Mark 11:27-33

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^aAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28and they said to him, ^b“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John ^cfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^d‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— ^ethey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^fa prophet. 33So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Mark 12:1-40

The Parable of the Tenants

1 ^gAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^ha vineyard ⁱand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^jleased it to tenants and ^kwent into another country. 2When the season came, he sent a servant ▼

▼Greek bondservant; also verse 4

to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 ^mAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 ⁿAgain ^ohe sent to them another servant, and ^pthey struck him on the head and ^qtreated him shamefully. 5 ^rAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6He had still one other, ^sa beloved son. ^tFinally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenants said to one another, ^u‘This is the heir. Come, ^vlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8And they took him and killed him and ^wthrew him out of the vineyard. 9What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^xHe will ^ycome and destroy the tenants and ^zgive the vineyard to others. 10 ^aaHave you not read ^abthis Scripture:

^ac“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ▼

▼Greek  the head of the corner

11this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12And ^aethey were seeking to arrest him ^afbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^agleft him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 ^ahAnd they sent to him some of ^aithe Pharisees and some of ^ajthe Herodians, to ^aktrap him in his talk. 14And they came and said to him, “Teacher, ^alwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For ^amyou are not swayed by appearances, ▼

▼Greek  you do not look at people’s faces

but truly teach ^aothe way of God. Is it lawful to pay ^aptaxes to ^aqCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15But, knowing ^artheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why ^asput me to the test? Bring me ^ata 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, ^av“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 ^awSadducees came to him, ^axwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^ayif 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 ^bayou know neither the Scriptures nor ^bbthe power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither ^bcmarry nor ^bdare given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26And as for the dead being raised, ^behave you not read in ^bfthe book of Moses, in ^bgthe passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ^bh‘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 ^biAnd 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, ^bj‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^bkthe 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 ^blThe second is this: ^bm‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^bngreater than these.” 32And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^bohe is one, and ^bpthere is no other besides him. 33And to love him with all the heart and with all ^bqthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^bris much more than all ^bswhole 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.” ^btAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 ^buAnd as ^bvJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^bwthe Christ is the son of David? 36David himself, ^bxin the Holy Spirit, declared,

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

Beware of the Scribes

38 ^ccAnd 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 ^cdthe places of honor at feasts, 40 ^cewho devour widows’ houses and ^cffor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”