Mark 12:1-44
1 And he began to speak unto them by parables.A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.
5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them,Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny,a that I may see it.
16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them,Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering said unto them,Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, 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 the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him,The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him,Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple,How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.
38 And he said unto them in his doctrine,Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast moneyb into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites,c which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them,Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Mark 12:1. A certain man planted a vineyard. See on Matthew 20:1. The idea conveys an enlarged view of its magnitude, conformably to what is said in Psalms 80. and Isaiah 5.
Mark 12:2. He sent to the husbandmen a servant. Matthew has the plural, servants. The harmony is, that the steward had servants with him. Those innocent variations tend to strengthen the gospel history: the evangelists did not write in concert.
Mark 12:6. Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved. Our best lexicons construe the Greek phrase, to designate the only-begotten Son. Some Greek copies on this mission have ισως οτι, perhaps; others have that, and because they will, or may reverence my Son. Though, as St. Peter admits, the jews did not precisely know that Christ was the Lord of glory; yet it appears from the highpriest's speech to the council, John 11:49; John 11:53, that many knew that he was the Christ. By consequence, the magnitude of their punishment corresponded with the magnitude of their crime.
Mark 12:10. The stone which the builders rejected. Matthew 22:42.
Mark 12:15. Bring me a penny. A denarion, of which the assarion was one tenth, as stated on Luke 12:6.
Mark 12:16. Whose is this image and superscription? They said unto him, Cæsar's. Few coins before the times of the Cæsars had the head of the reigning prince stamped upon them. The Hebrew shekel had the golden pot of manna on one side, and on the obverse, the rod of Aaron which budded, as described in Exodus 30:13. See the map of Jerusalem. The budding of the dry rod, as the branches of the palmtree on the doors of the temple, was regarded as flattery to the priesthood, and an omen of national prosperity.
Mark 12:17. Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's. Campbell's translation is better: “Render to Cæsar that which is Cæsar's, and to God that which is God's.” Thus the reproach which the Herodians intended for the Saviour recoiled on their own heads. These words imply a command, that all men enjoying protection from the state, must act their part with fidelity in its support.
Mark 12:18. Then came the sadducees saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If a man's brother die his brother should take his wife. These infidels affected to believe the five books of Moses, but considered the other scriptures as apochryphal. See on Matthew 22:23.
Mark 12:29. The Lord our God is one Lord, as stated in Deuteronomy 6:4.
Mark 12:30. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. He is the sole happiness of man, and the joy of all living beings upon the earth. Beauty and perfection with the creatures fade away; with God they are permanent, unchangeable, and infinitely adorable. What are the fond pleadings of misguided nature for the creatures? Look again: they are gone! The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; all flesh is grass, and its beauties are as the flower of the field. This supreme love then, is the love that never faileth; the true religion, better understood by the heart than by the head. Calamitous indeed were the learned disputations of the rabbins about the first and great command, while in great darkness as to the spirit of the law. God is love, and his law is like himself.
Mark 12:42. A certain poor widow threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Λεπτα is called mite, because it was the smallest coin in circulation. The French Mons testament have liard, the eighth of a penny, but kodrantes is here the fourth of some coin then in use. This widow surpassed them all in charity, because she emptied her pocket, while the rich gave only their superfluities. Most churches and chapels follow the example of the temple in having a box at the door to receive the willing offerings of the worshippers. This widow had her treasure in heaven, while Crœsus and Nebuchadnezzar had theirs on earth, a booty of temptation for the Persian armies.