1112 Mark 12
What is a parable ?
12:1 A parable is a special kind of story . It teaches a lesson by saying what something is like . When we know what the things in a parable represent , we can understand what the parable is teaching . Each person in the parable in Mark 12 represents someone . The man who planted the vineyard represents God . The farmers represent religious leaders . The servants represent God ’ s prophets . And the son represents Jesus . Jesus was telling the story of salvation in this parable .
9 “ What then will the own er of the vineyard do ? He will come and kill those ten ants and give the vine yard to oth ers . 10 Haven ’ t you read this pas sage of Scrip ture :
“ ‘ The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ;
11 the Lord has done this ,
and it is marvelous in our eyes ’ a ?”
12 Then the chief priests , the teach ers
of the law and the el ders looked for a way to ar rest him be cause they knew he had spo ken the par a ble against them . But they were afraid of the crowd ; so they left him and went away .
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13 Lat er they sent some of the Phar i sees
and He ro di ans to Jesus to catch him in his words . 14 They came to him and said , “ Teach er , we know that you are a man of in teg ri ty . You aren ’ t swayed by oth ers , because you pay no at ten tion to who they are ; but you teach the way of God in ac cor dance with the truth . Is it right to pay the im pe ri al tax b to Cae sar or not ? 15 Should we pay or shouldn ’ t we ?”
But Jesus knew their hy poc ri sy . “ Why are you try ing to trap me ?” he asked . “ Bring me a de nar i us and let me look at it .” 16 They brought the coin , and he asked them , “ Whose im age is this ? And whose in scrip tion ?”
“ Cae sar ’ s ,” they re plied .
17 Then Jesus said to them , “ Give back to
Cae sar what is Cae sar ’ s and to God what is God ’ s .”
And they were amazed at him .
Marriage at the Resurrection
18 Then the Sad du cees , who say there is
no res ur rec tion , came to him with a question . 19 “ Teach er ,” they said , “ Mo ses wrote for us that if a man ’ s broth er dies and leaves a wife but no chil dren , the man must marry the wid ow and raise up off spring for his broth er . 20 Now there were sev en brothers . The first one mar ried and died without leav ing any chil dren . 21 The sec ond one mar ried the wid ow , but he also died , leav ing no child . It was the same with the third . 22 In fact , none of the sev en left any chil dren . Last of all , the wom an died too .
23 At the res ur rec tion c whose wife will she
be , since the sev en were mar ried to her ?”
24 Jesus re plied , “ Are you not in er ror
be cause you do not know the Scrip tures or the pow er of God ? 25 When the dead rise , they will nei ther mar ry nor be giv en in mar riage ; they will be like the an gels in heav en . 26 Now about the dead ris ing — have you not read in the Book of Mo ses , in the ac count of the burn ing bush , how God said to him , ‘ I am the God of Abra ham , the God of Isaac , and the God of Ja cob ’ d ? 27 He is not the God of the dead , but of the liv ing . You are bad ly mis tak en !”
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teach ers of the law came
and heard them de bat ing . No tic ing that Jesus had giv en them a good an swer , he asked him , “ Of all the com mand ments , which is the most im por tant ?”
29 “ The most im por tant one ,” an swered
Jesus , “ is this : ‘ Hear , O Is ra el : The Lord our God , the Lord is one . e 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength .’ f 31 The sec ond is this :
a 11 Psalm 118:22,23 b 14 A special tax levied on
subject peoples , not on Roman citizens c 23 Some manuscripts resurrection , when people rise from the dead , d 26 Exodus 3:6 e 29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord f 30 Deut . 6:4,5