Mark Chapter 12

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Mar 12:1

And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.: Isa 6:9, "And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’" Jesus starts speaking in parables in fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy. This vineyard represents Israel. God had set up Israel to bring Him to the world. They were expected to produce followers, good works, and to be a light to the nations. And God left them to their work.

Mar 12:2

When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.: The servant here is a prophet. The prophets pointed to God, and should have been treated well by a country that says they follow God.

Mar 12:3

And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.: All throughout the history of Israel, the prophets were persecuted and killed. This is what Jesus is referring to here.

Mar 12:4

Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.: God didn't just send one prophet either. The history of the prophets is a dangerous one.

Mar 12:5

And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.: God tried multiple times to get Israel to turn back to Him. They not only didn't listen, they beat and killed those sent by Him.

Mar 12:6

He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’: Jesus was the Son of God, and clearly the object of this verse. God sent His son as a last chance to repent and turn back to Him before bringing calamity.

Mar 12:7

But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’: These vine-dressers were the religious leaders, and they recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. But did they follow Him? Absolutely not! Every time they encounter Jesus, they end up trying to come up with a way to kill Him.

Mar 12:8

And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.: Jesus prophecies His own death here. Soon, the religious leaders would conspire to kill Jesus.

Mar 12:9

What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.: Jesus also prophecies that Israel would be destroyed and their job of producing followers for God would be given to others. The others are the Gentiles. We are still in this dispensation, the time of the Gentiles. The time of the Gentiles will end with the rapture, and we are so very close. Events are unfolding so rapidly I'm having trouble keeping up.

Mar 12:10

Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;: Jesus quotes Psa 118:22 here. "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone." This was a prophecy of the Church. The Church would be built on the gospel of Jesus.

Mar 12:11

this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”: Jesus also quotes Psa 118:23. "This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes." The stone was rejected by the people, but God made it the cornerstone. In other words, Israel would reject Jesus, but God would make Him the cornerstone. So Psa 118:22-23 was a prophecy of the gospel of Jesus.

Mar 12:12

And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.: Jesus just told them the parable of the vine-dressers killing the Son, and yet, they try to kill Him. You can't make this stuff up. Apparently, it went right over their heads.

Mar 12:13

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.: The leaders before couldn't say anything, so they ran away and tried to send in the big guns. I just don't understand how they thought they could catch the Messiah. Nevertheless, the Pharisees and the Herodians joined together to try and trick up Jesus. The Pharisees were one of three Jewish sects at that time. They believed in an oral tradition passed down from Moses and recorded in the Talmud. They also believed in an afterlife. Paul was a Pharisee. The Herodians were a Jewish political party that supported the Herod family. The Jewish Virtual Library has an entry on them, but they say that not much is known about them and most information that we have is conjecture.

Mar 12:14

And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”: See how deceitful they were? They came acting like they were supporters. "We know that You are true," and "You... teach the way of God in truth." But this is a total sham. They tried to get him all relaxed and open so when they asked him what they thought was a trick question, He'd be caught off guard.

Christians, this isn't just a tactic that these religious leaders used. People do this to me at work, and ask not only questions about the Bible, but even questions about controversial issues in the world. It makes it kind of uncomfortable to speak the truth when they come off as chummy. You really don't want to offend them. Just like Jesus, we need to see past these things and be ready for this.

Mar 12:15

But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”: Jesus isn't stupid, and catches it immediately. The denarius was the Roman coinage that tribute was required to be paid in. The temple only accepted the Jewish shekel.

Mar 12:16

And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.”: Emperor Tiberius was on the coin.

Mar 12:17

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.: To me, this question seemed straight forward, and I couldn't understand the trap, or why they marveled at His answer. What they were trying to do is get Him to answer whether or not the Jews were under subjection to the Romans. The Jews believed that the Messiah would come and overthrow the Romans and set up His earthly kingdom. Because of this, they expected Jesus to say that the Jews were not subject to the Romans. However, Jesus's answer sidesteps this question, and He says that the Jews should pay the required tribute to Caesar, and also to pay the required tribute to God. Being under the rule of the Romans, they were required to pay tribute. This is why the Herodians were there with the Pharisees. The Herodians were loyal to Rome. If Jesus answered that the Jews were not subject to the Romans, Jesus would have been arrested for treason. In today's society, most people don't have an issue with paying both taxes and tithes, so this question from the Pharisees isn't something we can relate to. Most of us already do both willingly.

