Mark 12

Mark 12:1

F. Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (12:1-12) 12:1 The Lord Jesus was not through with the Jewish authorities, even if He had refused to answer their question. He now delivered, in the form of parables, a stinging indictment of them for their rejection of God’s Son. The man who planted a vineyard was God Himself. The vineyard was the place of privilege then occupied by Israel. The hedge was the Law of Moses, which separated Israel from the Gentiles and preserved them as a distinct people for the Lord. The vinedressers were the religious leaders, such as the Pharisees, the scribes and the elders. 12:2-5 Repeatedly, God sent His servants, the prophets, to the people of Israel, seeking fellowship, holiness, and love. But the people persecuted the prophets and killed some of them. 12:6-8 Finally God sent His beloved Son. Surely they would respect Him. But they didn’t. They plotted against Him and finally killed Him. Thus the Lord predicted His own death and exposed His guilty murderers. 12:9 What would God do with such wicked men? He would destroy them and give the place of privilege to others. The others here may refer to the Gentiles, or to the repentant remnant of Israel in the last days. 12:10, 11 All this was in fulfillment of the OT Scriptures. In Psa_118:22-23, for example, it was prophesied that the Messiah would be rejected by the Jewish leaders in their building plans. They would have no place for this Stone. But following His death, He would be raised from the dead and given the place of preeminence by God. He would be made the chief cornerstone in God’s building. 12:12 The Jewish leaders got the point. They believed that Psalms 118 spoke of the Messiah. Now they heard the Lord Jesus applying it to Himself. They sought to lay hands on Him, but His time had not come. The multitude would have taken sides with Jesus. So the religious leaders left Him for the time being.

Mark 12:13

G. Rendering to Caesar and to God (12:13-17) Chapter 12 contains attacks on the Lord by the Pharisees and Herodians and by the Sadducees. It is a chapter of questions. (See vv. 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 26, 28, 35, 37.) 12:13, 14 The Pharisees and the Herodians, bitter foes, were now brought together by a common hatred of the Savior. They desperately tried to inveigle Him into saying something which they could use as a charge against Him. So they asked Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to the Roman government. No Jews particularly enjoyed living under Gentile rule. The Pharisees hated it with a passion, whereas the Herodians adopted a more tolerant view. If Jesus openly endorsed paying tribute to Caesar, He would alienate many of the Jews. If He spoke against Caesar, they would hustle Him to the Roman authorities for arrest and trial as a traitor. 12:15, 16 Jesus asked someone to bring Him a denarius. (Apparently He Himself did not have one.) The coin bore the image of Tiberius Caesar, a reminder to the Jews that they were a conquered, subject people. Why were they in this condition? Because of their unfaithfulness and sin. They should have been humbled at having to admit that the coins they used bore the image of a Gentile dictator. 12:17 Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. Their great failure had not been in the first area but in the second. They had paid their Roman taxes, though reluctantly, but had disregarded the claims of God on their lives. The coin had Caesar’s image on it, and therefore belonged to Caesar. Man has God’s image on himGod created man in His own image (Gen_1:26-27)and therefore belongs to God. The believer is to obey and support the government under which he lives. He is not to speak evil of his rulers or work to overthrow the government. He is to pay taxes and pray for those in authority. If called on to do anything that would violate his higher loyalty to Christ, he is to refuse and to bear the punishment. The claims of God must come first. In upholding those claims, the Christian should always maintain a good testimony before the world.

Mark 12:18

H. The Sadducees and Their Resurrection Riddle (12:18-27) 12:18 The Sadducees were the liberals or rationalists of that day. They scoffed at the idea of bodily resurrection. So they came to the Lord with a preposterous story, trying to ridicule the whole idea. 12:19 They reminded Jesus that the Law of Moses made special provision for widows in Israel. In order to preserve the family name and to keep the property in the family, the Law stipulated that if a man died childless, his brother should marry the widow (Deu_25:5-10). 12:20-23 Here was a fantastic case in which a woman married seven brothers, one after the other. Then last of all she died. Now for their clever question! Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?12:24 They thought they were smart; the Savior told them they were abysmally ignorant of both the Scriptures which teach resurrection and the power of God which raises the dead. 12:25 First they should know that the marriage relationship does not continue in heaven. Believers will recognize one another in heaven and will not lose their distinctions as men and women, but they will neither marry nor give in marriage. In that respect, they will resemble the angels in heaven. 12:26, 27 Then our Lord took the Sadducees, who valued the books of Moses above the rest of the OT, back to the account of Moses at the burning bush (Exo_3:6). There God spoke of Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The Savior used this to show that God was the God of the living, not of the dead. But how so? Weren’t Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dead when God appeared to Moses? Yes, their bodies were in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. How then is God the God of the living? The argument seems to be this:

1. God had made promises to the patriarchs concerning the land and concerning the Messiah.
2. These promises were not fulfilled during their lifetimes.
3. When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, the bodies of the patriarchs were in the grave.
4. Yet God spoke of Himself as the God of the living.
5. He must fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6. Therefore, resurrection is an absolute necessity from what we know of the character of God. And so the Lord’s parting word to the Sadducees was, You are therefore greatly mistaken.

