Mark 12 : 1 (HCSB)
Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.
Mark 12 : 2 (HCSB)
At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.
Mark 12 : 3 (HCSB)
But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
Mark 12 : 4 (HCSB)
Again he sent another slave to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.
Mark 12 : 5 (HCSB)
Then he sent another, and they killed that one. *He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.
Mark 12 : 6 (HCSB)
"He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
Mark 12 : 7 (HCSB)
"But those tenant farmers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!'
Mark 12 : 8 (HCSB)
So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
Mark 12 : 9 (HCSB)
"Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others.
Mark 12 : 10 (HCSB)
Haven't you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected-- this has become the cornerstone.
Mark 12 : 11 (HCSB)
This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?"
Mark 12 : 12 (HCSB)
Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.
Mark 12 : 13 (HCSB)
Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him to trap Him by what He said.
Mark 12 : 14 (HCSB)
When they came, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don't show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Mark 12 : 15 (HCSB)
Should we pay, or should we not pay?" But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at."
Mark 12 : 16 (HCSB)
So they brought one. "Whose image and inscription is this?" He asked them. "Caesar's," they said.
Mark 12 : 17 (HCSB)
Then Jesus told them, "Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.
Mark 12 : 18 (HCSB)
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and questioned Him:
Mark 12 : 19 (HCSB)
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.
Mark 12 : 20 (HCSB)
There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring.
Mark 12 : 21 (HCSB)
The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
Mark 12 : 22 (HCSB)
The seven also left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.
Mark 12 : 23 (HCSB)
In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?"
Mark 12 : 24 (HCSB)
Jesus told them, "Are you not deceived because you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God?
Mark 12 : 25 (HCSB)
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.
Mark 12 : 26 (HCSB)
Now concerning the dead being raised-- haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?
Mark 12 : 27 (HCSB)
He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived."
Mark 12 : 28 (HCSB)
One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
Mark 12 : 29 (HCSB)
"This is the most important," Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One.
Mark 12 : 30 (HCSB)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Mark 12 : 31 (HCSB)
"The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12 : 32 (HCSB)
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.
Mark 12 : 33 (HCSB)
And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more *important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Mark 12 : 34 (HCSB)
When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to question Him any longer.
Mark 12 : 35 (HCSB)
So Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, "How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David?
Mark 12 : 36 (HCSB)
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.'
Mark 12 : 37 (HCSB)
David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how then can the Messiah be his Son?" And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
Mark 12 : 38 (HCSB)
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,
Mark 12 : 39 (HCSB)
the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.
Mark 12 : 40 (HCSB)
They devour widows' houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher punishment."
Mark 12 : 41 (HCSB)
Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.
Mark 12 : 42 (HCSB)
And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
Mark 12 : 43 (HCSB)
Summoning His disciples, He said to them, "I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury.
Mark 12 : 44 (HCSB)
For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed-- all she had to live on."
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