So, you do not care about what other people think. Further, you truthfully instruct people about what God wants them to do. So, we want to ask you this: Does our law allow us to pay taxes to the Roman government, or does it not allow that? Should we pay the taxes, or should we not pay them?”

15 However, Jesus realized that they were only pretending to respect him. He replied, “You are trying to make me say something wrong. Hand me a Roman coin so I can examine it.”

16 So, someone handed him a Roman coin. Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture and name are on this coin?”

They replied, “It is the leader of the Roman government’s picture and name.”

17 Then Jesus told them, “So then, give to the Roman government what belongs to it and give to God what belongs to him.”

What Jesus said impressed the Pharisees and the people who supported King Herod.

18 After that, some Sadducees approached Jesus. They are a Jewish group that does not believe that God will make people who have died alive again. They asked Jesus, 19 “Instructor, Moses wrote for us in the Scriptures about what should happen when a man with a wife, but no children, dies. When that happens, the dead man’s brother should marry the dead man’s wife. When they have a child, they should consider it to be the child of the dead man. 20 So, consider this situation: there were seven brothers. One brother married a woman, but then he died before he had children. 21 Then, the second brother obeyed this law and married the woman. However, he too died before he had children. The same thing happened to the third brother. 22 In this way, each of the seven brothers married the woman but died before they had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 So, of those brothers, whose wife will she be when God makes people alive again? We ask because she got married to all seven brothers at different times.”

24 Jesus replied, “You do not realize what the Scriptures mean or how powerful God is. Because of that, you believe what is wrong! 25 Here is what I mean: when God makes people alive again, they will not get married. Instead, they will be like angels who dwell in heaven and do not get married. 26 Now I will speak about whether God makes people who have died alive again. You have read in the section of the Scriptures that Moses wrote the story about how God appeared to Moses in a bush. In that story, God told Moses, ‘I am the God whom Abraham worships, the God whom Isaac worships, and the God whom Jacob worships.’

27 It is living people who worship God, not dead people. So, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who all have died, must become alive again! So, you have believed many things that are wrong.”

28 Then a man who taught the Jewish law approached Jesus. He heard Jesus and the Sadducees debating. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So, he asked Jesus, “Which of the laws that God gave us is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “Here is the most important law:

‘Listen, you people of Israel! The Lord God whom we worship is the only Lord. 30 You must love the Lord, the God whom we worship, with everything that you desire, everything that you do, everything that you think, and everything that you accomplish.’

31 Here is the next most important law: ‘You must care for people you know as much as you care for yourselves.’ No other laws are more important than these two laws!”

32 The teacher of the Jewish law replied, “That is a good answer, instructor. You are right when you say that God is the only God and that no other gods exist. 33 Further, we should love God with everything that we desire, everything that we think, and everything that we accomplish. Also, we should care for people we know as much as we care for ourselves. Doing those things is more important than burning or presenting any offering to God.”

34 Jesus realized that the teacher of the Jewish law had responded in a wise way. So, Jesus told him, “You are close to participating in God’s kingdom.” After that, nobody was bold enough to ask him any more questions.

35 Then, while Jesus was instructing people in the temple area, he asked a question of his own. He said, “Does it make sense when the teachers of the Jewish law claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David? 36 I ask that because the Holy Spirit caused King David to write that the Lord God said to David’s Lord,

‘Rule with me

while I defeat all of your enemies!’

37 So, King David called the Messiah ‘Lord.’ However, people do not describe their descendants as their lords. Therefore, how is it possible for the Messiah to be a descendant of King David?”

A very large group of people enjoyed listening to Jesus say these things.

38 While Jesus was instructing those people, he told them, “Make sure that you do not act like the teachers of the Jewish law. They like to put on long robes and walk around so they look important. They also like people to greet them respectfully in the open areas of towns. 39 They like to sit in the places for important people when they go to the Jewish meeting places or attend feasts. 40 They steal the property of women whose husbands have died. To make other people think that they are righteous, they pray for a long time. God will punish them very severely.”

41 Later, Jesus sat down in the temple area in front of the offering boxes that were there. He observed the large group of people drop coins into the boxes. Many wealthy people gave large amounts of money. 42 Then a woman whose husband had died and who did not have much money arrived. She dropped into one of the offering boxes two small copper coins. Those two coins together were worth only the least valuable Roman coin.

43-44 43-44Then Jesus told his apprentices to come to him. He told them, “Most of these people have a lot of money, but they gave only a small part of it. However, this woman, who does not have very much money, has given all the money that she had to pay for the things she needs. So, she has given to God more than what everyone else gave! What I have said is true.”

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