SCRIPTURE: MARK 12
THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS (vs. 1-12)
A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug as a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, but all were beaten and killed. Finally, he sent his beloved son saying, “They will respect my son” (v. 6) But the tenants said to one another. “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. ” (v. 7). So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. The owner of the vineyard came and killed those tenants and gave the vineyard to others. Jesus said: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (v. 10). Because the Pharisees knew Jesus had spoken the parable against them, so they looked for a way to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
PAYING TAXES TO CAESAR (vs. 13-17)
Some Pharisees and Herodians came to Jesus and asked: “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” (vs. 14-15) Jesus answered: “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” (vs. 15-16) So they brought the coin, and he asked them. “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” (v. 16). They replied, “Caesar’s”. Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (v. 17)
MARRIAGE AT THE RESURRECTION (vs. 18-27)
The Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection came to Jesus with a question. They said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third until the seventh. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” (19-23) Jesus replied. “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising – have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the god of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the living. You are badly mistaken!” (vs. 24-27)
THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT (vs. 28-34)
One of the teachers of the law asked Jesus: “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (v. 28) Jesus answered: “The most important one is this: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (vs. 29-31)
WHOSE SON IS THE CHRIST? (vs. 35-40)
While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “The Lord said to my Lord. “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”: David himself calls him ‘Lord’. How can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Then Jesus taught: “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the market places,, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ house and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” (vs. 38-40)
THE WIDOW’S OFFERING (vs. 41-44)
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” (vs. 43-44)
THOUGHTS:
The meaning of The Parable of the Tenants:
The man who planted the vineyard is God. The vineyard is the nation of Israel. The tenant formers are Israel’s religious leaders. The servants are the prophets and priests who remained faithful to God. The son is Jesus and the others are the Gentiles. By telling this story, Jesus exposed the religious leader’s plot to kill him and warned that their sins would be punished.
Jesus referred to himself as the stone rejected by the builders and the builders are the Jewish leaders. But He would become the cornerstone of a new building – the church. The cornerstone was used as a base to make sure the other stones of the building were straight and level. Likewise, Jesus’ life and teachings would be the church foundation.
The Jews hated to pay taxes to Rome because the money supported their oppressions and symbolized their subjection. But anyone who did not pay taxes will face harsh penalties. The Pharisees and supporters of Herod wanted to trap Jesus with the tax question. A ‘Yes” answer would mean he supported Rome which the people were against. But a “no” answer would bring accusations of treason and rebellion against Rome and lead to civil penalties. But Jesus answered wisely, exposing their self-interest and wrong motives. He used the image of the coin to explain that since the coin had the image of Herod, it should be given to him. In the same manner, we are created in the image of God. So, our life belongs to God. Are you giving to God all that is rightfully his?
According to the Old Testament law, when a man died without a son, his brother had to marry the widow and produce children to care for her and allow the family line to continue. The first son of this marriage was considered the heir of the dead man. So the Sadducees asked Jesus a question about resurrection. Jesus’ answer was: They will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. And God is not the God of the dead but of the living.
Jesus summarized the 10 commandments of the Old Testament into two simple principles: Love God and love others.
Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 to show that David considered the Messiah to be his Lord, not just his son. The religious leaders did not understand that the Messiah would be far more than a human descendant of David. He would be God himself in human form.
The religious leaders were hypocrites. They wanted to gain status, recognition and respect through their pious action. But they exploited people, cheated the poor and took advantage of the rich. Jesus exposed their impure motives and warned against trying to make a good impression. As followers of Christ, we must not show spirituality by reading the Bible, praying in public to be noticed or honored. Live for Christ even if no one is looking.
The punishment for the teachers of religious law would be especially severe because they were responsible for shaping the faith of the people. But they saddled people with petty rules, while they live greedily and deceitfully. Their behavior oppressed and misled the very people they were supposed to lead.
At the temple court, Jesus saw people put on their offerings. A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. But Jesus valued her giving even the amount was so minimal. The value of a gift is not determined by its amount but by the spirit in which it is given. When you give to God, give out of gratitude and a spirit of generosity.,