Mar 12 | HCSB | STEP | Then He began to speak to them in parables : “A man planted a vineyard , put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress , and built a watchtower . Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away .

Mark 12

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

1 Then ^a He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, ^b put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent ^c a ^{▼▼slave: The strong Greek word doulos cannot be accurately translated in English by "servant" or "bond servant"; the HCSB translates this word as "slave," not out of insensitivity to the legitimate concerns of modern English speakers, but out of a commitment to accurately convey the brutal reality of the Roman empire's inhumane institution as well as the ownership called for by Christ.}slave ^e to the farmers to collect some of the fruit ^f of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 But they took him, beat ^g him, and sent him away empty-handed. ^h 4 Again he sent another slave to them, and they ^{▼▼Other mss add threw stones and} hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. ^{▼▼Other mss add and sent him off} 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

6 “He still had one to send, a beloved ^k son. Finally ^l he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “Therefore, what will the owner ^{▼▼Or lord
,} ⁿ of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture: ^o

The ^p stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone. ^{▼▼Lit the head of the corner} ^r
11 This came from the Lord ^s
and is wonderful in our eyes?” ^t

12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

God and Caesar

13 Then ^u they sent some of the ^{▼▼Pharisee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed the whole written and oral law}Pharisees ^w and the ^{▼▼Herod/Herodians: The name of the Idumean family ruling Palestine from 37 b.c. to a.d. 95; the main rulers from this family mentioned in the NT are: Herod Antipas(4 b.c.-a.d. 39) son of Herod the Great; ruled one-fourth of his father's kingdom (Galilee and Perea); killed John the Baptist and mocked Jesus; Herod I (37 b.c.-4 b.c.) also known as Herod the Great; built the great temple in Jerusalem and massacred the male babies in Bethlehem; Herod Agrippa I (A.D. 3744) The grandson of Herod the Great; he beheaded James the apostle and imprisoned Peter; Herod Agrippa II (A.D. 52ca 95) The great-grandson of Herod the Great; he heard Paul's defense. Herodians were political supporters of Herod the Great and his family}Herodians ^y to Him to trap Him by what He said. ^{▼▼Lit trap Him in (a) word
,} ^aa 14 When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality ^{▼▼Lit don’t look on the face of men; that is, on the outward appearance
,} ^ac but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes ^ad to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?”But knowing their hypocrisy, ^ae He said to them, “Why are you testing ^af Me? Bring Me a ^{▼▼denarius: A small silver Roman coin, which was equal to a day's wage for a common laborer}denarius ^ah to look at.” 16 So they brought one. “Whose image ^ai and inscription ^aj is this?” He asked them.“Caesar’s,” they said.

17 Then Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ^ak And they were amazed ^al at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

18 Some ^am ^{▼▼Sadducee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed primarily the first 5 books of the OT (Torah or Pentateuch)}Sadducees, ^ao who say there is no resurrection, ^ap came to Him and questioned Him: 19 “Teacher, ^aq Moses ^ar wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, ^as his brother should take the wife ^at and produce ^{▼▼offspring/ seed: This term is used literally or metaphorically to refer to plants or grain, sowing or harvest, male reproductive seed, human children or physical descendants, and also to spiritual children or to Christ (G13:16).}offspring for his brother. ^{av
,} ^aw 20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 So the seven ^{▼▼Other mss add had taken her and} left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise, ^{▼▼Other mss omit when they rise} whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” ^{▼▼Lit the seven had her as a wife}

24 Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures ^ba or the power ^bb of God? ^bc 25 For when they rise ^bd from the dead, ^be they neither marry nor are given in marriage ^bf but are like angels ^bg in heaven. 26 Now concerning the dead being raised – haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I ^bh am the God of Abraham ^bi and the God of Isaac ^bj and the God of Jacob? ^{bk
,} ^bl 27 He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”

The Primary Commands

28 One ^bm of the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes ^bo approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all?” ^{▼▼Lit Which command is first of all?}

29 “This is the most important,” ^{▼▼Other mss add of all the commands} Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord ^br our God, the Lord ^bs is One. ^{▼▼Or The Lord our God is one Lord.} 30 Love ^bu the Lord your God ^bv with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, ^bw and with all your strength. ^{▼▼Other mss add This is the first commandment.} ^{by
,} ^bz
31 “The second is: Love your neighbor ^ca as yourself. ^{cb
,} ^cc There is no other command ^cd greater than these.”

32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one ^ce else except Him. ^cf 33 And to love ^cg Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, ^{▼▼Other mss add with all your soul} and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ^ci

34 When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^cj And no one dared ^ck to question Him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

35 So ^cl Jesus asked this question as He taught in the ^{▼▼temple complex: In the Jerusalem temple, the complex included the sanctuary (the holy place and the holy of holies), at least 4 courtyards (for priests, Jewish men, Jewish women, and Gentiles), numerous gates, and several covered walkways.}temple complex, ^cn “How can the scribes ^co say that the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah ^cq is the Son of David? ^cr 36 David ^cs himself says by the Holy Spirit: ^ct

The Lord ^cu declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand ^cv
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’ ^{cw
,} ^cx

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.

Warning against the Scribes

38 He ^cy also said in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, ^cz and who want greetings in the marketplaces, ^da 39 the front seats ^db in the ^{▼▼synagogue(s): A place where the Jewish people met for prayer, worship and teaching of the Scriptures}synagogues, ^dd and the places of honor ^de at banquets. ^df 40 They devour ^dg widows’ ^dh houses and say long prayers ^di just for show. These will receive harsher punishment.”

The Widow’s Gift

41 Sitting ^dj across from the temple treasury, ^dk He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich ^dl people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor ^dm widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. ^{▼▼Lit dropped in two lepta, which is a quadrans; the lepton was the smallest and least valuable Gk coin in use. The quadrans, ¹/₆₄ of a daily wage, was the smallest Roman coin.} 43 Summoning His disciples, ^do He said to them, “ ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: ^dq This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. ^dr 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, ^ds but she out of her poverty ^dt has put in everything she possessed ^du – all she had to live on.” ^dv