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

1
He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country. ​
2
When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3
They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.
4
Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
5
Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.
6
Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ​
7
But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8
They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9
What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others. ​
10
Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. ​
11
This was from the Lord, it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12
They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away. ​

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13
They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words. ​
14
When they had come, they asked him, “Rabbi, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ​
15
Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”
16
They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
17
Yeshua answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him. ​

The Sadducees Question the Resurrection

18
There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying, ​
19
“Rabbi, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ ​
20
There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.
21
The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;
22
and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
23
In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
24
Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? ​
25
For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ​
26
But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ​
27
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.” ​

The Greatest Commandment

28
One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” ​
29
Yeshua answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: ​
30
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ​
31
The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ​
32
The scribe said to him, “Truly, Rabbi, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,
33
and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ​
34
When Yeshua saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” No one dared ask him any question after that. ​

Is the Christ David's Son?

35
Yeshua responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? ​
36
For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’ ​
37
Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly. ​

Warning Against the Scribes

38
In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces, ​
39
and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts:
40
those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” ​

The Widow's Offering

41
Yeshua sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. ​
42
A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin. ​
43
He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, ​
44
for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that 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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