Mark 12

1Then Jesus began to teach them with a teaching story: A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away to another country.

2At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit.

3But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him away with nothing.

4So the man sent another servant. They hit this one on the head and treated him shamefully.

5He sent another, and they killed him. He sent many others. Some they beat, and some they killed.

6The man had one person left to send — his own dear son. Last of all he sent him, thinking: They will respect my son.

7But the farmers said to each other: This is the one who will inherit the vineyard. Come, let us kill him, and the vineyard will be ours.

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

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

10Have you not read this Scripture? The stone the builders threw away has become the most important stone.

11The Lord did this, and it is wonderful in our eyes.

12The leaders knew that Jesus had told this teaching story against them. So they wanted to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

13Later they sent some Pharisees and some followers of Herod to Jesus, to trap Him with His own words.

14They came and said to Him: Teacher, we know you are honest. You are not afraid of anyone, because you do not care who they are. You teach the way of God truthfully. Tell us: is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or not?

15But Jesus knew they were only pretending. Jesus said to them: Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it.

16They brought one, and Jesus asked them: Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it? They answered: Caesar's.

17Then Jesus said to them: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. And they were amazed at Him.

18Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. (The Sadducees say that people do not rise from the dead.) They asked Him:

19Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.

20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without children.

21The second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. The same thing happened to the third.

22None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died too.

23Now when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be? All seven were married to her.

24Jesus answered: You are wrong, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

25When people rise from the dead, they will not marry. They will be like the angels in heaven.

26Now about the dead rising — have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story of the burning bush, how God said to Moses: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken.

28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them arguing. He saw that Jesus had given them a good answer, so he asked: Which command is the most important of all?

29Jesus answered: The most important command is this: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.

30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

31The second command is this: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. No command is greater than these.

32The man said: Well said, Teacher. You are right that God is one and that there is no other besides Him.

33And to love Him with all your heart, all your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself — this is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. Jesus said to him: You are not far from God's kingdom. After that, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

35While Jesus was teaching in the temple, Jesus asked: Why do the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?

36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet.

37David himself calls Him Lord. So how can the Christ be His son? And the large crowd listened to Jesus gladly.

38As Jesus taught, Jesus said: Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.

39They love the most important seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts.

40They cheat widows out of their homes, and then they say long prayers to look good. These men will be punished all the more.

41Jesus sat down across from the temple money box and watched the crowd putting in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts.

42Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth only a penny.

43Jesus called His disciples to Him and said: I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

44They all gave out of what they had to spare. But she, out of her poverty, gave everything she had — all she had to live on.