View source for Mark 12

{{New Testament chapter short description}}
{{About|the chapter of the Gospel of Mark||Mark XII (disambiguation){{!}}Mark XII}}
{{primary sources|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox bible chapter
| name= Mark 12
| previouslink=Mark 11 |previous=chapter 11
| nextlink= Mark 13 |next= chapter 13
| book=[[Gospel of Mark]]
| biblepart=[[New Testament]]
| booknum=2
| category= [[Gospel]]
| image=CodexGigas 518 Mark.jpg
| caption=The Latin text of Mark 11:10–14:32 in [[Codex Gigas]] (13th century)
}}
{{Chapters in the Gospel of Mark}}
'''Mark 12''' is the twelfth chapter of the [[Gospel of Mark]] in the [[New Testament]] of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]]. It continues [[Jesus]]' teaching in the [[Second Temple|Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]], and contains the [[Parables of Jesus|parable]] of [[the Wicked Husbandmen]], Jesus' argument with the [[Pharisees]] and [[Herodians]] over [[Render unto Caesar...|paying taxes to Caesar]], and the debate with the [[Sadducee]]s about the nature of people who will be [[Resurrection of the Dead|resurrected at the end of time]]. It also contains Jesus' [[Greatest Commandment]], his discussion of the [[messiah]]'s relationship to [[King David]], condemnation of the teachers of the [[Halakha|law]], and his praise of a [[Widow's mite|poor widow's offering]].

In the context of Mark's chronology, these events, continuing from the [[mark 11#Argument over Jesus' authority|challenge to Jesus' authority]] in Mark 11:27–33,<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|11:27-33|NKJV}}</ref> take place during his third visit to the temple, traditionally identified with [[Holy Week|Holy Tuesday]].<ref>[[G. F. Maclear|Maclear, G. F.]], [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/mark/11.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Mark 11, accessed 1 July 2021</ref>

==Text==
The original text was written in [[Koine Greek]]. [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|This chapter is divided]] into 44 verses.

===Textual witnesses===
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
*[[Codex Vaticanus]] (325–350; complete)
*[[Codex Sinaiticus]] (330–360; complete)
*[[Codex Bezae]] (~400; complete)
*[[Codex Alexandrinus]] (400–440; complete)
*[[Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus]] (~450; extant verses 1–29)

===Old Testament references===
* Mark 12:36:<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|12:36|KJV}}</ref> [[Psalm 110|Psalm]] 110:1<ref>{{bibleverse-nb|Psalm|110:1|KJV}}</ref><ref name=kirkpatrick>{{cite book|last= Kirkpatrick| first= A. F. | authorlink=Alexander Kirkpatrick| title= The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes |series=The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges | volume = Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL | place = Cambridge |publisher= At the University Press | year = 1901 | pages = 839 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SLJzlHElr6cC | access-date= February 28, 2019}}</ref>

==Parable of the wicked husbandmen==
Jesus, after his argument with the chief priests of the [[Sanhedrin]] over his authority in Mark 11:27–33,<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|11:27-33|NKJV}}</ref> speaks to "them" ("the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders")<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|11:27|NKJV}}</ref> in [[parable]]s (εν παραβολαις, ''en parabolais'', plural). While [[Matthew's Gospel]] records several parables here, including the [[parable of the two sons]] and the [[parable of the wedding feast]],<ref>Maclear, G. F., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/mark/12.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Mark 12, accessed 1 July 2021</ref> Mark relates only one:

:''A certain man planted a [[vineyard]], and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the [[winefat]], and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty''.

:''And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some''.

:''Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.''

