Mark 12:1-15 ▼

1 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.

2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them.

3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.

6 He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

10 Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

11 This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes? ”

12 They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.

14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we? ”

15 But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”