The Gospel According to St. Mark

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- Chapter 12 -

(Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–18)

And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man dug a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a pit, and built a tower, and he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out on a long journey.(a)

And in time, he sent a servant to the farmers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.

But they, having apprehended him, beat him and sent him away empty.

And again, he sent another servant to them. And they wounded him on the head, and they treated him with contempt.

And again, he sent another, and him they killed, and many others: some they beat, but others they killed.

Therefore, having still one son, most dear to him, he sent him also to them, at the very end, saying, ‘For they will reverence my son.’

But the settlers said one to another: ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him. And then the inheritance will be ours.’(b)

And apprehending him, they killed him. And they cast him out of the vineyard.

Therefore, what will the lord of the vineyard do?” “He will come and destroy the settlers. And he will give the vineyard to others.”

“And so, have you not read this scripture?: ‘The stone which the builders have rejected, the same has been made the head of the corner.

By the Lord has this been done, and it is wondrous in our eyes.’ ”

And they sought to take hold of him, but they feared the crowd. For they knew that he had spoken this parable about them. And leaving him behind, they went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

(Matthew 22:15–22; Luke 20:19–26)

And they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him, so that they might trap him with words.

And these, arriving, said to him: “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and that you do not favor anyone; for you do not consider the appearance of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give the tribute to Caesar, or should we not give it?”

And knowing their skill in deception, he said to them: “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, so that I may see it.”

And they brought it to him. And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

So in response, Jesus said to them, “Then render to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar; and to God, the things that are of God.” And they wondered over him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

(Matthew 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40)

And the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, approached him. And they questioned him, saying:

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if any man’s brother will have died and left behind a wife, and not have left behind sons, his brother should take his wife to himself and should raise up offspring for his brother.

So then, there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and he died without leaving behind offspring.

And the second took her, and he died. And neither did he leave behind offspring. And the third acted similarly.

And in like manner, each of the seven received her and did not leave behind offspring. Last of all, the woman also died.

Therefore, in the resurrection, when they will rise again, to which of them will she be a wife? For each of the seven had her as wife.”

And Jesus responded by saying to them: “But have you not gone astray, by knowing neither the scriptures, nor the power of God?

For when they will be resurrected from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but they are like the Angels in heaven.

But concerning the dead who rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him from the bush, 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 of the living. Therefore, you have gone far astray.”

The Greatest Commandment

(Deuteronomy 6:1–19; Matthew 22:34–40)

And one of the scribes, who had heard them arguing, drew near to him. And seeing that he had answered them well, he questioned him as to which was the first commandment of all.

And Jesus answered him: “For the first commandment of all is this: ‘Listen, O Israel. The Lord your God is one God.

And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength. This is the first commandment.’

But the second is similar to it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

And the scribe said to him: Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth that there is one God, and there is no other beside him;

and that he should be loved from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole soul, and from the whole strength. And to love one’s neighbor as one’s self is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices.”

And Jesus, seeing that he had responded wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to question him.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

(Matthew 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44)

And while teaching in the temple, Jesus said in answer: “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

For David himself said in the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I set your enemies as your footstool.’

Therefore, David himself calls him Lord, and so how can he be his son?” And a great multitude listened to him willingly.

Beware of the Scribes

(Luke 20:45–47)

And he said to them in his doctrine: “Beware of the scribes, who prefer to walk in long robes and to be greeted in the marketplace,

and to sit in the first chairs in the synagogues, and to have the first seats at feasts,

who devour the houses of widows under the pretense of long prayers. These shall receive the more extensive judgment.”

The Widow’s Offering

(Luke 21:1–4)

And Jesus, sitting opposite the offertory box, considered the way in which the crowd cast coins into the offertory, and that many of the wealthy cast in a great deal.

But when one poor widow had arrived, she put in two small coins, which is a quarter.(c)

And calling together his disciples, he said to them: “Amen I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all those who contributed to the offertory.

For they all gave from their abundance, yet truly, she gave from her scarcity, even all that she had, her entire living.”

Footnotes

(a)12:1 In the spiritual level of meaning, the vineyard is Earth, and the pit is Hell, and the tower is Heaven.(Conte)

(b)12:7 Now the farmers have turned into settlers (or squatters) because they treat the borrowed vineyard as if it were their own land.(Conte)

(c)12:42 The quadrans (‘quarter’) was literally one fourth the value of an ‘as’ coin; which was in turn one tenth the value of a denarius (a day’s wage). So a quadrans was about one 40th the value of a denarius, or one 40th of the daily wage of a laborer. Compared to today’s entry-level wages ($5 to $10 per hour for 8 hours), the quadrans would be worth a dollar or two. So each of those two small coins was worth one to two dollars in today’s currency.(Conte)

(Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–18)

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.

When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.

Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

Again he sent another, and they killed him, and many others, beating some, and killing some.

Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner.

This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?” (a)

They 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.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

(Matthew 22:15–22; Luke 20:19–26)

They sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.

When 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?

Shall 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.”

They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

Jesus 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.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

(Matthew 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40)

Some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, saying,

“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.’

There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.

The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;

and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”

Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God?

For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

But 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’? (b)

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”

The Greatest Commandment

(Deuteronomy 6:1–19; Matthew 22:34–40)

One of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ (c) This is the first commandment.

The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (d) There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he;

and to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, 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.”

When 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.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

(Matthew 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44)

Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

For 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.”’ (e)

Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

(Luke 20:45–47)

In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,

and to get the best seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts,

those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

(Luke 21:1–4)

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.

A poor widow came and she cast in two small brass coins,(f) which equal a quadrans coin.(g)

He 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,

for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”

Footnotes

(a)12:11 ℘ Psalms 118:22-23

(b)12:26 ℘ Exodus 3:6

(d)12:31 ℘ Leviticus 19:18

(e)12:36 ℘ Psalms 110:1

(f)12:42 literally, lepta (or widow’s mites). Lepta are very small brass coins worth half a quadrans each, which is a quarter of the copper assarion. Lepta are worth less than 1% of an agricultural worker’s daily wages.

(g)12:42 A quadrans is a coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius is about one day’s wages for an agricultural laborer.