Mark 12 - The Widow Who Gave It All!
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The Parable of the Tenants
12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “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 moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
Jesus begin to teach in parables again. Parables were short stories, which communicated principles of the Kingdom of God, through earthly analogies. They were analogies of things people would have been familiar with, in this case a vineyard. While we have to be careful to match every detail of the story with a specific meaning, there is usually a contemporaray application for those Jesus was talking to.
In this parable the owner of a vineyard rented his vineyard to some farmers. The idea was that after the grapes from the vines were harvested, the owner would collect what was due to him. But in this case, each of the servants he sent were treated in a such a hostile manner that some of them were even killed. The obvious application was the prophets God sent to the Jewish people who they mistreated and even killed.
"The owner was very patient. He sent messenger after messenger, even though they were all abused and mistreated. Because the owner of the vineyard was not present at the time, the vinedressers doubted and mocked his authority. They soon found out that even though they couldn’t see the owner, his authority was still real." - Guzik
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”
12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Finally, the owner sent his own son thinking they would respect him. Instead of respecting him, the tenants thought that by killing the son, they would inherit the vineyard. The religious leaders connected the dots and realized that he was speaking about them, which gave them even more reason to arrest Jesus. Mark quotes from Psalm 118, where the psalmist prophecies about the cornerstone which will be rejected. Later we find out this is a prophecy about Jesus.
The Son was the final messenger. There would be no other. Either they would accept the message of the Son or face certain judgment. “If you do not hear the wellbeloved Son of God, you have refused your last hope. He is God’s ultimatum. Nothing remains when Christ is refused. No one else can be sent; heaven itself contains no further messenger. If Christ be rejected, hope is rejected.” (Spurgeon)
Jesus is often likened unto a stone or a rock in the Bible. He is the rock of provision that followed Israel in the desert (1 Corinthians 10:4). He is the stone of stumbling (1 Peter 2:8). He is the stone cut without hands that crushes the kingdoms of this world (Daniel 2:45).
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[b] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
The Pharisees and the Herodians (those who served the king) started plotting against Jesus together. Though formerly they were enemies, Jesus had become their common enemy. They tried to trap him by asking him if they should pay the tax to Caesar, the Roman Emperor. If he said to not pay the tax, they would accuse him of teaching the Jews to be lawbreakers. If he told them to pay it, he would be seen as a sympathizer with Caesar, who the Jews hated.
Since the year 6 A.D. the Jews were forced to pay taxes directly into the emperor’s treasury. Some Jewish patriots (like the Zealots) refused to pay this tax because they did not want to recognize Roman rule as legitimate. Most people grudgingly paid it, but everybody hated it. It wasn’t just the money, but also the principle of paying the Roman oppressor. - Guzik
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
Whenever they tried to trapp Jesus, he asked them a question to set up his response. In this case he asked them whose inscription was on the coin. When they said "Caesar", he told them to give to God what was God's and to give to Caesar what was Caesar's. This teaching has been used as a model of how Christians relate to earthly authority.
Paul talks about this quite a bit in Romans 13. He argues that any human authority has been appointed by God to keep order in society. So Christians should be in obedience to them unless they are commanded to disobey God's will. This would be tested in the book of Acts, when the apostles were asked to stop teaching about Jesus. They told the rulers, "We must obey God and not man!" Acts 5:29
The people were amazed at Jesus' wisdom. The trap the Pharisees and other leaders set up actually had worked against them.
Marriage at the Resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
The Sadducees were like modern day liberal theologians, who deny anything which cannot explained logically. For instance, they deny Jesus' miracles and most importantly deny the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus. Since they didn't believe in the resurrection, they tried to trip Jesus up by asking him who would be a women's husband, if seven brothers married the woman and subsequently died without leaving any children. So Jesus answered,
24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[d]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
The leaders showed their ignorance by assuming our existence and relationships like marriage would be the same in heaven as they were on earth.
The Sadducees thought that if there was a resurrection, it was just this same life lived forever. With the principle when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, Jesus showed that in the age to come our lives will be lived on a completely different principle and in a dimension that we can’t imagine.
i. Many people make the same mistake as the Sadducees when it comes to their ideas about heaven. They think of heaven as just a glorious version of earth. So the Native American thought of heaven as the happy hunting ground. The ancient Viking thought of heaven as Valhalla, where they fought as warriors all day and at the end of the day all the dead and wounded rose whole again, and celebrated all night at a banquet, drinking wine from the skulls of their enemies. All these ideas mistake heaven for simply a better earth. Heaven’s life is of a different order all together.
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Once again they tried to put Jesus to the test by asking him what the greatest commandment was. This was a pretty easy one as every Jew knew it was contained within the "Shema", Deuteronomy 6:5. This would always be and still is today the greatest commandment.
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
The teacher of the law was satisfied with what Jesus had said. When he affirmed the man's answer he added, "You are not far from the kingdom of God!" What did he mean by this?
God's law is His will. When we obey the Law we are acting in accordance with His will, and we will be blessed for it. The Law represents what God's kingdom looks like. The problem is we often do not obey the Law as summed up by loving God with everything we have and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Now it was time for Jesus to ask some questions. He asked them how the Messiah could be the Son of David, while David also called him Lord. Basically Jesus is leading to the fact that He was the Son of David and Lord.
Since Jesus is the Christ, He spoke of Himself here. With the questions of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees to Jesus, they tried to trap Him. Jesus did not do the same in His questions to them; instead He got to the heart of the matter: “Do you really know who I am?” - Guzik
As Jesus makes his way to the cross, he is making it clear how he views himself. He is revealing himself as both God and man.
Jesus is not only the Son of David but also the Lord of David. As Revelation 22:16 says, He is both the root and offspring of David. With this question Jesus challenged the religious leaders, asking them “do you understand this truth about the Messiah?”
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
Jesus now has some words to say about the teachers of the Law. They are quite impressed with themselves and their lengthy prayers. Worse yet, they steal from widows. They are false shepherds. While every person will face judgement, those who have been called to faithfully shepherd the Lord's people will have a special degree of accountability. To those who have been given more, more will be required. Luke 12:48
The Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Speaking of widows, Jesus points them out as a model for sacrificial and generous giving. While the wealthy gave out of our their excess, the widow sacrificially gave everything she had. Jesus, will show us this same generosity, when he gave us everything he had on the cross.
Jesus gives us several principles of giving here.
Jesus’ principle here shows us that before God, the spirit of giving determines the value of the gift more than the amount. God doesn’t want grudgingly given money or guilt money. God loves the cheerful giver.
ii. The widow’s gift and Jesus’ comment on it also shows us that the value of a gift is determined by what it costs the giver. This is what made the widow’s gift so valuable. David refused to give God that which cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).
iii. Jesus’ principle here shows us that God does not need our money. If God needed our money, then how much we give would be more important than our heart in giving. Instead, it is our privilege to give to Him, and we need to give because it is good for us, not because it is good for God.
Does your giving resemble the widow? Does it cost you anything? Remember it is not just our money we give but our time and talents as well. Giving your time to God and his church, also shows where your treasure lies.
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