The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 (A)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, (B)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John (C)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, (D)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—(E)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was (F)a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 (G)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted (H)a vineyard (I)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and (J)leased it to tenants and (K)went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. (L)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. (M)Again (N)he sent to them another servant, and (O)they struck him on the head and (P)treated him shamefully. (Q)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, (R)a beloved son. (S)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, (T)‘This is the heir. Come, (U)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and (V)threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? (W)He will (X)come and destroy the tenants and (Y)give the vineyard to others. 10 (Z)Have you not read (AA)this Scripture:

(AB)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And (AC)they were seeking to arrest him (AD)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they (AE)left him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

13 (AF)And they sent to him some of (AG)the Pharisees and some of (AH)the Herodians, to (AI)trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, (AJ)we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For (AK)you are not swayed by appearances,[c] but truly teach (AL)the way of God. Is it lawful to pay (AM)taxes to (AN)Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing (AO)their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why (AP)put me to the test? Bring me (AQ)a denarius[d] and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, (AR)“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:2 Or bondservant; also verse 4
  2. Mark 12:10 Greek the head of the corner
  3. Mark 12:14 Greek you do not look at people's faces
  4. Mark 12:15 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer

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