Mark 12 · WEB
Tested in the Temple, the Heart of the Law
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country.
2When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.
4Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
5Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.
6Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
7But those farmers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
8They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9"What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.
10Haven't you even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner.
11This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes'?"
12They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
13They sent some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.
14When they had come, they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don't defer to anyone; for you aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
15Shall we give, or shall we not give?" But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it."
16They brought it. He said to them, "Whose is this image and inscription?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17Jesus answered them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They marveled greatly at him.
18There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,
19"Teacher, Moses wrote to us, 'If a man's brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.'
20There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.
21The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;
22and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
23In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife."
24Jesus answered them, "Isn't this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?
25For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26But about the dead, that they are raised; haven't you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken."
28One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the greatest of all?"
29Jesus answered, "The greatest is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
30you 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.' This is the first commandment.
31The second is like this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
32The scribe said to him, "Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,
33and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from God's Kingdom." No one dared ask him any question after that.
35Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'
37Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?" The common people heard him gladly.
38In his teaching he said to them, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,
39and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts:
40those who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."
41Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.
42A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
43He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,
44for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on."
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Summary
In a series of temple confrontations, Jesus tells a parable that exposes the leaders as murderous tenants who reject the Son, then deftly answers traps about taxes, resurrection, and the greatest commandment. He silences his critics by showing from Psalm 110 that the Messiah is more than David's son—he is David's Lord—and he warns against the showy piety of the scribes who exploit widows. The chapter closes with a poor widow's two small coins, which Jesus declares to be greater than all the wealthy gifts because she gave everything she had.
Themes
- Rejection of the Son and reversal of the cornerstone
- Dual citizenship: Caesar and God
- Resurrection grounded in God's own being
- Wholehearted love as the heart of the Law
- True giving measured by sacrifice, not size
Key verses
- Mark 12:17 — “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
- Mark 12:30-31 — “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Mark 12:34 — “You are not far from God's Kingdom.”
- Mark 12:44 — “She, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”
Context & background
These confrontations happen in the temple courts in Jerusalem (modern Israel) during the days leading to Passover, when the city swelled with pilgrims. The Pharisees and Herodians were unlikely allies—the former hating Roman taxation, the latter loyal to Rome's client king—and only their shared opposition to Jesus brought them together. The denarius bore Tiberius Caesar's image with an inscription claiming divine sonship, making Jesus' answer about "image" theologically pointed since humans bear God's image. The Sadducees, drawn from the priestly aristocracy, accepted only the Torah and denied resurrection, so Jesus answers them from Exodus 3. Mark, writing for Romans c. AD 60-65, highlights stories that show Jesus' authority over every faction.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-3 — Macedonian believers giving out of poverty echoes the widow's example.
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5 — The Shema, which Jesus identifies as the greatest commandment.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 — The vineyard song that stands behind the parable of the wicked tenants.
- Psalm 110:1 — David's Lord seated at God's right hand, key to Jesus' messianic argument.
- Psalm 118:22-23 — The rejected stone becoming the cornerstone, quoted by Jesus.