Mark 12:18-14:26

English Standard Version

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

¹⁸ And ^(A)Sadducees came to him, ^(B)who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(C)if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man^[a] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. ²¹ And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. ²² And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because ^(D)you know neither the Scriptures nor ^(E)the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither ^(F)marry nor ^(G)are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, ^(H)have you not read in ^(I)the book of Moses, in ^(J)the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ^(K)‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

The Great Commandment

^28 (L)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^(M)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^(N)the Lord is one. ³⁰ 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.’ ^31 (O)The second is this: ^(P)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^(Q)greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^(R)he is one, and ^(S)there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all ^(T)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, ^(U)is much more than all ^(V)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(W)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^35 (X)And as ^(Y)Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^(Z)the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, ^(AA)in the Holy Spirit, declared,

³⁷ David himself calls him Lord. So ^(AD)how is he his son?” And the great throng ^(AE)heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

^38 (AF)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^(AG)the places of honor at feasts, ^40 (AH)who devour widows' houses and ^(AI)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow's Offering

^41 (AJ)And he sat down opposite ^(AK)the treasury and watched the people ^(AL)putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^(AM)small copper coins, which make a penny.^{[b] 43} And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AN)this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(AO)poverty has put in everything she had, all ^(AP)she had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

13 ^(AQ)And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(AR)There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ And as he sat on ^(AS)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(AT)Peter and James and John and ^(AU)Andrew asked him ^(AV)privately, ⁴ “Tell us, ^(AW)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, ^(AX)“See that no one leads you astray. ^6 (AY)Many will come in my name, saying, ^(AZ)‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^(BA)do not be alarmed. This ^(BB)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For ^(BC)nation will rise against nation, and ^(BD)kingdom against kingdom. There will be ^(BE)earthquakes in various places; there will be ^(BF)famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

^9 (BG)“But ^(BH)be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten ^(BI)in synagogues, and you will stand before ^(BJ)governors and ^(BK)kings for my sake, ^(BL)to bear witness before them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^(BM)to all nations. ¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, ^(BN)do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say ^(BO)whatever is given you in that hour, ^(BP)for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ^12 (BQ)And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ^13 (BR)And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(BS)But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁴ “But when you see ^(BT)the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (^(BU)let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^15 (BV)Let the one who is on ^(BW)the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, ¹⁶ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁷ And ^(BX)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it may not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For in those days there will be ^(BY)such ^(BZ)tribulation as has not been ^(CA)from the beginning of the creation that ^(CB)God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for ^(CC)the sake of the elect, whom ^(CD)he chose, he shortened the days. ²¹ And ^(CE)then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. ^22 (CF)For false christs and false prophets will arise and ^(CG)perform signs and wonders, ^(CH)to lead astray, if possible, ^(CI)the elect. ²³ But ^(CJ)be on guard; ^(CK)I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after ^(CL)that tribulation, ^(CM)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and ^(CN)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(CO)the Son of Man coming in clouds ^(CP)with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then ^(CQ)he will send out the angels and ^(CR)gather ^(CS)his elect from ^(CT)the four winds, from ^(CU)the ends of the earth ^(CV)to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, ^(CW)at the very gates. ^30 (CX)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^31 (CY)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(CZ)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

³² “But concerning that day or that hour, ^(DA)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^(DB)nor the Son, ^(DC)but only the Father. ^33 (DD)Be on guard, ^(DE)keep awake.^[c] For you do not know when the time will come. ^34 (DF)It is like a man ^(DG)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[d] in charge, ^(DH)each with his work, and commands ^(DI)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ^35 (DJ)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(DK)in the evening, or ^(DL)at midnight, or ^(DM)when the rooster crows,^[e] or ^(DN)in the morning— ³⁶ lest ^(DO)he come suddenly and ^(DP)find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: ^(DQ)Stay awake.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(DR)It was now two days before ^(DS)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes ^(DT)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, ^(DU)lest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^3 (DV)And while he was at ^(DW)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^[f] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[g] and ^(DX)given to the poor.” And they ^(DY)scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For ^(DZ)you always have the poor with you, and whenever ^(EA)you want, you can do good for them. But ^(EB)you will not always have me. ^8 (EC)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(ED)for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever ^(EE)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told ^(EF)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^10 (EG)Then ^(EH)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, ^(EI)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to ^(EJ)betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^12 (EK)And on ^(EL)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^(EM)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent ^(EN)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ^(EO)‘The Teacher says, Where is ^(EP)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you ^(EQ)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (ER)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, ^(ES)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, ^(ET)one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is ^(EU)one of the twelve, ^(EV)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man goes ^(EW)as it is written of him, but ^(EX)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(EY)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^22 (EZ)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after ^(FA)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; ^(FB)this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had ^(FC)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, ^(FD)“This is my ^(FE)blood of the^[h] covenant, which is poured out for ^(FF)many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (FG)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(FH)they went out to ^(FI)the Mount of Olives.