Mar 12:18

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,: The JVL has an entry about the Sadducees. The Sadducees, from what we know of them, only read the Torah, and since there is no mention of the afterlife in the Torah, they didn't believe in an afterlife. They were one of the two groups that comprised the Sanhedrin, who were basically the law writers of Jesus's time. In America, the House of Representatives writes the law. The following sequence is quite good, and the gotcha question that the Sadducees come up with seems pretty good.

Mar 12:19

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.: The Sadducees are setting up the most ridiculous premise they can think of to prove that there is no resurrection. Deu 25:5 is what the Sadducees are basing this question on. If they could get Jesus to agree with them, that would give credence to their teachings, and would also prove Jesus false because Jesus spoke of resurrection many times. It would be interesting to see how the Sadducees looked at events like the resurrection of Lazarus, but unfortunately, none of their writings survived.

Mar 12:20

There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.: This was the way that Deu 25:5 was supposed to be followed. If a brother died before giving his wife a child, the brother had a duty to give the woman a child. He had to take her as a wife and do the deed.

Mar 12:21

And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.: You can see what the Sadducees are doing here. They're building up this ridiculous case that should be impossible to answer. Logically, what they're doing is sound. Using logic, you take a premise to it's logical conclusion, and it shouldn't end up in absurdity if the premise is logically sound.

Mar 12:22

And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.: So the premise is now complete. There are seven brothers, and only one wife. Somehow, all seven brothers die, each having taken the woman as wife as the law commands, yet none were able to conceive. This is an absurd situation, making it seem logically that the resurrection is an absurdity.

Mar 12:23

In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”: The culmination of the premise is stated here. Jesus shouldn't be able to answer because they build up such an illogical story based on their teachings. If their teachings were correct, then their question would be a good proof.

Mar 12:24

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?: Jesus acknowledges that based on their line of reasoning, they aren't wrong, but because they limited their scriptures. We don't know exactly what they limited them to, but we do know they believed the Torah, excluding the oral laws. The Bible today does not include the oral laws either. There are many passages of resurrection in the Old Testament, so it's likely that the Sadducees limited themselves to the Torah. Jesus did not.

Mar 12:25

For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.: Jesus clarifies that in Heaven, there is no marriage, and that our bodies will be like the angels in Heaven. Since the Sadducees limited themselves to the Torah, they wouldn't have believed verses like Dan 12:2 (And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.), or Isa 26:19 (Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.). Jesus doesn't pull from any scriptures that I could find for the statement that we will be like the angels in Heaven, so that likely relates to Jesus's statement that the Sadducees didn't know the power of God. For us, the question that the Sadducees posed to Jesus seems ludicrous, but to God, nothing is impossible. An entirely acceptable answer could have been just that the Sadducees didn't know the power of God. If God can do anything, then even their absurd question could have a solution provided by God. I think it's similar to questions that philosophers ask today, such as, "Can God create a rock so big that even He can't lift it?" Jesus's answer would apply there as well.

Mar 12:26

And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?: Exo 3:6 says, "And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God." God uses the present tense in this verse, and it's deliberate. This shows that God IS the God of these people, not WAS. They're alive in a place called Sheol, specifically in Abraham's Bosom.

Mar 12:27

He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”: The conclusion of Jesus's answer is that since the wording is present tense, people are resurrected, that's why He's the God of the living, not the dead.

Mar 12:28

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”: Whoever this was, he was impressed with the answer Jesus gave the Sadducees. These guys just can't get enough of trying to stump Jesus. I guess he figured it was his turn at the Stump the Messiah game. This round brings us a lawyer asking Jesus what the most important commandment is. This probably included the written and oral laws. The difference with this guy is that he seems to actually engage with Jesus truthfully.

