Mark12

Jesus teaches through the parable of the wicked husbandmen, foretelling his rejection by the religious leaders and the transfer of God's favor. He skillfully answers questions from the Pharisees and Sadducees regarding tribute to Caesar and the resurrection, affirming divine authority and the nature of the afterlife. Jesus then declares the greatest commandments are to love God and neighbor, warns against the hypocrisy of the scribes, and commends the sacrificial giving of a poor widow.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Yeshua began speaking to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; then he rented it to tenant-farmers and left.

When harvest-time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the crop from the vineyard.

But they took him, beat him up and sent him away empty-handed.

So he sent another servant; this one they punched in the head and insulted.

He sent another one, and him they killed; and so with many others -- some they beat up, others they killed.

He had still one person left, a son whom he loved; in the end, he sent him to them, saying, `My son they will respect.'

But the tenants said to each other, `This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!'

So they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others!

Haven't you read the passage in the Tanakh that says, `The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!

This has come from ADONAI, and in our eyes it is amazing'?"

They set about to arrest him, for they recognized that he had told the parable with reference to themselves. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Next they sent some P'rushim and some members of Herod's party to him in order to trap him with a sh'eilah.

They came and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person's status but really teach what God's way is. Does Torah say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?"

But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it."

They brought one; and he asked them, "Whose name and picture are these?" "The Emperor's," they replied.

Yeshua said, "Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!" And they were amazed at him.

The Sadducees Question the Resurrection

Then some Tz'dukim came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a sh'eilah:

"Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man's family line.

There were seven brothers. The first one took a wife, and when he died, he left no children.

Then the second one took her and died without leaving children, and the third likewise,

and none of the seven left children. Last of all, the woman also died.

In the Resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife."

Yeshua said to them, "Isn't this the reason that you go astray? because you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God?

For when people rise from the dead, neither men nor women marry -- they are like angels in heaven.

And as for the dead being raised, haven't you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya`akov'?

He is God not of the dead, but of the living! You are going far astray!"

The Greatest Commandment

One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, "Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?"

Yeshua answered, "The most important is, `Sh'ma Yisra'el, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, O Isra'el, the LORD our God, the LORD is one],

and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.'

The second is this: `You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other mitzvah greater than these."

The Torah-teacher said to him, "Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him;

and that loving him with all one's heart, understanding and strength, and loving one's neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."

When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared put to him another sh'eilah.

Is the Christ David's Son?

As Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, he asked, "How is it that the Torah teachers say the Messiah is the Son of David?

David himself, inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh, said, `ADONAI said to my Lord, "Sit here at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." '

David himself calls him `Lord'; so how is he his son?" The great crowd listened eagerly to him.

Warning Against the Scribes

As he taught them, he said, "Watch out for the kind of Torah-teachers who like to walk around in robes and be greeted deferentially in the marketplaces,

who like to have the best seats in the synagogues and take the places of honor at banquets,

who like to swallow up widows' houses while making a show of davvening at great length. Their punishment will be all the worse!"

The Widow's Offering

Then Yeshua sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the crowd as they put money into the offering-boxes. Many rich people put in large sums,

but a poor widow came and put in two small coins.

He called his talmidim to him and said to them, "Yes! I tell you, this poor widow has put more in the offering-box than all the others making donations.

For all of them, out of their wealth, have contributed money they can easily spare; but she, out of her poverty, has given everything she had to live on."

Study Notes for Mark 12

Verse 1

This parable, drawn from imagery in Isaiah 5, is an allegory for God’s relationship with Israel, where the vineyard represents God’s people and the owner represents God himself. This parable is directed specifically at the Jewish religious leaders.

Verse 6

The 'wellbeloved son' clearly represents Jesus himself, indicating that the religious leaders are about to commit the ultimate act of rejection against God’s final messenger.

Verse 9

This rhetorical question serves as a prophetic warning: the leadership role (the vineyard) will be taken away from those who have rejected God’s messengers and Son, and given to others.

Verse 10

Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22–23, identifying himself as the rejected stone. This Messianic prophecy indicates that the rejection by the builders (the Jewish leaders) is part of God’s sovereign plan.