:''What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?'' ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:1-11;&version=9; 1–11 KJV])

The scripture mentioned is a quotation from [[Book of Psalms|Psalm]] 118:22–23,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=118&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 118 – New International Version}}</ref> the [[Hallel|processional psalm]] for the [[three pilgrim festivals]] which also provided the source for the crowd's acclamation as Jesus entered Jerusalem, ''Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord''.<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|11:9-10|NKJV}}</ref> The quote about the stone is from the [[Septuagint]] version of the Psalms, a version Jesus and [[Jew]]s in [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Israel]] would probably not have used. Mark however, who clearly has the Septuagint as his [[Old Testament]] reference, may have simply used it for his audience, as they spoke [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], or to clarify his sources, oral and/or written. For those who treat Mark as [[Historical reliability of the Gospels#Mark|historically reliable]],{{who|date=March 2023}} these predictions serve to demonstrate the power of Jesus' knowledge. [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] also refers to Jesus as a "stone" in [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 9:33,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=9&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Romans 9 – New International Version}}</ref> but references this with quotes from [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 8:14<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=29&chapter=8&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Isaiah 8 – New International Version}}</ref> and 28:16.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=29&chapter=28&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Isaiah 28 – New International Version}}</ref> [[Acts of the Apostles]] 4:11<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=51&chapter=4&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Acts 4 – New International Version}}</ref> records [[Saint Peter|Peter]] as using the same Psalm to describe Jesus. [[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]] references both Isaiah and the Psalm in 2:6–8,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=67&chapter=2&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: 1 Peter 2 – New International Version}}</ref> although most scholars, though not all, do not accept this letter as actually written by the Apostle Peter.

[[Church of England|Anglican]] Bishop [[N T Wright|Tom Wright]] contrasts this parable with Jesus' first parable recorded in Mark, the [[parable of the sower]].<ref>Mark 4:1-20)</ref> In that parable, "one lot of seed failed, then another, and another but at last there was a harvest", whereas in this parable, one slave is sent, then another, but when the final messenger comes, the vineyard owner's son, "he is ignominiously killed".<ref name=wright>Wright, T. (2001), ''Mark for Everyone'', SPCK</ref>{{rp|158}}

Mark says that they ("the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders") "realized" that Jesus was speaking about them and wanted to arrest him, but they would not do so for fear of the crowd.<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:12|NRSVA}}: [[New Revised Standard Version]]</ref> The passage invites interpretation as an [[allegory]]:<ref name=oxf>Tuckett, C. M., ''57. Mark'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122193211/http://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 |date=2017-11-22 }}, p. 910</ref> the husbandmen are the priests and teachers, and perhaps the [[Iudaea Province|Judean]] authorities in general. The word could also be a [[metaphor]] for all of [[human]]ity.{{according to whom|date=March 2023}} Many modern translations use the terms "tenants" or "tenant farmers" instead of "husbandmen". The vineyard's owner is God. A common interpretation of the servants is that of the [[prophet]]s or all of God's proceeding messengers, while the [[gentile]]s, or Christians, are the "others" who will be given the vineyard.{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=143}} The vineyard is Israel or more abstractly the promise made to [[Abraham]] by God. The owner's son is Jesus.<ref name=oxf /> "Beloved" is what God has called Jesus in Mark 1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=1&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Mark 1 – New International Version}}</ref> and 9<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209%20;&version=31 |title=Mark 9; NIV - - Bible Gateway}}</ref> during his [[baptism of Jesus|baptism]] and the [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]].

[[Isaiah 5#Parable of the vineyard (5:1–7)|Isaiah 5]] uses similar language regarding God's vineyard.<ref name=oxf /> Workers working the estates of absentee landlords happened frequently in the [[Roman Empire]], making the story relevant to the listeners of the time.{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=621}} Vineyards were the source of [[grape]]s and [[wine]], a common symbol of [[Goodness and value theory|good]] in the Gospels. There is Jesus turning water into wine in [[John 2|John]] 2<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=2&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: John 2 – New International Version}}</ref> and the saying about new wineskins in Mark 2:22.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=2&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Mark 2 – New International Version}}</ref> Natural growth, like Jesus' parables of [[Parable of the Mustard Seed|the Mustard Seed]] and the [[Seed Growing Secretly]] in Mark 4,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=4&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Mark 4 – New International Version}}</ref> was probably a naturally understood metaphor for Mark's audience,{{cn|date=March 2023}} as the [[classical antiquity|ancient world]] was largely an [[agriculture|agricultural]] world.

