Mark 12:13-40

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 ^aAnd they sent to him some of ^bthe Pharisees and some of ^cthe Herodians, to ^dtrap him in his talk. 14And they came and said to him, “Teacher, ^ewe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For ^fyou are not swayed by appearances, ▼

▼Greek  you do not look at people’s faces

but truly teach ^hthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay ⁱtaxes to ^jCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15But, knowing ^ktheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why ^lput me to the test? Bring me ^ma denarius ▼

▼A  denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

and let me look at it.” 16And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17Jesus said to them, ^o“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

18And ^pSadducees came to him, ^qwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^rif a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man ▼

▼Greek his brother

must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

24Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because ^tyou know neither the Scriptures nor ^uthe power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither ^vmarry nor ^ware given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26And as for the dead being raised, ^xhave you not read in ^ythe book of Moses, in ^zthe passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ^aa‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

The Great Commandment

28 ^abAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^ac‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^adthe Lord is one. 30And 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.’ 31 ^aeThe second is this: ^af‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^aggreater than these.” 32And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^ahhe is one, and ^aithere is no other besides him. 33And to love him with all the heart and with all ^ajthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^akis much more than all ^alwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^amAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 ^anAnd as ^aoJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^apthe Christ is the son of David? 36David himself, ^aqin the Holy Spirit, declared,

^ar“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies ^asunder your feet.”’
37David himself calls him Lord. So ^athow is he his son?” And the great throng ^auheard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 ^avAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^awthe places of honor at feasts, 40 ^axwho devour widows’ houses and ^ayfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”