The Gospel According to Mark Chapter 12:1-44

 

Mark 12:1 He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.

 

Mark 12:2 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.

 

Mark 12:3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

 

Mark 12:4 Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.

 

Mark 12:5 He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.

 

Mark 12:6 He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'

 

Mark 12:7 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

 

Mark 12:8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

 

Mark 12:9 What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others.

 

Mark 12:10 Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

 

Mark 12:11 by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?"

 

Mark 12:12 They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.

 

Mark 12:13 They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to ensnare him in his speech.

 

Mark 12:14 They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"

 

Mark 12:15 Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at."

 

Mark 12:16 They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's."

 

Mark 12:17 So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him.

 

Mark 12:18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and put this question to him,

 

Mark 12:19 saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'

 

Mark 12:20 Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.

 

Mark 12:21 So the second married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise.

 

Mark 12:22 And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died.

 

Mark 12:23 At the resurrection (when they arise) whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her."

 

Mark 12:24 Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?

 

Mark 12:25 When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.

 

Mark 12:26 As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, 'I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac, and (the) God of Jacob'?

 

Mark 12:27 He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled."

 

Mark 12:28 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"

 

Mark 12:29 Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!

 

Mark 12:30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

 

Mark 12:31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

 

Mark 12:32 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'

 

Mark 12:33 And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

 

Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

 

Mark 12:35 As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, "How do the scribes claim that the Messiah is the son of David?

 

Mark 12:36 David himself, inspired by the holy Spirit, said: 'The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet."'

 

Mark 12:37 David himself calls him 'lord'; so how is he his son?" (The) great crowd heard this with delight.

 

Mark 12:38 In the course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces,

 

Mark 12:39 seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.

 

Mark 12:40 They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."

 

Mark 12:41 He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.

 

Mark 12:42 A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.

 

Mark 12:43 Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.

 

Mark 12:44 For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."