This parable is also found in saying 65 of the [[Gospel of Thomas]].<ref name=th>The Gnostic Society Library, [http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html Gospel of Thomas], translated by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer, accessed on 20 March 2023</ref>{{rp|Saying 65}}

== Paying taxes to Caesar ==
{{See also|Render unto Caesar...}}
"They" (the chief priests, scribes, and elders,<ref name=meyer /> or "the Jewish leaders"<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:13|NCV}}: [[New Century Version]]</ref>) sent some [[Pharisees]] and [[Herodians]] to Jesus. They offer false praise and hope to entrap him by asking him whether one should pay the taxes to the Romans. These two groups were antagonists, and by showing them working together against Jesus, Mark shows the severity of the opposition to him. Mark has mentioned them working together before in [[Mark 3#Plot|Mark 3:6]]. The Herodians, supporters of [[Herod Antipas]], would have been in Jerusalem with Herod during his trip there for the [[Passover]].{{sfn|Kilgallen|1989|p=228}} Protestant theologian [[Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer|Heinrich Meyer]] notes that the {{langx|el|ἀγρεύω}} (''argeuō'', 'entrap') is a [[hunting]] term.<ref name=meyer /> Jesus asked them to show him a ''[[denarius]]'', a Roman coin, and asks whose image and inscription are on it. The coin was marked with Caesar's image. Jesus then says "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:17;&version=31; 17]). Jesus thus avoids the trap, neither endorsing the Herodians and the Romans they supported, nor the Pharisees.

This same incident, with small differences, is also recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (22:15–22)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:15-22&version=NIV|title=Matthew 22:15-22 NIV – Bible Gateway}}</ref> and Luke (20:20–26). Mark's account has been described as "more concise and vivid" than Matthew's.<ref name=meyer /> Luke's Gospel makes clear that "They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor." Apparently,{{according to whom|date=March 2023}} his interrogators anticipated that Jesus would denounce the tax. The charge of advocating non-payment of taxes was later leveled against Jesus before Pilate.

Giving God what is God's might be an admonishment to meet one's obligation to God as one must meet an obligation to the [[Sovereign state|state]].{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=622}} It could also be Jesus' way of saying that God, not Rome, controlled Israel, indeed the whole world, and thereby also satisfy the Pharisees. This passage is often used in arguments on the nature of the [[separation of church and state]].{{cn|date=March 2023}}

The same saying is found in the Gospel of Thomas as saying 100, with reference to "a gold coin" and the additional words "...{{nbsp}}and give me what is mine".<ref name=th />{{rp|Saying 100}}

Some writers cite this phrase in support of tax resistance: see, for example, Ned Netterville,<ref>{{cite web |author=Ned Netterville |url=http://www.jesus-on-taxes.com/uploads/JesusMarch17th08-_2.pdf |title=Jesus of Nazareth: Illegal-tax protester |website=www.jesus-on-taxes.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226043103/http://www.jesus-on-taxes.com/uploads/JesusMarch17th08-_2.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Darrell Anderson,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.simpleliberty.org/giaa/render_unto_caesar.htm|title=God is an Anarchist – Render Unto Caesar}}</ref> and Timmothy Patton.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hiscovenantministries.org/scripture/romans_2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040312180327/http://www.hiscovenantministries.org/scripture/romans_2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2004 |title=Romans II |access-date=2018-12-15}} </ref>

== The resurrection and marriage ==
[[File:Christ Pantocrator - Cathedral of Cefalù - Italy 2015 (crop).JPG|thumb|right|200px|''Christus Pantokrator'', apsis of the cathedral of [[Cefalù]]]]
The opposition to Jesus now moves to the [[Sadducees]], who deny the idea of the [[resurrection of the dead]]. The Sadducees only accepted the five books of the [[Torah]] as [[divinity|divinely]] inspired. The Jewish [[Levirate Law|Levirate law]], or [[Yibbum]],<ref>[[Deuteronomy]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=25&version=31 25:5]</ref> states that if a man dies and his wife has not had a son, his brother must marry her. The Sadducees quote an example of a woman who has had seven husbands in this manner: [if there were a resurrection], who would she be married to when they all are resurrected from the dead?