Mar 12:29

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.: Isn't it interesting that Muslims argue that Christians say that the Trinity is three Gods? Jesus Himself says that the most important commandment starts with "the Lord is one." It's almost like a direct challenge to their ridiculous claim. We know that God is one. Yet, we also know that He exists as three beings. How is that possible? I have no idea. In our finite minds, we can't possibly hope to understand how there can be three coequal beings that cohabit eternity (Isa 57:15) as one God. In my mind, to inhabit eternity brings forth a picture of God encompassing everything. Eternal can have no beginning or end, no start or finish, and must just be (Exo 3:14). I can't fathom how Jesus can be God, or how the Holy Spirit can be God. But we know that Jesus and the Father are one (Joh 10:30-33). And we know the Holy Spirit is God as well (Act 5:3-4). They are three distinct beings that are one. We can understand this, but it's beyond our human minds to comprehend or explain it. This is one of the things about God that make Him truly marvelous. One of my favorite pastors, Chuck Smith, used to say (I'm paraphrasing), "If we could understand God completely, He wouldn't be all that special."

Mar 12:30

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.’: Jesus specifically addressed that God is one, then says we should love Him with everything. The soul, the mind, and the body is what makes up a person. The mind and the body are easily explained, but what about the soul? The mind is our consciousness, the strength is our physical body, but our soul is what? Gotquestions.org has a good article on this. The basic explanation is that you are a soul, and you have a mind and body. When you die, your soul goes either into judgement or into paradise. So essentially, we humans are eternal beings (a soul) with a temporal shell called a body (1Co 15:53).
 
This brings up an extremely important related point: Why Jesus had to die for us. Isa 53:10 says that Jesus's soul was the offering. The NKJV makes it clear, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." (Emphasis mine). The ESV has a different rendering ("when his soul makes an offering for guilt"), but also includes the alternate, "or when you make his soul." It's clear that Jesus's offering was His soul, which was only possible because Jesus was fully God and fully man. This explains what Paul meant in Heb 10:4, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Jesus had to die to offer His soul as the atonement. What this means is that when Adam and Eve sinned, it wasn't just our flesh that was corrupted, but our souls. How does that work? I have no idea. That part is beyond comprehension. I don't even understand how our souls are tied to our bodies. I guess at some point, we need to press that I believe button.

Mar 12:31

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”: Jesus quotes Lev 19:18 here. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you won't do any harm to them. Notice that this is a general term, and includes treating everyone right. If you love God and love your neighbor, you won't do any wrong. Much easier said than done, but we do have the Holy Spirit to assist.

Mar 12:32

And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.: This answer shows that this scribe was being honest. It's possible that he wasn't trying to stump Jesus or ask Him a question that would trap Him, but asking an honest question trying to evaluate whether Jesus was authentic or not. However, it's more likely that the scribe really did try to stump Jesus, but was then impressed by the answer. It's also interesting that the Muslims use this same type of argument, saying that God is one and there is no other beside him. They don't understand that we all agree on this point. God is one, but exists as multiple persons. They expect God to be understandable, while we understand that He's unfathomable (Rom 11:33-34 and Isa 40:28).

Mar 12:33

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, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”: This scribe acknowledges that love is more acceptable by God than any offering of bulls and goats. It's really the overall message of God, to love unconditionally. We elevate others, put them first, and love them. Love isn't just a feeling, but an action. Just as faith is accompanied by action on the part of a believer, love is accompanied by action as well. There needs to be evidence of the love.

Mar 12:34

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.: From the response of the scribe, you could almost think that he was acting in good faith, but Mark makes it clear that the intentions weren't good. More than likely, the scribe thought he was going to stump Jesus, and Jesus's answer wasn't what the scribe expected. If they kept asking Jesus questions that were supposed to stump Him, but He never failed, that would give the people faith in Jesus, and the leaders would lose power. Because they didn't want to lose power, they didn't want to ask any more questions of Jesus.

Mar 12:35

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?: Now it's Jesus's turn at the stumping game. There's a bit more context to this that Mark left out. In Mat 22:42, we learn that Jesus asked the scribes who they thought the Messiah would be, and they told him, "The Son of David."

