Mark 11:27–12:40

Messiah’s Authority Challenged

²⁷They ^ycame again to Jerusalem. ^zAs He was walking in the temple complex, ^athe chief priests, the scribes, ^band the elders ^ccame ²⁸and asked Him, “By what authority ^dare You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; ^ethen answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰Was John’s baptism ^ffrom heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

³¹They began to argue among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe ^ghim?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was a genuine prophet. ^h33So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12Then ⁱHe began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, ^jput 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. ²At harvest time he sent ^ka ^•slave ^lto the farmers to collect some of the fruit ^mof the vineyard from the farmers. ³But they took him, beat ⁿhim, and sent him away empty-handed. ^o4Again he sent another slave to them, and they ^phit him on the head and treated him shamefully. ^q5Then 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 ^rson. Finally ^she 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!’ ⁸So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹“Therefore, what will the owner ^tuof the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Haven’t you read this Scripture: ^v

The ^wstone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. ^xy

¹¹This came from the Lord ^z

and is wonderful in our eyes?” ^a

¹²Because 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

¹³Then ^bthey sent some of the Pharisees ^cand the Herodians ^dto Him to trap Him by what He said. ^ef14When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality ^ghbut teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes ⁱto Caesar or not? ¹⁵Should we pay, or should we not pay?”

But knowing their hypocrisy, ^jHe said to them, “Why are you testing ^kMe? Bring Me a ^•denarius ^lto look at.” ¹⁶So they brought one. “Whose image ^mand inscription ⁿis this?” He asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they said.

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

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

¹⁸Some ^qSadducees, ^rwho say there is no resurrection, ^scame to Him and questioned Him: ¹⁹“Teacher, ^tMoses ^uwrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, ^vhis brother should take the wife ^wand produce offspring for his brother. ^xy20There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. ²¹The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. ²²So the seven ^zleft no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³In the resurrection, when they rise, ^awhose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” ^b

²⁴Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures ^cor the power ^dof God? ^e25For when they rise ^ffrom the dead, ^gthey neither marry nor are given in marriage ^hbut are like angels ⁱin heaven. ²⁶Now 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 ^jam the God of Abraham ^kand the God of Isaac ^land the God of Jacob? ^mn27He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”

The Primary Commands

²⁸One ^oof the scribes ^papproached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all?” ^q

²⁹“This is the most important,” ^rJesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord ^sour God, the Lord ^tis One. ^u30Love ^vthe Lord your God ^wwith all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, ^xand with all your strength. ^yza

³¹“The second is: Love your neighbor ^bas yourself. ^cdThere is no other command ^egreater than these.”

³²Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one ^felse except Him. ^g33And to love ^hHim with all your heart, with all your understanding, ⁱand with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ^j

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

The Question about the Messiah

³⁵So ^mJesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, ⁿ“How can the scribes ^osay that the ^•Messiah ^pis the Son of David? ^q36David ^rhimself says by the Holy Spirit: ^s

The Lord ^tdeclared to my Lord,

‘Sit at My right hand ^u

until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’ ^vw

³⁷David 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

³⁸He ^xalso said in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, ^yand who want greetings in the marketplaces, ^z39the front seats ^ain the ^•synagogues, ^band the places of honor ^cat banquets. ^d40They devour ^ewidows’ ^fhouses and say long prayers ^gjust for show. These will receive harsher punishment.”