The Gospel According to St. Mark

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 12 -

(Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–18)

And He began to speak to them in allegories: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around, and dug a wine vat, and built a tower, and gave it out to farmers, and went abroad;

and he sent to the farmers at the due time a servant, that from the farmers he may receive from the fruit of the vineyard,

and they, having taken him, severely beat [him], and sent him away empty.

And again he sent to them another servant, and having cast stones at that one, they wounded [him] in the head, and sent [him] away—dishonored.

And again he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, some beating, and some killing.

Having yet therefore one son—his beloved—he also sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son;

and those farmers said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and the inheritance will be ours;

and having taken him, they killed, and cast [him] forth outside 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.

And this Writing you did not read: A stone that the builders rejected, it became the head of a corner;

this was from the LORD, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”

And they were seeking to lay hold on Him, and they feared the multitude, for they knew that He spoke the allegory against them, and having left Him, they went away;

Paying Taxes to Caesar

(Matthew 22:15–22; Luke 20:19–26)

and they send to Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they may ensnare Him in discourse,

and they having come, say to Him, “Teacher, we have known that You are true, and You are not caring for anyone, for You do not look to the face of men, but in truth teach the way of God; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? May we give, or may we not give?”

And He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you tempt Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I may see”;

and they brought, and He says to them, “Whose [is] this image, and the inscription?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s”;

and Jesus answering said to them, “Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God”; and they wondered at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

(Matthew 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40)

And the Sadducees come to Him, who say there is not a resurrection, and they questioned Him, saying,

“Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if anyone’s brother may die, and may leave a wife, and may leave no children, that his brother may take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.

There were then seven brothers, and the first took a wife, and dying, he left no seed;

and the second took her, and died, not having left seed, and the third in like manner,

and the seven took her, and left no seed, last of all the woman also died;

in the resurrection, then, whenever they may rise, of which of them will she be wife—for the seven had her as wife?”

And Jesus answering said to them, “Do you not go astray because of this, not knowing the Writings, nor the power of God?

For when they may rise out of the dead, they neither marry nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers who are in the heavens.

And concerning the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the Scroll of Moses (at the bush), how God spoke to him, saying, I [am] the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;

He is not the God of dead men, but a God of living men; you then go greatly astray.”

The Greatest Commandment

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

And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that He answered them well, questioned Him, “Which is the first command of all?”

And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commands—Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one;

and you will love the LORD your God out of all your heart, and out of all your soul, and out of all your understanding, and out of all your strength—this [is] the first command;

and the second [is] like [it], this, You will love your neighbor as yourself—there is no other command greater than these.”

And the scribe said to Him, “Well, Teacher, in truth You have spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He;

and to love Him out of all the heart, and out of all the understanding, and out of all the soul, and out of all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, is more than all the whole burnt-offerings and the sacrifices.”

And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God”; and no one dared question Him anymore.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

(Matthew 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44)

And Jesus answering said, teaching in the temple, “How do the scribes say that the Christ is son of David?

For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The LORD said to my Lord, || Sit on My right hand, || Until I place Your enemies—Your footstool;

therefore David himself calls Him Lord, and from where is He his son?” And the great multitude were hearing Him gladly,

Beware of the Scribes

(Luke 20:45–47)

and He was saying to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes who will to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

and first seats in the synagogues, and first couches at the banquets,

who are devouring the widows’ houses, and for a pretense are making long prayers; these will receive more abundant judgment.”

The Widow’s Offering

(Luke 21:1–4)

And Jesus having sat down opposite the treasury, was beholding how the multitude puts brass into the treasury, and many rich were putting in much,

and having come, a poor widow put in two mites, which are a penny.

And having called near His disciples, He says to them, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those putting into the treasury;

for all, out of their abundance, put in, but she, out of her want, put in all that she had—all her living.”

(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.