Mark 12:1-30 ▼

1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey.

2 And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.

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

4 And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.

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

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

7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’

8 And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others.

10 Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE;

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

12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.

14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

15 Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”

16 And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

17 And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying,

19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother.

20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.

21 The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise;

22 and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

23 In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.”

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God?

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

26 But regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

28 One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, ISRAEL! THE LORD IS OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE;

30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’