Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 53
M AR K 12
page 909
elders came up to him. 28 They demanded, “By
what authority are you doing all these things?
Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these
things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.
30 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from
heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
31 They talked it over among themselves. “If
we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we
didn’t believe John. 32 But do we dare say it was
merely human?” For they were afraid of what
the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. 33 So they finally
replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you
by what authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Evil Farmers
Then Jesus began teaching them with
stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He
built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing
out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower.
Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the
time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his
servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But
the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up,
and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner
then sent another servant, but they insulted
him and beat him over the head. 5 The next
servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were
either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only
one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The
owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they
will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another,
‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill
him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they
grabbed him and murdered him and threw his
body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will
come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the
Scriptures?
12
11
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’*”
12 The religious leaders* wanted to arrest
Jesus because they realized he was telling the
story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they
left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and
supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying
something for which he could be arrested.
12:10-11 Ps 118:22-23. 12:12 Greek They.
a denarius. 12:19 See Deut 25:5-6.
12:15 Greek
14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest
you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now
tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said,
“Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a
Roman coin,* and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they
handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and
title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what
belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no
resurrection from the dead. They posed this
question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that
if a man dies, leaving a wife without children,
his brother should marry the widow and have
a child who will carry on the brother’s name.*
20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers.
The oldest one married and then died without
children. 21 So the second brother married the
widow, but he also died without children. Then
the third brother married her. 22 This continued
with all seven of them, and still there were no
children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So
tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you
don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know
the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise,
• Prayer
MAR K 1 1 :22-23
These words of Jesus do not mean we
can automatically obtain anything we
want if we just think positively. Prayer
is not some sort of cosmic blank check
from God to us. Jesus meant that anything is possible with faith because
nothing is impossible for God. To pray
a mountain into the sea has nothing
to do with God’s will, but Jesus used
that picture to say that it is possible for
God to do the impossible. God answers
prayer but not as a result of a positive
mental attitude on our part. To be in a
position for God to answer our prayers,
(1) we must be believers, (2) we must
not hold a grudge against another,
and (3) we must not pray with selfish
motives.