Verse 12

The leaders understood that Jesus was speaking directly against them, confirming the confrontational nature of this parable near the end of his ministry. Their fear of the crowd prevented immediate action.

Verse 13

The Pharisees (nationalists opposed to Roman rule) and the Herodians (Jewish supporters of Rome) collaborated here to create an impossible political and religious trap for Jesus.

Verse 14

If Jesus had said 'Yes,' he would alienate the masses; if he had said 'No,' he would be arrested for sedition against Rome. The flattery precedes the trap.

Verse 17

Jesus masterfully avoids the trap, establishing the principle that civil obligations (to Caesar) and religious obligations (to God) are distinct but must both be met. The ultimate allegiance belongs to God.

Verse 18

The Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) as authoritative scripture and denied the resurrection, angels, and spirits.

Verse 19

They refer to the Levirate law (Deuteronomy 25:5–10), which required a brother to marry his deceased brother’s childless widow to preserve the family line. They use this law to ridicule the idea of resurrection.

Verse 24

Jesus diagnoses their error: they fail to grasp the deeper meaning of Scripture (which implies resurrection) and the limitlessness of God’s power to transform reality.

Verse 25

Jesus clarifies that the nature of life in the resurrection is transformed; earthly institutions like marriage are not needed, as believers will exist in a perfected spiritual state.

Verse 26

By quoting Exodus 3:6 (from the Book of Moses, which the Sadducees accepted), Jesus uses their own acknowledged scripture to prove the resurrection.

Verse 27

God’s identification as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob implies that these patriarchs must still exist and be alive in some form, proving the reality of life after death.

Verse 28

This scribe genuinely seeks wisdom, contrasting with the previous challengers. This question was common in rabbinic debates about the hierarchy of the 613 Mosaic laws.

Verse 29

Jesus quotes the *Shema* (Deuteronomy 6:4–5), the central declaration of Jewish faith, emphasizing the singularity and sovereignty of God as the foundation for all obedience.

Verse 30

The demand for total, holistic love (heart, soul, mind, strength) shows that true obedience is internal and comprehensive, not just ritualistic.

Verse 31

Jesus links the love of God (vertical) directly to the love of neighbor (horizontal, quoting Leviticus 19:18). These two commandments summarize the entire Mosaic Law.

Verse 33

The scribe accurately concludes that true love and ethical living supersedes the performance of ritual sacrifices, reflecting a profound understanding of prophetic teaching.

Verse 34

To be 'not far from the kingdom' means the scribe understood the core requirements of faith, though he still needed to fully commit to Jesus as the Messiah.

Verse 35

Jesus now challenges the established theological understanding of the Messiah, turning the questioning back on the religious authorities and asserting his divine authority.

Verse 36

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, a key Messianic Psalm. David, speaking by the Holy Ghost, calls his descendant (the Messiah) his 'Lord.' This implies the Messiah’s pre-existence and divine status.

Verse 37

This rhetorical question highlights the paradox: the Christ must be both the physical descendant of David *and* superior to him (Lord). This points toward the Messiah's dual human and divine nature.

Verse 38

Jesus shifts from teaching theology to condemning hypocrisy, focusing on the outward show of piety exhibited by the Scribes.

Verse 40

'Devour widows’ houses' likely refers to exploiting vulnerable persons through legalistic manipulation, or using long, public prayers as a cover for financial corruption.

Verse 41

The treasury was located in the Court of the Women, where thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles received donations for various temple needs.

Verse 42

A mite (*lepton*) was the smallest Jewish coin. The two mites, which make a farthing (*kodrantes*), represented the very minimum offering, yet it was all she had.

Verse 43

Jesus emphasizes that God measures generosity not by the amount given, but by the proportion sacrificed relative to one's total resources, highlighting the widow’s radical self-denial.

Verse 44

The rich gave from their surplus, incurring no personal cost, whereas the widow’s gift was sacrificial and total—it was 'all her living,' defining true generosity.

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Mark12

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Paying Taxes to Caesar

The Sadducees Question the Resurrection

The Greatest Commandment

Is the Christ David's Son?

Warning Against the Scribes

The Widow's Offering

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