Mark 12:13–34

The Question about Paying Taxes

¹³Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said.^{* 14}And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” ¹⁶And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.^*

The Question about the Resurrection

¹⁸Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, ¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man^y shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^{* 20}There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children, ²¹and the second married the widow^z and died, leaving no children, and the third likewise; ²²none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. ²³In the resurrection, when they rise,^a whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”

²⁴Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵For when people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.^{* 26}And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?^{* 27}He is God not of the dead but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

The First Commandment

²⁸One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”^{* 29}Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;^{* 30}you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”^{* 32}Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;^{* 33}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’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^{* 34}When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.^*