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Mark 12

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The Parable of the Wicked Tenants 1–12

1
And he began to speak unto them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country. ​
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And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard.
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And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
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And again he sent unto them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and handled shamefully.
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And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others; beating some, and killing some.
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He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. ​
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But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
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And they took him, and killed him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard.
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What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. ​
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Have ye not read even this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; ​
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This was from the Lord, And it is marvellous in our eyes?
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And they sought to lay hold on him; and they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spake the parable against them: and they left him, and went away. ​

Paying Taxes to Caesar 13–17

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And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. ​
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And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God: Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? ​
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Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it.
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And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s.
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And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled greatly at him. ​

The Sadducees Question the Resurrection 18–27

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And there come unto him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, ​
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Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. ​
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There were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed;
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and the second took her, and died, leaving no seed behind him; and the third likewise:
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and the seven left no seed. Last of all the woman also died.
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In the resurrection whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
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Jesus said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God? ​
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For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in heaven. ​
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But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have ye not read in the book of Moses, in the place concerning the Bush, how God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? ​
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He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: ye do greatly err. ​

The Greatest Commandment 28–34

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And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? ​
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Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: ​
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and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. ​
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The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. ​
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And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:
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and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. ​
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And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. ​

Is the Christ David's Son? 35–37

35
And Jesus answered and said, as he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that the Christ is the son of David? ​
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David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. ​
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David himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he his son? And the common people heard him gladly. ​

Warning Against the Scribes 38–40

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And in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, andto have salutations in the marketplaces, ​
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and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts:
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they that devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation. ​

The Widow's Offering 41–44

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And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. ​
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And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. ​
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And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury: ​
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for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Mark 12

Verse 1

A certain man planted a vineyard — The picture is drawn from Isa 5:1–7, where 'the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel'. Fence, tower and winepress are the equipment Isaiah lists (Isa 5:2). The owner 'let it out to husbandmen' (georgoi), the rulers of the nation, and went away.

Verse 6

one son, his wellbeloved — Agapetos, the word of the Father's voice at the baptism, 'This is my beloved Son' (Matt 3:17). After the servants, the prophets, the Son comes 'last' (eschatos), as Heb 1:1–2 sets the prophets before 'his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things'.

Verse 9

will give the vineyard unto others — Matthew records the same warning: 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof' (Matt 21:43). The owner 'will come' himself; the husbandmen who killed the heir lose the charge, not the vineyard.

Verse 10

The stone which the builders rejected — This is quoted from Ps 118:22–23, with 'builders' (oikodomountes) here the rulers charged with building up Israel. Peter applies it to Christ, and to those who stumble at the word (1 Pet 2:7–8). The rejected stone becomes 'the head of the corner'; 'This was the Lord's doing' (v.11).

Verse 12

against them — The hearers understood the parable as aimed at the rulers themselves. They 'sought to lay hold on him' (krateo, to seize) but 'feared the people', as in 11:32, so they 'went their way' for the moment. Matthew has the same reaction: 'they perceived that he spake of them' (Matt 21:45).

Verse 13

Pharisees and… Herodians — The two parties first plot together in Mark 3:6; the Herodians are named only there, here, and in Matt 22:16. They are sent 'to catch him in his words' (logos): the question of v.14 was meant to be a trap with two sides, one for each party.

Verse 14

Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar — Kensos is the poll-tax, from the Latin census, paid in Roman coin. The flattery, 'thou regardest not the person of men', is met in v.15 by 'knowing their hypocrisy… Why tempt ye me?' A yes would offend the people, and a no would offend Rome.

Verse 17

Render to Caesar — Apodidomi means to give back what is owed: the coin bore Caesar's image and superscription (v.16), so it was his. Paul states the same duty, 'tribute to whom tribute is due' (Rom 13:7). 'And to God the things that are God's' sets a larger claim beside it, and 'they marvelled at him'.

Verse 18

the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection — Luke says they 'deny that there is any resurrection' (Luke 20:27). They come as a different party from the Pharisees and Herodians of vv.13–17, and they open with the law of Moses (v.19), the part of Scripture they most honoured.

Verse 19

raise up seed unto his brother — The law is Deut 25:5: the dead man's brother 'shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife'. Judah applied it in Gen 38:8, and Boaz in Ruth 4:5, 'to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance'. The Sadducees use a law of Moses to make the resurrection look absurd.

Verse 24

ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God — There are two charges, each answered below: the power of God in v.25, the Scriptures in v.26. 'Err' is planao, to wander from the way. Matthew has the same reply, 'Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God' (Matt 22:29).

