Bible School · The Gospels · Class 40 of 89

Questions in the temple: the beloved son, Caesar, the resurrection and the greatest commandment

Mark 12 · about 20 minutes

By the end of this class you should be able to

Explain the parable of the tenants as Jesus' retelling of Isaiah 5 and as a claim about himself.
Describe each of the four questions put to Jesus in the temple and the answer he gives.
Explain how Jesus uses Exodus 3, Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19, and Psalm 110, in his answers.
State what Jesus' question about David's son and David's Lord asserts about the Christ.
Contrast the scribes who seek honour with the widow who gives all, and see how this sets up chapter 13.

Read the passage

12Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. ²At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. ³But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵He sent still another, and this one they killed. He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed. ⁶Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. ⁷But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ¹¹This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” ¹²At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away. ¹³Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words. ¹⁴“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?” ¹⁵But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.” ¹⁶So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. ¹⁷Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him. ¹⁸Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him: ¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁰Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children. ²¹Then the second one married the widow, but he also died and left no children. And the third did likewise. ²²In this way, none of the seven left any children. And last of all, the woman died. ²³In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.” ²⁴Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. ²⁶But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘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!” ²⁸Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” ³²“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, ³³and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further. ³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ ³⁷David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?” And the large crowd listened to Him with delight. ³⁸In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.” ⁴¹As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts. ⁴²Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius. ⁴³Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. ⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Open Mark 12 in the reader (BSB)

01Background

continues the series of confrontations in the temple during the last week of Jesus' life (-). The book is anonymous, but tradition from Papias, reported by Eusebius, ascribes it to Mark, Peter's interpreter, usually identified with John Mark (). Critical scholars debate this: some accept a link to Peter, others see Mark as an editor of church tradition. The usual date is the late 60s, with a minority arguing for the 50s or for just after AD 70. The book was probably written for a largely Gentile audience, perhaps in Rome, and its purpose is to present Jesus as the Christ and Son of God whose identity is found in suffering. is the book's fullest picture of the conflict that ends in the cross.

The setting is, on Mark's sequence, the Tuesday of the last week, in the courts of the temple, where the Sanhedrin's three groups, the chief priests, scribes and elders, have already challenged Jesus' authority (). Four groups follow with traps or questions: Pharisees and Herodians, Sadducees, and a scribe. Pharisees were teachers who emphasised the oral and written Law and a hope of resurrection. Herodians were supporters of the Herod family and its rule under Rome. Sadducees were mostly priestly aristocrats, closely tied to the temple, who, according to Josephus and later writers, accepted only the five books of Moses as binding and denied the resurrection.

The same material appears in and . Matthew makes the greatest-commandment question a test from a lawyer and adds that the kingdom will be given to a nation producing its fruits. Luke has a related exchange with a lawyer elsewhere, in , which leads into the parable of the Good Samaritan. On the synoptic problem, most scholars hold that Matthew and Luke drew on Mark and on other sources; a minority hold that Mark abbreviated Matthew.

02Outline

The parable of the tenants and the rejected stone
Caesar and God: the question about taxes
The Sadducees and the resurrection
The greatest commandment
David's son and David's Lord
A warning about the scribes
The widow's two coins

03How to read it

combines a parable, four controversy stories and two short scenes about the scribes and a widow. The controversy story is a recognised form: a question is put, often as a trap, and Jesus answers with a counter-question, a quotation of Scripture, or a saying that turns the question round. The reader should look for what the answer reveals about the questioners and about Jesus. All the stories take place in public, in the temple, and all lead toward the decision of the leaders to kill him.

Two features help.

First, the chapter is full of Scripture, and the way Jesus quotes it is part of his argument. He cites , , , , and , and each is read in its own context.
Second, the parable of the tenants is an allegory in which each part has a meaning, which is not true of every parable. Its form is taken from , the song of the vineyard, which every hearer in the temple knew. The owner is God, the vineyard is Israel, the servants are the prophets, and the son is Jesus. The leaders see this immediately ().

The reading of the parable of the tenants as an allegory has been challenged by some critical scholars, who argue it was a later church creation. Others note that the allegorical features are present in the Isaiah source, and that Jesus' hearers would have found them there. This class follows the second view.

04What the text says

Verses 1–12

Jesus begins to speak in parables to the chief priests, scribes and elders. A man plants a vineyard, puts a wall around it, digs a winepress and builds a tower, the details of . He leases it to tenants and goes away. At harvest he sends a servant for his share of the fruit. The tenants beat the servant and send him away empty, then wound another, then kill another, and so with many more. The owner has one left, a beloved son, and sends him last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' The tenants say, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' They kill him and throw him out of the vineyard. Jesus asks what the owner will do. He will come, destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Jesus then quotes -23: the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, the Lord's doing, marvellous in our eyes. The leaders want to arrest him but fear the crowd, for they knew the parable was about them.

Verses 13–17

Pharisees and Herodians come to trap him with a question: is it lawful to pay the poll tax to Caesar? The tax was commonly reckoned at a denarius per person paid to Rome, and it was resented by many Jews, because it was a sign of foreign rule. To say no would bring a charge of revolt; to say yes would offend the crowds. Jesus asks for a denarius and asks whose image and inscription it bears. 'Caesar's.' He says, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.' They marvel. The saying acknowledges that Rome's coin belongs to Rome, and sets a limit: God's claim is on what bears his image. Some interpreters hear here an echo of , where humans are made in God's image, but Mark does not say so.