Jesus says that the Sadducees are "in error" on two grounds, because they do not understand "either the scriptures or God’s power".<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:24|CEB}}: [[Common English Bible]]</ref> [[George Maclear]] notes that Jesus deals with the latter point first, stating that after the resurrection of the dead, no one will be married, "...{{nbsp}}they will be like the [[angel]]s in [[heaven]]". The Sadducees also denied the existence of angels and spirits.<ref name=maclear /><ref>See {{bibleverse|Acts|23:8}}</ref> Turning then to scriptural content about the dead rising, Jesus continues: have you not read in the book of [[Moses]], in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I ''am'' (emphasis added) the God of [[Abraham]], the God of [[Isaac]], and the God of [[Jacob]]'? He is not the God of the [[death|dead]], but of the [[life|living]]. You are badly (or greatly) mistaken!" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:25-27;&version=31; verses 25–27]) The story of the [[burning bush]] is found in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 3,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=2&chapter=3&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 3 – New International Version}}</ref> i.e. within the biblical texts acknowledged by the Sadducees. Maclear adds that Jesus' reply "embraces the whole area of their unbelief".<ref name=maclear>Maclear, G. (1893), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/mark/12.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Mark 12, accessed on 11 December 2024</ref>

The belief in the resurrection of the dead was largely a fairly recent innovation in ancient Jewish thought, and Jesus defends the belief against the Sadducees, who consider it to be a false innovation.<ref>Miller, 42</ref> He quotes God's statement to Moses on [[Mount Sinai]] made in the [[present tense]] about the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]] to show that God states them to be still in [[existence]] after their death, and thus that the doctrine of resurrection is present in the scripture from the beginning. Jesus concludes that the Sadducees "greatly err".<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:27|KJV}}</ref> Meyer notes that the "short pithy words" of this assertion, {{langx|el|πολὺ πλανᾶσθε}} (''polu planasthe''), do not need the additional words in the [[Textus Receptus]], {{langx|el|ὑμεῖς οὖν}}, ''humeis oun'', "you therefore").<ref name=meyer>Meyer, H. A. W. (1880), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/mark/12.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on Mark 12, translated from the German sixth edition, accessed 3 April 2020</ref>

So far in Mark's gospel, Jesus has raised a dead girl<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=5&version=31 Mark 5:41-42]: see [[Daughter of Jairus]]</ref> and has [[Son of Man#Predicting His Death and Resurrection|predicted his own death and resurrection]], in 8:31<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=8&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Mark 8 – New International Version}}</ref> for instance, but has not discussed the nature of resurrection in depth. Jesus largely defends the belief here, perhaps indicating Mark's intended audience already knows it. Paul also describes bodily resurrection in [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] 15,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=53&chapter=15&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 15 – New International Version}}</ref> that it will be of a fundamentally different nature than people's current physical nature. Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas uses an argument for [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]] based on the fact that the non-living matter of dead food becomes the living matter of the body after a person has eaten it.<ref>[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/thomas/gospelthomas11.html Gospel of Thomas, Saying 11], accessed 5 December 2017</ref> [[Philosophy|Philosophically]] the [[Validity (logic)|validity]] of Jesus' argument for the resurrection of the dead depends on the accuracy of the story of the burning bush, that is if God really did say that and meant it in that way [[Afterlife|existence is possible after death]] as God would never be wrong. The [[Pharisees]] also believed in the resurrection of the dead.