Verse 25

as the angels which are in heaven — The point is the manner of life: 'neither marry, nor are given in marriage'. Luke explains, 'Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels' (Luke 20:36). Marriage belongs to a world where people die, and the risen are not subject to death.

Verse 26

in the book of Moses, how in the bush — The Sadducees held to the law, so Jesus cites Exod 3:6, 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'. 'In the bush' (epi tou batou) names that passage, as in Luke 20:37, 'Moses shewed at the bush'.

Verse 27

the God of the living — God spoke at the bush as the God of the patriarchs long after their deaths, so they must live to him. Verse 24 charged the Sadducees with error; here 'ye therefore do greatly err' (polu planasthe) closes the argument, with the same verb as v.24.

Verse 28

Which is the first commandment of all? — Protos here means first in rank, not in order. This scribe, unlike the questioners of vv.13–23, is moved by hearing that Jesus 'had answered them well' (kalos). His question draws a commendation (v.34).

Verse 29

The Lord our God is one Lord — This is Deut 6:4, the opening of the Shema: 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD'. Jesus begins the answer with the truth about God before the duty: the LORD is one, so the love owed him is undivided. Paul rests on the same confession in Rom 3:30, 'it is one God'.

Verse 30

with all thy mind — Deut 6:5 names heart, soul and 'might'; the Greek here gives four terms, adding dianoia, the mind or understanding, alongside ischys, strength. The commandment takes in feeling, life, thought and power. It is 'the first commandment' (prote entole).

Verse 31

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself — This is quoted from Lev 19:18. 'The second is like' the first (homoios). Paul says that 'he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law' (Rom 13:8), and Matthew adds, 'On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets' (Matt 22:40).

Verse 33

more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices — The scribe reaches for the prophets' standard: 'I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings' (Hos 6:6), and 'to obey is better than sacrifice' (1 Sam 15:22). He says 'understanding' (synesis) where Jesus said 'mind'.

Verse 34

not far from the kingdom of God — Makran means at a distance; the scribe is near, but not yet in. Jesus commends his answer as 'discreetly' (nounechos, with mind in use). With this exchange the questioning ends: 'no man after that durst ask him any question' (cf. Matt 22:46).

Verse 35

How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? — The scribes taught from the prophets that the Christ comes from David (Isa 11:1). Jesus, teaching 'in the temple', now puts a question of his own: how can David's son also be his Lord? His question rests on what the scribes themselves taught.

Verse 36

David himself said by the Holy Ghost — Jesus quotes Ps 110:1, 'The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand', and affirms its inspiration. David calls the coming one 'my Lord' (kyrios). The verse is applied to Christ in Heb 1:13 and 1 Cor 15:25, 'till he hath put all enemies under his feet'.

Verse 37

whence is he then his son? — Pothen, from what source. The answer the scribes lacked is that the Christ is David's son by descent, 'made of the seed of David according to the flesh', and 'declared to be the Son of God with power' (Rom 1:3–4). 'The common people heard him gladly' (hedeos).

Verse 38

long clothing — Stole is the long robe of dignity. Jesus names the robes, 'salutations in the marketplaces', and in v.39 the chief seats. Luke has the same warning (Luke 20:46), and Matthew adds the title 'Rabbi, Rabbi' (Matt 23:7). 'Beware' is blepo, to look out for.

Verse 40

devour widows' houses — Katesthio, to eat down: the scribes consumed the property of widows while making 'long prayers' as a pretence (prophasis, a cover). The same charge is in Luke 20:47. 'Greater damnation' is perissoteron krima, a heavier sentence, because the show of piety covered the wrong.

Verse 41

over against the treasury — Gazophylakion is the treasure-house, the temple's place for gifts; John 8:20 has Jesus teaching 'in the treasury'. The money cast in is chalkos, copper coin. Jesus 'beheld' (theoreo), watching closely, how the people gave, and 'many that were rich cast in much'.

Verse 42

two mites, which make a farthing — Lepta are the smallest coin; two of them 'make' a kodrantes, from the Latin quadrans, a quarter of the Roman as. Luke 12:59 uses the same word for 'the very last mite'. She is 'poor' (ptochos), a word for one reduced to want.

Verse 43

this poor widow hath cast more in — Jesus calls his disciples to him and speaks with 'Verily' (amen): the gift is measured by what remains, not by what is given. Paul states the rule for giving, 'if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not' (2 Cor 8:12).

Verse 44

all her living — Bios, livelihood, what she lived on. 'Abundance' (perisseuo, to overflow) is set against 'want' (hysteresis, lack). Luke's version says 'of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had' (Luke 21:4). Paul describes the Macedonians alike: 'their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality' (2 Cor 8:2).