Mark 12:1-15 ▼

1 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A PIT FOR THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.

2 When the harvest season came he sent a servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

4 Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully.

5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed.

6 He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’

8 So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.

9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REGARDED AS UNWORTHY and REJECTED, THIS [very stone] HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE

11 THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS and WONDERFUL IN OUR EYES’?”

12 And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].

14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the poll-tax to [Tiberius] Caesar, or not?

15 Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a coin (denarius) to look at.”