Mark 12:13–14:11

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.”

The Widow’s Gift

⁴¹Sitting ^hacross from the temple treasury, ⁱHe watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich ^jpeople were putting in large sums. ⁴²And a poor ^kwidow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. ^l43Summoning His disciples, ^mHe said to them, “^•I assure you: ⁿThis poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. ^o44For they all gave out of their surplus, ^pbut she out of her poverty ^qhas put in everything she possessed ^r—all she had to live on.” ^s

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

13As ^tHe was going out of the temple complex, ^uone of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, ^vlook! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!” ^w

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^xNot one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

³While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives ^yacross from the temple complex, ^zPeter, ^aJames, ^bJohn, ^cand Andrew ^dasked Him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to take place?”

⁵Then Jesus began by telling them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in My name, ^esaying, ‘I am He,’ ^fand they will deceive ^gmany. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^hdon’t be alarmed; ⁱthese things must take place, ^jbut the end is not yet. ⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ^kThere will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. ^lThese are the beginning ^mof birth pains. ⁿ

Persecutions Predicted

⁹“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins, ^opand you will be flogged ^qin the ^•synagogues. ^rYou will stand before governors and kings ^sbecause of Me, ^tas a witness ^uto them. ^v10And the good news ^wxmust first be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say. On the contrary, whatever is given to you in that hour—say it. For it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹²Then brother will betray ^ybrother to death, ^zand a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and put them to death. ¹³And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. ^aBut the one who endures to the end will be delivered. ^bc

The Great Tribulation

¹⁴“When you see the abomination that causes desolation ^destanding where it should not” (let the reader understand ^f), “then those in Judea ^gmust flee to the mountains! ¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house. ^h16And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes. ⁱ¹⁷Woe ^jto pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ¹⁸Pray ^kit ^lwon’t happen in winter. ¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation, ^mthe kind that hasn’t been from the beginning ⁿof the world, ^opwhich God created, until now and never will be again! ²⁰Unless the Lord ^qlimited those days, ^rno one would survive. ^sBut He limited those days because of the elect, ^twhom He chose. ^u

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the ^•Messiah! ^vLook—there!’ do not believe it! ²²For false messiahs ^wand false prophets will rise up and will perform signs and wonders ^xto lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation: ^y

The sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not shed its light;

²⁵the stars ^zwill be falling from the sky,

and the celestial powers will be shaken. ^a

²⁶Then they will see the ^•Son of Man ^bcoming ^cin clouds ^dwith great power ^eand glory. ^f27He will send out the angels ^gand gather His elect ^hfrom the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. ⁱ

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸“Learn ^jthis parable ^kfrom the fig ^ltree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ^m29In the same way, when you see these things happening, know ⁿthat He ^ois near—at the door! ^30•I assure you: ^pThis generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth ^qwill pass away, ^rbut My words will never pass away. ^s

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³²“Now concerning that day ^tor hour no one knows—neither the angels ^uin heaven nor the Son ^v—except the Father. ^w33Watch! Be alert! ^xFor you don’t know when the time ^yis coming. ^z34It is like ^aa man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his ^•slaves, ^bgave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. ³⁵Therefore be alert, ^csince you don’t know when the master ^dof the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. ³⁶Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping. ^e37And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14After ^ftwo days it was the Passover ^gand the Festival ^hof Unleavened Bread. ⁱThe chief priests and the scribes ^jwere looking for a treacherous ^kway to arrest and kill Him. ^l2“Not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be rioting among the people.”

The Anointing at Bethany

³While ^mHe was in Bethany ⁿat the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, ^oas He was reclining at the table, ^pa woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. ^q4But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? ⁵For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 denarii ^rand given to the poor.” ^sAnd they began to scold her.

⁶Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing ^tfor Me. ⁷You always have the poor ^uwith you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have Me. ^v8She has done what she could; she has anointed My body ^win advance for burial. ^x9•I assure you: ^yWherever the gospel ^zis proclaimed in the whole world, ^awhat this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰Then ^bJudas Iscariot, ^cone of the Twelve, ^dwent to the chief priests ^eto hand Him over ^fto them. ¹¹And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him silver. ^ghSo he…