Mark Chapter 12
The Road of Warning
The Parable of the Tenants (1- 12)
Yes, they had withered and the blight was showing more and more. I think as I listened to the next words that Jesus said to them that He was still trying to show them that they were wrong without coming right out and telling them. He was so patient and kind, even to those who opposed Him. He spoke to them of God who planted a vineyard and surrounded it with a fence to protect the tenants. He also gave them a winepress to produce good fruit and built a tower so they could be on the lookout for Him when He came back. All this was given to them free of charge. They were chosen by Him to tend to the things that were His and to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But they began to change and to think that the things that were on loan to them were owned by them. When it came time for the harvest God sent some of His prophets to collect the fruit that they were supposed to be producing but when the prophets got there they could find only withered and rotten fruit. The owner told them to tell His tenants to repent and to replant and produce good fruit but the tenants would have none of it for they now believed that what was not theirs to begin with now belonged to them. Time after time the owner tried to warn them and time after time they rejected His warnings. My eyes were opened now and I could see that Jesus was trying to tell them that He was sent by God Himself to rescue them from themselves. He was the final warning. He was the foundation on which this city of Jerusalem was built. He was the cornerstone and He had proved it time and time again by the things which He said and did. Sad to say as I stood there with Him I could see that they knew exactly what He was saying to them. They understood but would have none of it for the last bit of sap that flowed through their veins, the last bit of life producing fruit drained out of them at that moment. I could see the hate fill them up as the sap drained out of them. Like the fig tree there was nothing left of the life that God was so trying to produce in them as they rejected the one who owned city. I have come across many who were drained of any life and only sought to kill the ones who would give them life. But I do not think that I have ever seen lifelessness as I saw it in those men eyes that day anywhere again.
Paying Taxes to Caesar (13 - 17)
It seemed as if the leaders never tired of trying to catch Jesus up in something. They were always trying to trick Him or trap Him in some way so that they could make themselves look good and make Him look bad. They were forever trying to find something to accuse Him with but what was so amusing to me was how it always backfired on them. Of course this just made them more determined to find fault with Him and less inclined to believe that they had any fault of their own. The following are just a few examples of their trickery. As we were standing talking we saw some of the leaders coming in all their fine dress and apparel. They walked up and said, "Teacher, (as if they really respected Him as a teacher) we know that you are not swayed by anyone's opinion but truly teach the way of God." Little did they know how true their statements were for He did teach the way of God and in their lies to His face they were speaking the truth without believing it. Anyway they said let us ask you a question, "Should we pay taxes to Caesar?" I wish you could have been there to see their faces when He answered them. Jesus simply said bring me a denarius and they did. He then said," whose inscription is on this coin?" They had to answer Caesar's. He then said," Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and the things that belong to God render unto Him." They just stood and looked at Him for they were speechless and it was not long before they all disappeared back into the dark from where they came. Then another group came it was as if they were forming a line and taking turns to see who could catch Jesus up in something. Again as you will see they only succeeded in catching up themselves.
The Sadducee Ask About the Resurrection (18 - 27)
The men called the Sadducees came strutting up to Him with a question about the resurrection of the dead a subject that I knew little about. They began to question Him not only about this resurrection but also threw the Law of Moses in with it. They said that when a man dies and leaves a widow who has no children that his brother must marry the widow and bring up offspring for his brother. To make matters more confusing they said that not only did the man's brother die but seven of his brothers married the women and also died and none had any offspring. They then stated that the widow died. My head was spinning with all this when they threw the trick in that they were aiming for all the time. They asked," In the resurrection whose wife will she be for all seven had her for a wife." I must admit that they sure had me stumped and confused. I could see the look of triumph and contempt on their faces as they looked at Jesus and waited for an answer. Jesus astounded all of us when He said to these supposed learned men, "Isn't this the reason you are wrong for you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?" Complete silence followed this statement, not a child was heard nor was a bird chirping it as if even the angels in Heaven were waiting to hear what Jesus would say next. Jesus said," for when they raise from the dead they neither marry or are given in marriage for they are like the angels in Heaven. "This was astounding but His next answer was even more astounding to me for I knew so little of the Scriptures and these men were supposed to know so much about them. Jesus said to them with an inquisitive look on His face, "as for the dead being raised have you not read in the book of Moses the passage where God spoke to Moses in the burning bush and said I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. I am the God of the living not the dead." If looks could kill we would have all been dead for when Jesus said this we all cheered out loud with Praise to the God of the living. If men could disappear into thin air those men would have done so but they only could leave with faces as red as a painted up women's lips. Later I was even more astounded because when John and I were talking he told me that the Sadducees did not even believe in the resurrection from the dead. This amazed me even more for I realized that they were not only just trying to trick Jesus up but were trying to trick Him by pretending to be interested in something ( resurrection) that they did not even believe in themselves.
