Have religious leaders often killed the prophets and even God’s own Son? Has Jesus become the cornerstone of God's spiritual temple? Should Christians pay taxes? Is God the God of the dead or the living? What are the key commandments? Do some religious leaders still prefer showmanship over humility? Is a widow’s generosity in giving even under such imperfect religious leaders exemplary? Let’s find out in Mark 12.
What parable did Jesus begin to teach? Does it portray a dark side of religious experience?
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 12:1 HCSB)
What did the tenant farmers do to the owner’s servants?
At the right time, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the produce from the vineyard. But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. Again, the man sent another servant to them. They beat the servant over the head and treated him shamefully. Then the man sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed. (Mark 12:2-5 ISV)
What did the tenant farmers do to the owner’s son?
Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.' And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. (Mark 12:6-8 KJV)
What will the owner do? Was this prophesied in their own scriptures?
What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:9-11 LSB Psalm 118:22-23)
Did the religious leaders understand that the parable was directed against them?
And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. (Mark 12:12 NASB)
Did religious and political leaders try to flatter Jesus to set a trap about taxes?
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (Mark 12:13-15a NIV)
What was Jesus’ brilliant answer? Would we have such wisdom?
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him. (Mark 12:15b-17 NKJV)
Did others try to ask trick questions? What question did the Sadducees pose?
Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.” (Mark 12:18-23 NLT)
How did Jesus answer their riddle? Can angels marry? Are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob alive or dead?
Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 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’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.” (Mark 12:24-27 WEB Exodus 3:6)
Did still others try to ask trick questions? What did a legal expert ask Jesus?
One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28 CEB)
What is the most important commandment? Is there a second? Mark uses four descriptions “heart, soul, mind, and strength” compared with Matthew’s three “heart, soul, and mind.” The difference is that Hebrew used broad terms, whereas Greek is narrower and thus needs more words to describe the same thing.
Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 CEV)
What did the scribe say about Jesus’ answer?
And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:32-33 ESV)
Was the man coming close to the kingdom of God? Did people give up questioning Jesus?
When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer. (Mark 12:34 HCSB)
Did God the Father tell the pre-incarnate God the Son to sit at His right hand? Was He also incarnate as Jesus, born into the lineage of David?
While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is David’s son? David himself said by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd kept listening to him with delight. (Mark 12:35-37 ISV Psalm 110:1)
What did Jesus say about some religious leaders and their pretense? Could He make a similar criticism today?
And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. (Mark 12:38-40 KJV)
Despite being taken advantage of by some, what did a poor widow do? Is a widow’s giving attitude despite very imperfect leadership exemplary?
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two lepta, which amount to a quadrans [a farthing or quarter of a penny]. And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44 LSB)
Have religious leaders often killed the prophets and even God’s own Son? Has Jesus become the cornerstone of God's spiritual temple? Should Christians pay taxes? Is God the God of the dead or the living? What are the key commandments? Do some religious leaders still prefer showmanship over humility? Is a widow’s generosity in giving even under such imperfect religious leaders exemplary? You decide!
