Mark · chapter 12 of 16
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Mark 12 gathers Jesus' controversies in the temple during his last week. He tells the parable of the wicked tenants and answers questions about taxes to Caesar, the resurrection and the greatest commandment: loving God and neighbor. He asks how the Christ can be both son and Lord of David, and commends a poor widow's offering.
The religious leaders have just questioned Jesus' authority in Mark 11. In Mark 12 he answers with a parable, and then different groups test him with hard questions. The chapter displays Jesus' wisdom before his adversaries and ends with a contrast: proud scribes and a widow who gives everything.
Jesus tells of a man who planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants and went away. When he sends servants to collect his share, the tenants beat some and kill others. Finally he sends his beloved son, and the tenants kill him to take the inheritance. Jesus asks what the owner will do: he will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. He quotes Psalm 118: the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The leaders understand he is speaking about them, but they fear the crowd and leave.
They send Pharisees and Herodians to trap him with a question: is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar? Jesus asks for a coin, asks whose image is on it and answers that they should give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. Then the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, pose the case of a woman widowed by seven brothers. Jesus says they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, that in the resurrection people are like angels in heaven, and that God is the God of the living, as he told Moses at the bush.
A scribe asks which commandment is first. Jesus cites the Shema: love the Lord with all heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The scribe agrees and Jesus tells him he is not far from the kingdom. Then Jesus asks how the scribes can say the Christ is David's son when David himself calls him Lord, and warns against scribes who seek honor and devour widows' houses. Finally he watches people put money into the treasury: many rich people give large sums, but a poor widow puts in two small coins. Jesus tells his disciples she gave more than all, because out of her need she gave everything she had to live on.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus quotes a psalm to say that the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. He refers to himself: rejected by the leaders, but chosen and exalted by God.
Jesus says to give Caesar what is Caesar's and God what is God's. He avoids the political trap and reminds them that if the coin bears Caesar's image, the human being bears God's image.
Jesus answers that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with one's whole being, and the second is to love one's neighbor as oneself. He sums up the law in love for God and people.
Jesus says the widow gave more than all, because she gave everything she had while the others gave out of their surplus. God looks at the heart and the sacrifice, not the amount.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: They killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. — Mark 12:7-8
Answer: To give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. — Mark 12:17
Answer: That there is no resurrection. — Mark 12:18
Answer: To love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. — Mark 12:29-30
Answer: That he was not far from the kingdom of God. — Mark 12:34
Answer: Two small coins, all she had to live on. — Mark 12:42-44
Mark 12 invites us to live a well-ordered double loyalty: respect for authorities and total devotion to God. In a group you can talk about how to fulfill our duties as citizens without giving up what belongs only to God.
The greatest commandment offers a simple test for any religious practice: does it lead us to love God and people more? The widow teaches that generosity is measured not by the number but by sacrifice and trust. Whoever gives a little with all their heart is seen by Jesus, even if no one else notices.
Mark 12 closes with a widow who gives everything, in contrast to the leaders who seek honor. In Mark 13, as he leaves the temple, Jesus tells his disciples about the destruction of the temple, the signs and the need to stay alert.
Jesus is the beloved son, sent after the servants, the prophets. The parable announces that he will be rejected and killed by the leaders, and that God will give the vineyard to others. Mark says the leaders understood that he was speaking about them.
Jesus acknowledges that government has legitimate claims, such as taxes, but that God claims something higher: the total loyalty of the human being, made in his image. Jesus does not spell out where the line falls, but he places God above every earthly authority.
The Sadducees accepted only the books of Moses. Jesus cites the bush passage, where God presents himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and concludes that if God is still their God, they are still alive to him. It is an argument from the books the Sadducees accepted.