== The Greatest Commandment ==
{{See also|Great Commandment|Shema|Ethic of reciprocity|The New Commandment|Didache#The Two Ways}}
A nearby [[scribe]] who hears Jesus' answer to their question comes over<ref>Or, "came up and heard them disputing". Interpretations differ as to whether the scribe heard the debate and came over, or came over and heard the debate.</ref> and asks Jesus what God's greatest commandment is. Jesus replies "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel (the [[Shema]], a centerpiece of all morning and evening [[Jewish services|Jewish prayer services]]); The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt [[love]] the Lord thy God with all thy [[Heart (symbol)|heart]], and with all thy [[soul]], and with all thy [[mind]], and with all thy [[belief|strength]]: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:29-31;&version=9; 29-31 KJV]</ref>

Jesus here quotes Deuteronomy 6:4–5<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=6&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 6 – New International Version}}</ref> and [[Leviticus]] 19:18.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=3&chapter=19&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Leviticus 19 – New International Version}}</ref> Putting these two commandments together linked by love, putting loving others on the same level as loving God, was one of Jesus' [[theology|theological]] innovations.{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=622}} See also [[Christianity and Judaism]], [[Didache]] 1.2. The ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' article on Jesus<ref>{{Cite web | title=JESUS OF NAZARETH - JewishEncyclopedia.com | url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=254&letter=J&search=Jesus | access-date=2025-06-29 | website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> argues this shows Jesus knew and approved of the Didache, in its Jewish form. Mark wrote this probably four decades after Jesus' death showing Christians still used Jewish prayer formats, this being in the form of daily prayers, at this period.{{sfn|Brown|1997|p=144}} Most [[Early Christians]] saw Jesus' teachings as summing up the essence of Jewish theology as opposed to the [[Judaism|religion]]'s [[ritual]]istic components.{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=623}} Paul uses the same quotation from Leviticus in [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] 5:14<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=55&chapter=5&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Galatians 5 – New International Version}}</ref> and Romans 13:9<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=13&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Romans 13 – New International Version}}</ref> as summing up the law. See also [[Hillel the Elder]].

The man agrees and says keeping these commandments is better than making sacrifices, to which Jesus replies that the man is "not far from the [[kingdom of God]]" (34).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:34;&version=31 |title=Mark 12:34; NIV - - Bible Gateway}}</ref> This seems to be Jesus' triumph over his opponents (or agreement with the Pharisees) as Mark states that this was the last question they asked him. Being "not far" from God can be seen in the sense of close to knowledge of God. Others have seen "far" as actually referring to a [[space|spatial]] distance from God, maybe from Jesus himself.{{sfn|Kilgallen|1989|p=237}}

== Teaching the crowd ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Gospel of Mark]] -->
{{See also|Messiah|Lesson of the widow's mite}}
[[File:David-goliath28.jpg|thumb|left|250px|{{center|[[Gustave Doré]]: David slaying [[Goliath]]}}]]
Jesus continues to teaches in the Temple. This probably took place along the Temple's eastern wall.{{sfn|Kilgallen|1989|p=238}}

After overcoming his opponents' traps, Jesus poses a question of his own. He asks the crowd "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: 'The Lord [יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah] said to my Lord [אָדוֹן 'adon]: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.' David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:35-37;&version=31; 35-37]</ref> This is a quote from [[Psalms|Psalm]] 110:1,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=110&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Psalm 110 - New International Version}}</ref><ref>[http://www.blbclassic.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=110&v=1&t=KJV#conc/1 Original Hebrew]</ref> which was traditionally believed to have been written by David himself. This Psalm was used during the coronation of the ancient [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kings of Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judea]].<ref>Miller 43</ref>

This passage has caused much debate. It is a promise made to David by God. The first Lord mentioned is God and the second Lord was believed by Jews and then later Christians to refer to the messiah. Since David is here calling the messiah Lord the messiah must be superior to David. "Son" was a term of submission as "father" was a term of authority, so one can not say that the messiah will be inferior to David by using the term son.{{sfn|Kilgallen|1989|p=238}}

