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UST MARK Chapter 12

12 Then Jesus began to tell the Jewish leaders a story with a lesson. 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 the time came to harvest the grapes, the owner of the vineyard sent a servant to the people who were taking care of his vineyard, because he wanted to receive from them his share of the grapes that the vineyard had produced. 3 But when the servant arrived, they grabbed him and beat the servant, and they did not give him any of the fruit. Then they sent him away. 4 Later the owner sent another of his servants to them. But they beat that one on the head, and they insulted him. 5 Later the owner sent still another servant. That man the people who were caring for the vineyard killed. They also mistreated many other servants whom he sent. Some they beat and some they killed. 6 The owner still had one other person with him, his son, whom he loved very much. So, finally he sent his son to them, because he thought that they would recognize his son and treat him well. 7 But when the people who were caring for the vineyard saw his son coming, they said to each other, ‘Look! Here comes the owner’s son, who will someday inherit the vineyard! So let us kill him in order that this vineyard will be ours!’ 8 They seized the owner’s son and killed him. Then they threw his body outside the vineyard. 9 So I will tell you what the owner of the vineyard will do. He will come, and he will kill those evil men who were taking care of his vineyard. Then he will arrange for other people to take care of it. 10 Are you not aware of what the scripture says?

The men who were building the building refused to use a certain stone. But the Lord has put that same stone in its proper place, and it has become the most important stone in the building! 11 The Lord has done this, and we marvel as we look at it.”

12 Then the Jewish leaders realized that Jesus was accusing them when he told this story about what those wicked people did. So the Jewish leaders wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of what the crowds of people would do if the Jewish leaders did that. So they left him and went away.

13 The Jewish leaders sent to Jesus some Pharisees who thought that the Jews should pay only the tax that their own Jewish authorities required people to pay. They also sent some members of the party that supported Herod Antipas and the Roman government. They wanted to trick Jesus; they wanted to make Jesus say something that would make one of those groups angry with him so they could bring charges against him. 14 After they arrived, one of them said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that you teach only what is true. We also know that you are not influenced by people’s opinions. Instead, you truthfully teach all people what God wants them to do; you do not show regard for their social position. So tell us what you think about this matter: Is it right that we pay taxes to the Roman government, or not? Should we pay the taxes, or should we not pay them?” 15 Jesus knew that they did not really want to know what God wanted them to do. So he said to them, “I know that you are just trying to make me say something wrong for which you can accuse me, but I will answer your question anyway. Bring me a coin so that I might look at it.” 16 After they had brought him a coin, he asked them, “Whose picture is on this coin? And whose name is on it?” They replied, “It is a picture and the name of Caesar, the man who rules the Roman government.” 17 Jesus said to them, “In that case give to the government what belongs to the government and give to God what belongs to God.” They were amazed by what he said.

18 Men who belong to the Sadducee group deny that people become alive again after they die. In order to discredit Jesus by ridiculing the idea that people will live again, some of them came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses instructed us Jews that if a man who has no children dies, his brother should marry the dead man’s widow. Then if those two bear children, everyone will consider that those children are the children of the man who died, and in that way the dead man will continue to have descendants. 20 So here is an example: There were seven brothers in one family. The oldest one married a woman, but he and his wife did not bear any children. Then he later died. 21 The second brother followed this law and married that woman and he, too, did not bear any children. Then he later died. The third brother did like his other brothers did. But he also did not bear any children, and later died. 22 Eventually all seven brothers married that woman one by one, but no one had any children, and one by one they died. Afterwards the woman died, too. 23 Therefore, if what some people say were true, that people will become alive again after they die, whose wife do you think that woman will be when people become alive again? Keep in mind that she had been married to all seven brothers!” 24 Jesus replied to them, “You are certainly wrong. You do not know what the Scriptures teach about this. You also do not understand God’s power to make people alive again. 25 That woman will not be the wife of any of those brothers, because when people become alive again, instead of men having wives and women having husbands, they will be like the angels in heaven. Angels do not marry. 26 But let me talk about people becoming alive again after they die. In the book that Moses wrote, he said something about people who have died that I am sure that you have read. When Moses was looking at the bush that was burning, God said to him, ‘I am the God whom Abraham worships and the God whom Isaac worships and the God whom Jacob worships.’ God would not have said that if he had not made those men alive again and if he was not still their God. 27 Now it is not dead people who worship God. It is living people who worship him. So when you say that dead people do not become alive again, you are very wrong.”

28 A man who taught the Jewish laws heard their discussion. He knew that Jesus had answered the Sadducees’ question very well. So he stepped forward and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, you people of Israel! The Lord our God, he only is our God. 30 You must love the Lord your God in all that you want and feel, in all that you think, and in all that you do!’ 31 The next most important commandment is: ‘You must love the people around you as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these two!” 32 The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, you have answered well. You say truthfully that God is the only God and that there is no other God. 33 You have also said correctly that we should love God in all that we want and feel, in all that we think, and in all that we do. And you have said correctly that we must love people with whom we come in contact as much as we love ourselves. And you have also correctly said that doing these things pleases God more than burning food or animals as an offering or giving other sacrifices.” 34 Jesus realized that this man had answered wisely. So he said to him, “I perceive that you are close to deciding to let God rule over you.” After that, the Jewish leaders were afraid to ask him any more questions like that to try to trap him.

35 Later, while Jesus was teaching in the temple area, he said to the people, “How is it that those who teach the Jewish laws say—and they are correct in saying—that the Messiah is a descendant of King David? 36 The Holy Spirit caused David to say about the Messiah, ‘God said to my Lord, “Sit here beside me at my right hand, in the place where I will highly honor you above everyone else! Sit here until the time when I completely defeat your enemies!” ’ 37 Therefore, because David himself calls the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be just a man who descended from King David? He must be much greater than David!” Many people listened gladly to him as he taught those things.

38 While Jesus was teaching the people, he said to them, “Beware that you do not act like the men who teach our Jewish laws. They like people to honor them, so they put on long robes and walk around in order to show people how important they are. They also like people to greet them respectfully in the marketplaces. 39 They like to sit in the most important seats in the Jewish meeting place. At festivals, they like to sit in the seats where the most honored people sit. 40 They also steal all the property of widows. But to make other people think that they are righteous, they pray for a long time in public. God will certainly punish them severely!”

41 Later, Jesus sat down in the temple area opposite the boxes in which people put offerings for God. As he was sitting there, he watched as many people put money into one of the boxes, and he noticed many rich people put in large amounts of money. 42 Then a poor widow came along and dropped in two small copper coins, which together are equal in value to one Roman quadrans.43-44 43-44Jesus gathered his apprentices around him and said to them, “The truth is that those other people have a lot of money, but they gave only a small part of it. But this woman, who is very poor, has put in all the money that she had to pay for the things she needed for today. So this poor widow has put more money into the box than all the others!”

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