Verses 18–27

Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, put a case from the law of levirate marriage (): seven brothers marry the same widow in turn. In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? Jesus says they are wrong because they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. In the age to come people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, he points to the passage about the burning bush, where God says to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob' (). God is not the God of the dead but of the living. The argument goes to the Torah itself, the Sadducees' own authority, and finds resurrection implied in God's covenant faithfulness.

Verses 28–34

A scribe, impressed by Jesus' answers, asks which commandment is first of all. Jesus answers with the Shema, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one' (), to love God with all heart, soul, mind and strength, and adds a second, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself' (). There is no commandment greater than these. The scribe agrees and says that to love God and neighbour is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices, a theme found in and . Jesus tells him he is not far from the kingdom of God. No one dared ask him any more questions.

Verses 35–37

Jesus now asks his own. How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet' (). David calls him Lord, so how is he his son? The crowd listens gladly. Jesus does not deny that the Christ is David's son, since Bartimaeus has just called him that (). He asks how the Messiah can also be David's Lord.

Verses 38–40

In his teaching Jesus warns against scribes who like to walk in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplace, and to have the best seats and places at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for show make long prayers. These will receive the greater condemnation.

Verses 41–44

Jesus sits opposite the treasury and watches people put in money. Many rich put in large sums. A poor widow puts in two small copper coins, worth a tiny fraction of a denarius. He calls his disciples and says she has put in more than all the others, for they gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.

05Key terms

beloved son huios agapetos: The title the Father gave Jesus at his baptism () and the transfiguration (). In the parable it marks the owner's last and dearest appeal.
cornerstone kephale gonias: Literally 'head of the corner', either a foundation stone or a capstone. speaks of a rejected stone made the principal stone.
image eikon: The likeness stamped on the coin. The same word is used in the Greek Old Testament of humans made in God's image ().
the power of God dynamis tou theou: Jesus says the Sadducees' error concerns God's power as well as Scripture: the God who made life can raise the dead.
love agapao: Love as a decision of will and commitment, not only feeling. It translates the Hebrew ahav in and in the Greek Old Testament.
Lord kyrios: In the first 'Lord' stands for the divine name and the second for David's lord, the Messiah. Jesus asks his hearers to explain how David can call his son by that title.

06In the whole Bible

gathers several doctrines. The parable of the tenants teaches that God has a purpose for Israel, that he is patient with those who reject his messengers, and that his judgment is sure. It repeats a pattern found in the Old Testament, where the prophets are mistreated (; ). It also states that the final word of God is spoken in his Son ().

The answer to the Sadducees teaches the resurrection of the dead. The doctrine grows in the Old Testament from passages like and , and Jesus grounds it in the character of the covenant God, who does not abandon those to whom he has bound himself. The answer about Caesar teaches that civil authority has a place but not the highest place; Paul in and Peter in teach the same, and shows its limit.

The summary of the Law in two commands is basic to biblical ethics: love for God, taken from the Shema, and love for neighbour, taken from the holiness code. Paul can say that love fulfils the law (). Finally, the widow's gift raises the biblical theme that God looks at the heart and at what is given in relation to what is held back, as in .

07Where Christ is

The parable of the tenants is among Jesus' clearest statements about himself. He is the owner's one beloved son, the same words the Father used at his baptism and the transfiguration. He places himself after the long line of servants, the prophets, and above them. He predicts his own death in the tenants' act of killing the heir and throwing him out of the vineyard. And he quotes to say that the rejected one will be made the cornerstone. The early church used the same psalm for his rejection and vindication (; ). This is fulfilment, and Jesus himself makes the claim.

The question about David's son and David's Lord is the climax of the chapter. speaks of the Lord inviting David's Lord to sit at his right hand. By asking how the Messiah can be both David's descendant and David's Lord, Jesus points to a Messiah who is more than a son of David. The New Testament answers by applying the psalm to the risen and exalted Christ (; ; ). Jesus will cite the same psalm at his trial ().

An echo, labelled as such, appears in the widow, who gave 'all she had to live on' (the Greek says 'her whole life'). Her giving of everything anticipates Jesus' own giving of his life in the chapters that follow. Mark does not draw this link, but his placing of the story between the teaching and the passion invites it. The scribe who is 'not far' from the kingdom also reminds the reader that the love of God and neighbour is brought to completion in Christ, who loves the Father fully and gives himself for others.

08Review questions

What parts of the parable of the tenants correspond to , and who does Jesus show himself to be in the story?
How does Jesus avoid the trap in the question about taxes, and what two claims does his answer recognise?
What passage from the Torah does Jesus use to argue for the resurrection, and why does that suit the Sadducees?
Which two commandments does Jesus join in answer to the scribe, and from which books of the Law do they come?
What does say, and how does Jesus use it to ask a question about the Christ?

Prepared with AI assistance. A scholar's review is still to come; if you spot anything to correct, please tell us.