Mark 12:28

I. The Great Commandment (12:28-34) 12:28 One of the scribes, impressed by our Lord’s adroit handling of His critic’s questions, asked Jesus which is the most important commandment. It was an honest question, and, in some ways, life’s most basic question. He was really asking for a concise statement of the chief aim of man’s existence. 12:29 Jesus began by quoting from the Shema, a Jewish statement of faith taken from Deu_6:4 : Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.12:30 Then He summed up man’s responsibility to God: Love Him with the entirety of one’s heart, soul, mind and strength. God is to have the supreme place in man’s life. No other love can be allowed to rival love for God. 12:31 The other half of the Ten Commandments teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to love God more than ourselves, and our neighbor as ourselves. Thus, the life that really counts is concerned first with God, then with others. Material things are not mentioned. God is important and people are important. 12:32, 33 The scribe agreed heartily, stating with commendable clarity that love to God and to one’s neighbor were far more important than rituals. He realized that people could go through religious ceremonies and put on a public display of piety without inward, personal holiness. He acknowledged that God is concerned with what a man is inwardly as well as outwardly. 12:34 When Jesus heard this remarkable observation, He told the scribe that he was not far from the kingdom of God. True subjects of the kingdom do not try to deceive God, their fellow-men, or themselves with external religion. Realizing that God looks on the heart, they go to Him for cleansing from sin and for power to live in a manner pleasing to Him. After this, no one dared to trap the Lord Jesus by asking Him leading questions.

Mark 12:35

J. David’s Son Is David’s Lord (12:35-37) The scribes had always taught that the Messiah would be a lineal descendant of David. Though true, this was not the whole truth. So the Lord Jesus now posed a problem to those gathered around Him in the temple court. In Psa_110:1, David spoke of the coming Messiah as his Lord. How could this be? How could the Messiah be David’s Son and his Lord at the same time? To us the answer is clear. The Messiah would be both Man and God. As David’s Son, He would be human. As David’s Lord, He would be divine. The common people heard Him gladly. Apparently they were willing to accept the fact, even if they might not have understood it fully. But nothing is said of the Pharisees and scribes. Their silence is ominous.

Mark 12:38

K. Warning against the Scribes (12:38-40) 12:38, 39 The scribes were outwardly religious. They loved to parade in long robes. This distinguished them from the common herd and gave them a sanctimonious appearance. They loved to be greeted with high sounding titles in public places. It did something for their ego! They sought the places of honor in the synagogues, as if physical location had something to do with godliness. They not only wanted religious prominence, but social distinction as well. They wanted the best places at feasts. 12:40 Inwardly they were greedy and insincere. They robbed widows of property and livelihood in order to enrich themselves, pretending the money was for the Lord! They recited long prayersgreat swelling words of vanityprayers of words alone. In short, they loved peculiarity (long robes); popularity (greetings); prominence (best seats); priority (best places); possessions (widows’ houses); mock piety (long prayers).

Mark 12:41

L. The Widow’s Two Mites (12:41-44) In vivid contrast to the scribes’ avarice was this widow’s devotion. They devoured widows’ houses; she gave all that she had to the Lord. The incident shows the omniscience of the Lord. Watching the rich people dropping sizable gifts into the chest for the temple treasury, He knew that their giving did not represent a sacrifice. They gave out of their abundance. Knowing also that the two mites she gave was her livelihood, He announced that she gave more than all the rest put together. As regards monetary value, she gave very little. But the Lord estimates giving by our motive, our means, and by how much we have left. This is a great encouragement to those who have few material possessions, but a great desire to give to Him. Amazing how we can approve the widow’s action and agree with the Savior’s verdict without imitating her example! If we really believed what we say we believe, we would do exactly what she did. Her gift expressed her conviction that all belonged to the Lord, that He was worthy of all, that He must have all. Many Christians today would criticize her for not providing for her future. Did this show a lack of foresight and prudence? So men would argue. But this is the life of faithplunging all into the work of God now and trusting Him for the future. Did He not promise to provide for those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mat_6:33)? Radical? Revolutionary? Unless we see that the teachings of Christ are radical and revolutionary, we have missed the emphasis of His ministry.