Is Jesus saying that the messiah is not David's biological heir, or that he is greater than only David's heir, that the Messiah's kingdom is far greater than merely an earthly successor to David's political kingdom? The messiah was to be from the house of David, as both [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] use their [[Genealogy of Jesus|genealogies of Jesus]] to show. Mark has no genealogy or [[Virgin birth of Jesus|virgin birth]]. Some have argued that this is Mark's way of explaining why Jesus, from such a poor family, could possibly be the messiah. Since most modern critical scholars reject the genealogies in Luke and Matthew, some have argued that Jesus did not claim descent from David, and this is thus Jesus' explanation of this. Mark however seems to state Jesus to be David's heir. Jesus was acclaimed as bringing the kingdom of David in Mark 11:10. Mark had the demons call him the [[Son of God]] in 3:11 and 5:7. Peter called him the Christ in Mark 8:29. [[Bartimaeus (biblical character)|Bartimaeus]], the blind beggar whom Jesus healed, called him the Son of David in 10:47,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=10&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Mark 10 - New International Version}}</ref> although Jesus has not referred to himself in this manner directly, an interesting choice for Mark to make, fitting with his theme of the [[Messianic Secret]]. Jesus usually refers to himself as the [[Son of man]]. Jesus explicitly says he is the messiah and the "Son of the Blessed One" in Mark 14:61–62<ref>{{Bibleverse-nb||Mark|14:61-62}}</ref> and perhaps tells [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] he is the [[INRI|King of the Jews]] in Mark 15:2:<ref>{{Bibleverse-nb||Mark|15:2}}</ref> "He answered him, 'You say so.'"([[NRSV]]). Mark clearly wrote to show Jesus is the [[Jewish messiah]] prophesied to be David's heir and successor, so why this speech and no explicit statement by Jesus of Davidic descent? Is he simply saying that the messiah is superior to David, whether from his house or not? If the messiah is indeed God, as the Psalm was interpreted by some [[Early Christians]], then his glory is greater than the glory of any one house.

Both Matthew and Luke use the same story, showing they did not think it contradicted their claim of descent from King David in [[Matthew 1|Matthew]] 1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=1&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 1 - New International Version}}</ref> and [[Luke 3|Luke]] 3.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=3&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Luke 3 - New International Version}}</ref> Acts of the Apostles 2:34–35<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=51&chapter=2&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Acts 2 - New International Version}}</ref> has Peter use the same quote in reference to Jesus. Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 15:25. Paul might also reference it as well in [[Epistle to the Colossians|Colossians]] 3:1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=58&chapter=3&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Colossians 3 - New International Version}}</ref> and Romans 8:34<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=8&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Romans 8 - New International Version}}</ref> where he mentions "Christ" at the right hand of God. It is also found in [[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]] 1:13.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=65&chapter=1&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 1 - New International Version}}</ref>

Jesus condemns the teachers of the law because of their wealth, fancy clothes, and self-importance. "They devour [[widow]]s' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely".<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:40|NIV}}</ref> Mark 12:39<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:39|NIV}}</ref> refers to "the important seats in the [[synagogue]]", although the setting for Jesus' teaching is in the temple. Some writers {{who|date=December 2017}} have used this passage to justify [[antisemitism]] over the ages but Jesus is obviously criticizing their actions, not religion. The teachers would be analogous to [[lawyer]]s today, as the Jewish religious code largely was the Jewish law. The scribes interpreted, as judges do today, the meaning of the laws. Often they might feign piety to gain access to trusteeship of a widow's estate and therefore its assets, like law firms today seek good reputations for the sole purpose of obtaining rich clients. The fact that Jesus states that they will be "punished", something which they have done to others, could show how the judges will be judged.{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=623}}

