Mark 12 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

¹ He  began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard,   put a fence round it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

² At harvest time he sent   a servant   to the farmers to collect some of the fruit   of the vineyard from them.

³ But they took him, beat   him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴ Again he sent another servant to them, and they   hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

⁵ Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.

⁶ He still had one to send, a beloved   son. Finally   he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.”

⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.”

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

⁹ What then will the owner   , of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰ Haven’t you read this Scripture: The   stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹¹ This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes? ’

¹² They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

God and Caesar

¹³ Then  they sent some of the Pharisees  and the Herodians  to Jesus to trap him in his words.

¹⁴ When they came, they said to him, ‘Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality  but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes  to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we? ’

¹⁵ But knowing their hypocrisy,  he said to them, ‘Why are you testing   me? Bring me a denarius   , to look at.’

¹⁶ They brought a coin. ‘Whose image   and inscription   is this? ’ he asked them. ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.

¹⁷ Jesus told 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 Sadducees and the Resurrection

¹⁸ Sadducees,  who say there is no resurrection,  came to him and questioned him:

¹⁹ ‘Teacher,  Moses  wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child,   that man should take the wife   and raise up offspring for his brother.   ,

²⁰ There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.

²¹ The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

²² None of the seven  left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.

²³ In the resurrection, when they rise,  whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her? ’

²⁴ Jesus spoke to them, ‘Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures   or the power   of God?

²⁵ For when they 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 #– #haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I   am the God of Abraham   and the God of Isaac   and the God of Jacob?

²⁷ He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.’

The Primary Commands

²⁸ One  of the scribes  approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which command is the most important of all? ’

²⁹ Jesus answered, ‘The most important   is Listen, Israel! The Lord   our God, the Lord   is one.

³⁰ Love   the Lord your God   with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,   and with all your strength.   ,,

³¹ The second is, Love your neighbour   as yourself.   , There is no other command   greater than these.’

³² Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one  else except him.

³³ And to love  him with all your heart, with all your understanding,  and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is far more important than all the 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.’   And no one dared  to question him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

³⁵ While  Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,  ‘How can the scribes   say that the Messiah   is the son of David?

³⁶ David   himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord   declared to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”   ,

³⁷ David himself calls him “Lord.” How, then, can he be his son? ’ And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Warning against the Scribes

³⁸ He  also said in his teaching, ‘Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes   and who want greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹ the best seats   in the synagogues,   and the places of honour   at banquets.

⁴⁰ They devour   widows’   houses and say long prayers   just for show. These will receive harsher judgement.’

The Widow’s Gift

⁴¹ Sitting  opposite the temple treasury,  he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich  people were putting in large sums.

⁴² Then a poor  widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.

⁴³ Summoning his disciples,  he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you,   this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

⁴⁴ For they all gave out of their surplus,   but she out of her poverty   has put in everything she had   #– #all she had to live on.’