The Great Commandment (28 - 34)
Not all the learned men were so callous or obstinate some were just like the rest of us who realized that we were sinners in the sight of a Holy God and needed redemption. After Jesus had made the statements about the widow woman the scribes of course began to argue amongst themselves. However one of them turned to Jesus and in a voice with respect asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important?" Jesus with mutual respect said to the scribe, "hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, and there is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe who stood their talking with Jesus with a look of humility and a voice filled with admiration answered back," you are right there is only one God and to love Him with all thy heart and with all understanding and with all thy strength and to love's one neighbor as oneself is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus quietly answered him "you are not far from the Kingdom of God." After He said that it was very quiet as no one dared to ask Him any more questions. That night I again had to pray and ask forgiveness. I now realized how often I thought that if I just obeyed the laws it would make me right with God. I realized that I could give all I could to the priests to sacrifice and burn and that did not make me right with God. It was the reason behind the sacrifices and offerings that I should be thinking about. I should be thinking about His grace and goodness to me a sinner who deserved nothing. I should be thinking about how much He loved me even though I messed up so much and in doing that I could began to have grace and compassion for my fellow man. Thank you Jesus for again having just the right words to say to someone else so that I could learn from them.
Whose Son is Christ? (35 - 37)
As Jesus was teaching in the temple on a particular day He asked the
scribes, "How can the Christ be the Son of David? “They answered and said He will be the son of David from his line then Jesus said to them then how come David said in the Scriptures, "The Lord said unto my Lord sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. David himself called Him Lord so then how can He be His son?" This question completely stumped everyone there and the scribes who had been so vocal before now became silent and sullen. They no longer questioned Him they only stared at Him with a hatred that seemed to turn their faces into ugly masks. It took me a long while to realize that Jesus was talking about Himself when He asked this question and that before David was born Jesus was already in Heaven at the right hand of God waiting for the right time and the right place to come to this earth to save us. The more I learn the more amazed I become with the God who saved me.
Beware of the Scribes (38 - 40)
So many times in this life we are all taken in by appearances. We are all impressed with the way people dress, the way they look, and their place in society. Jesus was never impressed with any of the outside things that He saw about man but He was impressed with the heart or the intention. He warned us about being impressed with the outside things with the following statement," Beware of the Scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplace and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at the feasts who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers they will receive the greater condemnation." I know that He was trying to teach us to look beyond the outward. He wanted us to pray and ask God for discernment about others and not to judge on appearances as we all were so often guilty of. I was as usual amazed at what happened next because He not only taught us not to judge by appearances but pointed out to us a living example.
The Widows Offering (41 - 44)
We all sat down to take a rest on the other side of the street where the treasury was and as we sat there people would come by and put money in the offering box. Many came by in fine clothes with their long robes and servants. They would often stop right in front of the offering box and stand there as if they were waiting for people to notice what they were doing. Often they would make a great show of the money they were putting in. One of them even announced to the crowd milling around how much he was putting in and with a show put in one coin at a time. Towards evening the crowd had died down and we noticed a little woman heading up towards the offering box. She stopped about 100 feet from it and waited until no one was looking then she quickly made her way to the box dropped in what appeared to be a very small sum and disappeared. Jesus turned to us and said, "Truly I say unto you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had and all she had to live on." My heart practically stopped when He said these words first of all because He knew exactly how much she had put in and second that He could see what was in her heart. I thought how often we go about trying to fool others and never realize or even give thought to the fact that God sees everything we do and knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts. This little widow would never know in this life the effect she had on me for by her offering all she had she made me want to become less concerned about me and more concerned about others. She actually shamed me and did not even know it, yes she shamed me as I searched my own heart and saw how often even in the supposed kind things that I did there was often a whole lot of vain glory and show in them.