Mark 12-13

New King James Version

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^(A)

12 Then ^(B)He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to ^[a]vinedressers and went into a far country. ² Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant, ^[b]and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ⁵ And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, ^(C)beating some and killing some. ⁶ Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those ^[c]vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and ^(D)killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

^12 (F)And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(G)

^13 (H)Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and ^[d]care about no one; for You do not ^[e]regard the person of men, but teach the ^(I)way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their ^(J)hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶ So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, ^[f]“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to ^(K)God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?^(L)

^18 (M)Then some Sadducees, ^(N)who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: ¹⁹ “Teacher, ^(O)Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. ²¹ And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. ²² So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”

²⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore ^[g]mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but ^(P)are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But concerning the dead, that they ^(Q)rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ^(R)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly ^[h]mistaken.”

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?^(S)

^28 (T)Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, ^[i]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the ^[j]first commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The ^[k]first of all the commandments is: ^(U)‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall ^(V)love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ^[l]This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ^(W)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than ^(X)these.”

³² So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, ^(Y)and there is no other but He. ³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, ^[m]with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(Z)is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

^(AA)But after that no one dared question Him.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?^(AB)

^35 (AC)Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶ For David himself said ^(AD)by the Holy Spirit:

³⁷ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his ^(AF)Son?”

And the common people heard Him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes^(AG)

³⁸ Then ^(AH)He said to them in His teaching, ^(AI)“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, ^(AJ)love greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ the ^(AK)best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, ^40 (AL)who devour widows’ houses, and ^[n]for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Two Mites^(AM)

^41 (AN)Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money ^(AO)into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two ^[o]mites, which make a ^[p]quadrans. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that ^(AP)this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, ^(AQ)her whole livelihood.”

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(AR)

13 Then ^(AS)as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

² And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(AT)Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(AU)

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(AV)Peter, ^(AW)James, ^(AX)John, and ^(AY)Andrew asked Him privately, ^4 (AZ)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

⁵ And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ^(BA)“Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁶ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and ^(BB)kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines ^[q]and troubles. ^(BC)These are the beginnings of ^[r]sorrows.

⁹ “But ^(BD)watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will ^[s]be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. ¹⁰ And ^(BE)the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ^11 (BF)But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, ^[t]or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, ^(BG)but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Now ^(BH)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ^13 (BI)And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But ^(BJ)he who ^[u]endures to the end shall be saved.

The Great Tribulation^(BK)

^14 (BL)“So when you see the ^(BM)‘abomination of desolation,’ ^[v]spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then ^(BN)let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ^17 (BO)But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ And pray that your flight may not be in winter. ^19 (BP)For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

^21 (BQ)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. ²² For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and ^(BR)wonders to deceive, if possible, even the ^[w]elect. ²³ But ^(BS)take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(BT)

^24 (BU)“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be ^(BV)shaken. ^26 (BW)Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send His angels, and gather together His ^[x]elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(BX)

^28 (BY)“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that ^[y]it is near—at the doors! ³⁰ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BZ)My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour^(CA)

³² “But of that day and hour ^(CB)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the ^(CC)Father. ^33 (CD)Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. ^34 (CE)It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave ^(CF)authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. ^35 (CG)Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— ³⁶ lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”