Mark
Copyright © 2008 Darroll Evans
CHAPTER 12
Mark 12:1-9
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.
Jesus began to teach again
using parables.
But, why parables?
Was it so they could
understand His teaching? Right? Wrong!
Are parables an earthly story
with a heavenly meaning?
Here is the surprising answer
to why Christ taught in parables:
Matt 13:13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand.
Did you get that?
Christ used parables to hide
the truth from those people, and not to instruct them!
Here in this parable, Christ
taught them that a certain man planted a vineyard, and planted a hedge around
it. Then, he made a wine vat, and a tower.
He leased the vineyard to farmers, and moved to a distant country.
In the proper season, he sent
to a servant to the farmers in order to get the just gain from his investment.
But, the farmers caught (Gr. labontes-labonteV), seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty
handed.
The man sent another servant,
and they stoned, wounding his head. They also sent him away after being
shamefully treated.
Again he sent a servant. They
killed him, and harm many other of the man’s servants. They beat some, and killed others.
The man had one son. The son was greatly loved by the father. Finally, the man decided to send his only
son, he thought they will respect my son.
However, those farmers said
among themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance
shall be ours.”
So, they took (Gr. labontes-labonteV), seized the son,
killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
Jesus asked, “What shall the
lord of the vineyard do?”
He then answered His own
question. “He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to
others.”
That is what God did with
We have 20/20 hindsight and
spiritual insight and therefore understand the parables (to a certain extent),
but the Jews of Jesus’ day understood none of them!
Mark 12:10-17
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, 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.
Jesus then asked, “haven’t
you read this scripture? ‘The stone which the builders rejected is become the
Cornerstone.’ The Lord caused it, and its existence is extraordinary.” It is extraordinary to the point of going
passed our human understanding!
***After examining verse eleven,
I decided that in Greek and English it should be a statement of fact and not a
question.
At that the Jewish leaders
plotted to capture Jesus, but they feared the people, because they knew that he
had spoken the parable against them. So,
they left him.
This is one of the few times
that people understood a parable that Jesus used.
The Jewish leaders sent some
Pharisees and Herodians to attempt to catch Jesus using His own words.
When they arrived, they
attempted to deceive by starting with flattery, “Master, we know that what You
say is true, and that you are no respecter of persons, and are not partial.
Because, You teach God’s truth!”
After seeming to set the trap
with flattery, they sought to spring the trap with a trick question.
“So, is it lawful to pay
tribute (Gr. keenson-khnson), taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we
not give?”
Christ understood their motives
and their hypocrisy. So, He replied,
“Why do you tempt me? Bring me a penny (Gr. deenarion-dhnarion/a Roman coin) so
that I may see it.”
When they brought it, He
asked, “Whose image and superscription in on the coin?”
They said, “Caesar's.”
In response to that Jesus
said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things
that are God's!”
They were astounded!
Mark 12:18-27
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.
Then, another group of
disbelievers took their turn. The Sadducees came to Christ. They did not believe that there would be a
resurrection. The Sadducees followed
nothing but the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Pentateuch.
They asked, “Master, Moses
wrote that if a man's brother died, and leave his wife with no children. According to law his brother should marry his
wife, and raise children to honor his brother. Now, there were seven brethren:
The first took a wife, died and left no children. The second married her, died,
and left no children. The third followed the same fate. And, finally she
married the seventh brother. But, he too
had no children by her. At last, the
woman died. So, in the resurrection, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she
be? Since, all seven brothers had married her!”
Keep in mind that it was a bogus question. The Sadducees
did not teach or believe in the resurrection.
So, why did they ask about
something that they did not believe? As
a trap!
But, Jesus did answer them!
“You are wrong, because you don’t know the Scriptures! Neither do you know the
power of God!”
That could be true of many of
today’s so-called theologians!
The Sadducees had zeal for
the word, but not for the God of the word, nor for His Word!
As we look at the book of
Acts, we find that the Apostles fell back into the intellectual trap. When Paul made his final journey to
Acts 21:20
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest,
brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all
zealous of the law:
Jesus continued teaching the
Sadducees, “because, when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And,
concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read, in the book of
Moses, how in the bush from which God spoke to him saying, ‘I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob!’ He is not the God of the
dead, but the God of the living, therefore you are completely wrong!”
Jesus’ teaching was a
complete rebuke of the “what you see is what you get” theology of that day and
ours!
Mark 12:28-34
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
Then, one of the scribes took
a turn. He heard the debate and thought
he had it all figured out.
He began with the old tried
and true flattery, “What you said is true! However, which is the ‘foremost’
commandment?”
Jesus began with the Shema!
Deut 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is God, the LORD is One! (Personal interpretation)
That is the greatest confession
in all Judaism! When properly
understood, it is also a validation of Christianity!
Jesus called it the first
(Gr. prootee-prwth), foremost of all commandments!
The Christ continued, “And
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. That is the first
commandment.”
How can we have two “first”
commandents?
Love the LORD your God is a
continuation of the Shema and should not be separated from it as many today attempt
to do.
Jesus continued, “The second
(Gr. duetera-duetera/second in rank) is similar, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
Then the scribe admitted,
“Well, Master, You have spoken the truth, for there is one God; and there is no
other but Him.
“To love Him with all the
heart, and with all understanding, and with all the soul, and with all
strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he
answered discreetly (Gr. nounechoos-nounecwV), or wisely, He told him, “You are not far from the
Afterward none dared ask him
another question. Christ Jesus had proved that their human wisdom was no match
for the wisdom of the Son of God!
Mark 12:35-44
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
money 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, 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.
While He taught in the
“David by the power of the
Holy Spirit said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit here at my right hand, till I
make Your enemies Your footstool.’
“Therefore, David called the Messiah
‘Lord,’ so how can he be He then his son?’”
The ordinary folks gladly
heard Jesus.
So, Christ Jesus told them,
“Beware of the scribes, who love to go around in long clothing, and love public
praise, and the foremost seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at
feasts, Who devour widows' homes, and make long pretend prayers! They shall
receive greater damnation!”
Then, Jesus moved over to the
public offering basket. This was not the
place where legal tithes were offered.
It was a place where offerings were given to the Levites and the
But then, a poor widow threw
in only two mites (Gr. lepta-lepta)(approximately a fifth of a penny). Put together, she
did not give a penny!
Jesus called His disciples,
and told them, “Truthfully, I say to you, that this poor widow has cast more
in, than all the others who cast offerings into the treasury!”
That would not be well
accepted among many who supposedly preach a false gospel of profit today. They don’t want words. They want MONEY! If you can’t fold it, don’t bother to give
it!
That is one reason Bible
Study Net never asks for, nor accepts donations.
Then Jesus said, “They all
gave out of their abundance, but she gave from her want. She offered ALL she
had, all her living!”
Such an offering would be
looked down on by some of the multi-millionaire preachers today.
Some Preachers teach for the
love of Christ while others preach for the love of MONEY, or public reputation!