Mar 12:36

David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’: First, Jesus makes it clear that scripture is written by the Holy Spirit, then quotes Psa 110:1. "The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” I don't understand how the Spirit writes it, but the Bible is clear that He does (2Ti 3:16). Psa 110:1 must have been a proof text the scribes used to point to the Messiah being the Son of David. But notice that from hindsight, we know that this verse is referring to after the Messiah's coming, death, and resurrection. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the father until Jesus's enemies are made His footstool. Jesus was using this text to show that they were missing something in their theology. It's like everyone missed that the Messiah was to suffer and take on the sins of the world (Isaiah 53). Everyone expected the Messiah to come and set up His kingdom, but ignored the other prophetic teachings about Him. The specific wording Jesus addressed was, "The LORD said to my Lord." The Hebrew reading is "Jehovah said to my adoni." That's God the Father said to my Lord (the Messiah).

Mar 12:37

David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.: This is a great question. The answer is that David can't call him is son. David is witnessing the discussion between two people: Jehovah and David's Lord, or the Messiah, and David calls the Messiah, his Lord. No father would call his son Lord. The Messiah is greater than David. In fact, in all of the scriptures concerning the Sonship of the Messiah, we find that the Messiah is the Son of God (2Sa 7:12-16; Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5-6). The Messiah was to be a branch of David, from his lineage, but nowhere do we find that he was the Son of David.

Mar 12:38

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces: The religious leaders liked to put off an air of being holy, following the traditions of man, so people would look at them in admiration. It's no different today. Preachers dress up in very nice suits, expensive shoes, nice ties, etc., and the people send them money. Some preachers have private jets, and churches that are beyond spectacular, and it gives off an air of holiness when they stand on stage and engage in their theatrics. It's a job to them, just as it was to the religious leaders of Jesus's day. They want the praise of man, and the money that comes with it, not to be close with God and lead others to Him.

Mar 12:39

and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,: They are treated to front seats, ringside seats, balcony seats, etc.. At sporting events, they sit in the suites as honored guests, have reserved seats at the churches, and are treated specially. They love the attention. They do things to get attention, but they don't love Jesus.

Mar 12:40

who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”: In many places, the historian Josephus records the corruption of the religious leaders, but in Antiquities of the Jews (Book 20, Chapter 8, Section 8), he discusses how Ananias, the high priest, became notorious for such behavior. "He [Ananias] increased his wealth by taking bribes and plundering the people without mercy." These religious leaders were corrupt and would use their position as law makers and financial advisors to take advantage of the widows and others who were neglected, or didn't have the same social status. Some of the things these leaders would do was atrocious. They would also make grand, eloquent prayers designed to impress people and demonstrate how righteous they were, but they didn't even love God. We should take note that Jesus placed robbing widows and making pretentious prayers in the same sentence, basically equating the seriousness of the two. They're the negation of the two most important laws discussed in Mar 12:28-31. Jesus said the greatest were loving God and loving your neighbor.

Mar 12:41

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.: It's been like this forever. We still have donation boxes at churches and pass the donation bowls, although I haven't been to a church in a long time where they still do the passing of the donation bowls. The churches I've attended have stopped asking for money altogether, saying that God will make a way, and He does. It could have to do with the transition to digital money too. Most people just don't carry cash on them and nobody uses checks anymore. But I remember when the bowl was passed, looking out the corner of my eye at what the people would put in. Jesus is making a comparison here, starting with the rich people putting in a large amount of money. This is in the same vein as those who make long pretentious prayers. I'm sure they didn't do it discretely.

Mar 12:42

And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.: Contrasting with the rich people who put in a lot of money, he witnesses a poor woman put in only two coins that equaled a farthing. According to some estimates, the woman had put in around fifty cents of today's money. We don't know the exact amount, but it would be something similar to dropping a couple quarters into the donation box today.

Mar 12:43

And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.: Could this woman be one that Jesus had in mind when He spoke of the scribes robbing widows? We're not told, but it's very possible. We can see from this example how God will judge. He doesn't look at the amount, but at the heart.

Mar 12:44

For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”: What the rich people gave to the treasury cost them nothing, but what this widow gave cost her everything. We are not told any more than this about the woman, but I do wonder if God took care of her. There is no guarantee that He will in this life, but we can know that from this example, God takes note and will deal with her righteously in judgement. I am positive that her reward will be great in Heaven. God counts faith as righteousness, and this woman demonstrated great faith by putting in all she had.