Mark 12

12 ¹He began speaking to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, fenced it in, dug a winepress pit, built a watchtower, rented it to farmers, and left. ²At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect some of the vineyard's fruit. ³But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴Again he sent them another servant; they hit him on the head and dishonored him. ⁵And he sent another, and they killed him—then many more, beating some and killing others."

⁶He had still one, a beloved son; last he sent him to them, saying, "They will respect my son." ^a a v6 The vineyard owner sending his one beloved son is our Father sending Jesus — the same word the Father spoke over him at his baptism, "my beloved Son."

⁷"But the tenants said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him—the inheritance will be ours.' ⁸So they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹So what will the vineyard's owner do? He'll come, destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you not read this Scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; ¹¹this was our Father's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

¹²They wanted to arrest him but feared the crowd, knowing he'd told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

Give to Caesar, Give to the Father

¹³They sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap him in his words. ¹⁴They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know you're true and don't care what anyone thinks, since you don't judge by appearance but truly teach our Father's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay, or should we not?"

¹⁵But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a silver coin to look at." ¹⁶They brought one, and he asked them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They told him, "Caesar's."

¹⁷Jesus told them, "Give to Caesar what's Caesar's, and to our Father what's our Father's." They were amazed at him.

The Father of the Living

¹⁸And the Sadducees came to him, who say there is no resurrection. And they questioned him, saying,

¹⁹"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the brother must marry her and raise up offspring for him. ²⁰There were seven brothers; the first married, and when he died, left no children. ²¹And the second married her, and he died leaving no children. And the third likewise. ²²And none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman also died. ²³At the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? The seven had her as wife."

²⁴Jesus said to them, "Isn't this why you're wrong—you know neither the Scriptures nor our Father's power? ²⁵For when the dead rise, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven. ²⁶About the dead being raised, haven't you read in Moses' book, in the passage about the bush, how our Father told him, 'I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob'? ²⁷He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken."

Love the Father With Everything

²⁸One scribe approached, heard them debate, saw Jesus answered well, and asked, "Which commandment is most important of all?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "The most important is this: 'Hear, Israel: our Father is one.' ³⁰Love your Father with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength."

³¹"The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No commandment is greater than these."

³²The scribe said to him, "Well said, Teacher. You've said truly that he is one, and there's no other besides him. ³³Loving him with all the heart, all the understanding, all the strength, and loving one's neighbor as oneself, matters far more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴Seeing he answered wisely, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of our Father." After that, no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

³⁵Teaching in the temple, Jesus asked, "How can the scribes say the Christ is the son of David?

³⁶David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'Our Father said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."'

³⁷"David himself calls the Christ Lord. How can the Christ be David's son?" The large crowd enjoyed listening to him.

Beware of Empty Religion

³⁸And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like walking in long robes and being greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰who devour widows' houses and make long prayers just for show. These will receive the greater condemnation."

The Widow's Gift

⁴¹Sitting across from the treasury, he watched the crowd drop coins in; many rich people dropped in large sums. ⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth a penny. ^b b v42 Two lepta were the smallest coins in use—together worth only a few minutes' wages, the least a person could give.

⁴³Calling his disciples, he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all who put into the offering box. ⁴⁴For they all gave from their surplus, but she gave from her poverty—all she had, her whole livelihood."