Bible Verse Synopsis 7-11-25
Mark 12:
Jesus opens this chapter with a parable, instead of speaking plainly as He had before. Verse 1 says: “A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the wine fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.” At the time of harvest, the man sent a servant to receive the fruit of the vineyard. The husbandmen caught and beat the servant and sent him away with nothing. The second servant sent was hit by stones thrown by the husbandmen and sent away empty handed as well. He sent another, and any others after him, and they killed or beat them all. Verse 6 says: “Having ye therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.” Verse 7 continues: “But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.” They killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. The lord of the vineyard, will come and destroy the husbandmen and give it to others. The certain man is God. The vineyard is His and symbolizes the world given to man and more specifically the Word of God given to Israel. The servants are His prophets and their lessons. Israel cast them aside for the gain of themselves. The well beloved son is, of course, Jesus. The Pharisees represent the husbandmen and those who twist the Word of God. They will kill Him and cast Him out of the city, as we know happens. Do we treat the Word as the Pharisees did? Do we give God the glory and accept His prophets and His Son? In what way can you better accept the Lord?
Verse 10 continues the parable laden attack directed toward the Pharisees: “And have you not read this Scripture; The Stone which the builders rejected is become the Head of the Corner.” Jesus is the stone spoken of and He is rejected by the builders or leaders of the Temple. Jesus is the entire basis of our Salvation. He is our Savior. Without Him, we are destined for a life of sin. Do you recognize Jesus in this way? The Pharisees could not and went their way, away from Him. They knew this parable was spoken against them and sought to capture Him but could not. They feared the backlash of the people. This leads to them conspiring in secret of the ways to capture Jesus and do exactly as He said they would. Are we so stubborn in our ways that we cannot hear the Lord speaking to us, even through His parables?
The Herodians and Pharisees sent their wisest minds to trap Jesus. They asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar. Is it lawful to do so? In Verse 17 Jesus answers: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him.” Jesus separates Church and State into two different entities. I prefer to look at it as Christ says it; the things of this world belong in this world, and the things that are enteral, our hearts and souls, belong to God. Do you give to God the things that are His? Do you keep the things of this world as though they are eternal?
The Sadducees also approached Jesus with a trap. They quote Deuteronomy to Him in Verse 19 saying: “If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.” They continue to draw upon this line asking if the man has six brothers and all six die and take his wife without conceiving a son, whose wife is the man’s in the Resurrection. These men denied the Resurrection in Verse 18, so they did not believe, in spite of their supposed knowledge of the Word. Jesus answers them in Verse 24: “ Do you not therefore err, because you know not the Scriptures, neither the Power of God?” Marriage was made by God to perpetuate the human race. In Heaven there will be no need for procreation, and therefore not marriage either. Not that we won’t be with our spouse, but that marriage is not necessary, as an institution, in Heaven. In Verse 26, Jesus spoke to them of what Moses was told by God in the burning bush. God said: “ I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The words “I am” speaks of the God of the living. If these men were not living, God would have said “I was”, not “I am”. God is the God of the Living. Are you alive in God?
A Scribe approached Jesus and asked Him in Verse 28: “which is the First Commandment of all?” He didn’t ask this in spite or as a trick but in sincerity. Jesus answered with the same clarity in Verse 29 and 30: “The first of all the Commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.” “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: this is the First Commandment.” Jesus continues on in Verse 31: “And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is none other Commandment greater than these.” The Scribe recognized this as the truth and said as much. When Jesus recognized that his question and subsequent answer was sincere, He told him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. This man took advantage of the ability to ask Christ a true question. A question that helps us to clarify what God needs most from us. We all will fall short, but through our love for Him we are saved. How did you fall short today? Are you any further from the Kingdom of God?
In the Temple, Jesus continues to teach. The Pharisees must have been present for this as well as a great crowd of people. Verse 36 says: “For David himself said by the Holy Spirt, the LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on My Right Hand, til I make Your enemies Your footstool.” This verse confirms that the Holy Spirit was in David in his writings and therefore also with all the other prophets, both Old and New Testament alike. It also confirms that Christ is God! The Scribes themselves called Jesus the Son of David. There is only one way that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God. He is God brought forth to us as man. The people heard Him with great joy in their hearts. Do we also rejoice at this great news?
Jesus continued to teach in Verse 38: “Beware of the Scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplace.” This was in Christ’s doctrine, not the doctrine of the Jews and their corruption. These men sought power and wealth and did not seek the truth of the Lord. Jesus is making examples of these men. He shows how their behavior is greedy and self serving, when they had made a covenant with the Lord to serve Him. Do we keep our covenant with the Lord?
Jesus sat by the treasury of the Temple and observed the people and how they gave. The rich men give with large display, making it known how much they give. There comes a poor woman forward and gives 2 mites. Verse 43 and 44 say: “And He called unto Him His Disciples and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow has cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury.” “For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” God doesn’t judge our giving by the amount we give, He judges us by our motives to give. Are you inspired to give in the name of God?