== Widow's mite ==
{{Main|Lesson of the widow's mite}}
Jesus goes to where people make offerings, throwing donations of money into the Temple treasury,<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|12:41|DLNT}}: Disciples' Literal New Testament</ref> and praises a widow's donation, "two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny",<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:42%20;&version=31; 42]</ref> in preference to the larger donations made by the rich. "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:43-44;&version=31; 43–44]</ref> She gives two ''[[Greek lepton|lepta]]'' or mites, copper coins, the smallest denomination around. Jesus contrasts her offering as the greater sacrifice because it is all she had, as opposed to the offerings of the rich, who only gave what was convenient. [[Raymond E. Brown|Brown]] ''et al.'' suggest that her total sacrifice might foreshadow Jesus' total sacrifice of his life,{{sfn|Brown|Fitzmyer|Murphy|1990|p=623}} while Tom Wright reflects that "in the Messiah, Israel's God has given himself totally, given all that he had and was".<ref name=wright />{{rp|176}}

Mark uses the term ''kodrantēs'', a Greek form of the [[Latin language|Latin]] word ''[[quadrans]]'', for penny, one of Mark's [[Latinism]]s which many take as evidence for composition in or near [[Rome]].

==Comparison with other canonical gospels==
Matthew's gospel records most of the same content in 21:28–22:46<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2021:28-22:46;&version=31 |title=Matthew 21:28-22:46; NIV - - Bible Gateway}}</ref> but with important differences: he adds the parables of [[the Two Sons]] and the [[Marriage of the King's Son]] into Jesus' discussion with the priests, but does not have Jesus telling the teacher he is not far from God, leaving the man in Matthew looking more hostile to Jesus than he is in Mark. Matthew has Jesus with a much more elaborate [[Woes of the Pharisees|discourse condemning his opponents]] in 23<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=23&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 23 - New International Version}}</ref> but no widow's offering and Jesus discusses David with the Pharisees, not the crowd.

Luke keeps the same sequence as Mark in 20:9–21:4<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2020:9-21:4%20;&version=31 |title=Luke 20:9-21:4; NIV - - Bible Gateway}}</ref> but also has slight differences. Jesus tells the parable of the husbandmen to all the people, not just the priests. Unnamed [[Espionage|spies]] from the priests challenge Jesus about the taxes and there is a longer discourse on marriage. Luke does not have Jesus telling the teacher the greatest commandment. [[Gospel of John|John]]'s narrative moves from Jesus' teaching after his arrival in Jerusalem in John 12<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=12&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: John 12 - New International Version}}</ref> to the [[Last Supper]] in chapter 13.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=13&version=31 |title=Bible Gateway passage: John 13 - New International Version}}</ref>

== See also ==
* Brotherly love (philosophy)
* [[Parables of Jesus]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Raymond Edward |title=An introduction to the New Testament |date=1997 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-24767-2}}
* {{cite book |first1=Raymond Edward |last1=Brown |first2=Joseph A. |last2=Fitzmyer |first3=Roland Edmund |last3=Murphy |title=The New Jerome Biblical Commentary |date=1990 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs, N.J |isbn=0-13-614934-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kilgallen |first1=John J. |title=A brief commentary on the Gospel of Mark |date=1989 |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=0-8091-3059-9}}
*Miller, Robert J., editor, ''The Complete Gospels'', Polebridge Press  1994 {{ISBN|0-06-065587-9}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gospel of Mark - Chapter 12}}
*{{bibleverse|Mark|12|KJV}} King James Bible - Wikisource
*[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=1&b=2&c=12 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate]
*[http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=Mark+12 ''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
*[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=12 Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''] (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)

{{sequence
| prev = [[Mark 11]]
| list = Chapters of the Bible<br />[[Gospel of Mark]]
| next = [[Mark 13]]
}}
{{Gospel of Mark}}

[[Category:Gospel of Mark chapters]]
[[Category:Herod Antipas]]
[[Category:Sanhedrin]]
[[Category:Second Temple]]