Mark 12
Jesus Makes Charges Against The Scribes
Jesus asks a very important question of: Who is the Messiah (v. 35)? Then he quotes (Psa. 110:1) to show that David considered the Messiah to be his Lord, not just his son (v. 36). The religious leaders did not understand that the Messiah would be far more than a human descendant …
“You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.”
The Jews were required to obey 613 precepts in the Law; 365 negative precepts and 248 positive ones. One of their favorite exercises was discussing which of these divine commandments was the greatest. Here we find a scribe asking Jesus which commandment is the most important (v. …
Whose Wife Shall She Be in The Resurrection?
After Jesus had silenced the Pharisees and Herodians, the Sadducees try their hand at trapping Him. It has been said that the Pharisees were the ritualists, the Herodians the politicians, and the Sadducees the rationalists. This is the only time in Mark’s gospel that the Sad …
Pharisees Ask Jesus About Paying Poll Tax
Herod the Great ruled all of Palestine as a Roman King. When he died in 4 B.C. his kingdom was divided into three parts of which Archelaus was given Judea and Samaria. He was a failure and in 6 A.D. the Romans stepped in and made Cyrenius governor with direct rule. This placed th …
Jesus Tells About The Owner Of a Vineyard
Jesus begins to speak to the people in parables (v. 1). He tells how an owner rented his vineyard out to tenant farmers or vine-dressers on a crop basis and then he went to stay in another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to collect his share of the crop. Instead of sharing …