The
Widow’s Two Mites
–
Mark Twelve –
God described
The Pharisees and Herodians tried to
trap Jesus with questions about paying tax. He turned them away with the
powerful statement, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to
God the things that are God's." (Mark
The Stone Rejected by men – Mark 12:1-12:
One of Jesus' most pointed parables was the parable of the wicked husbandmen.
In the parable a certain man planted a vineyard, built a wall around it and dug
a pit to crush the grapes in, built a lookout tower and let it out to
husbandmen, and went into a far country. When it was harvest time, he sent a
servant to get his share of the grapes. These servants represented God's
prophets. The Hebrew writer described what happened when God sent His prophets
to the Jews. "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:)
they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the
earth." (Hebrews 11:36-38)
Finally, the vineyard owner sent His son.
The
son was the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a prophet like Moses. (Deuteronomy 18:15)
They said of the Son, "Let's kill him! That way we can have it all for
ourselves." (Mark 12:7) They knew He was the Son
but they wanted to kill him anyway! Christ became the rejected Stone.
(Psalm 118:22) The question was asked, "Now what will the owner of the
vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to
others." (Mark 12:9) They had rejected the Son and the result would be
judgment and destruction.
Jesus was questioned about taxes – Mark 12:12-17:
Some of the Pharisees and the Herodians were sent to
Jesus for the purpose of entrapping Him in His speech.
Their
trap was baited with false flattery. They said,
"Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for
thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth."
Solomon said, "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net
for his feet." (Proverbs 29:5)
Their question for Jesus was, "Is it lawful to give tribute
to Caesar, or not?" They thought they had Jesus in a dilemma. They thought
that He might say "Yes." If He said yes they believed that the
Pharisees and the people would turn on Him. They also thought that there might
be the possibility that He would say "No." If He said no that thought
the Herodians and Romans would turn on Him. Jesus did
not answer them directly. Instead He asked them to show Him a piece of money.
The people marveled at Him when He said, "Render to Caesar the things that
are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Questions designed
to trap Jesus – Mark 12:18-34: The
Sadducees denied that souls are immortal. They said that there is no
resurrection, nor spirits nor angels. (Acts 23:8)
They acted as if they wanted an explanation as to what was taught in
Deuteronomy 25:5-6 concerning marriage. They approached Jesus with the story of
seven brothers that all died childless after having this same woman as wife.
Their question was, "when they arise whose wife shall
she be for all seven had her?" Ignorance of the teaching of
Scripture prompted this question. When we rise from the dead, "we
neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in
heaven." (Mark
A scribe heard the wise answers that Jesus had given to the other
questions and thought He could ask a more difficult question. He asked Jesus to
identify the greatest commandment. He must have thought that the Lord would
have real trouble with his question. The Lord's answer was both simple and
profound. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30-31) The quote
concerning loving God was from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. We learn from Jesus' answer
that there is but one true God and we also observe our responsibility toward
Him. After this, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.
Jesus teaching in the temple -- Mark 12:35-44: The Jews had to admit that Jesus was a descendant of
David according to the flesh. However, they denied that He was divine or
related to him in any spiritual way. Jesus quoted David as he said, "The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies
thy footstool." The question ask to the Jews was
how Christ could be both a son of David and also his Lord?
The
miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus is what makes it possible for
Jesus to be David's sons and also David's Lord. (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25)
Jesus condemned the Pharisees and scribes because of their hypocrisy. (Mark
12:38-40)
Jesus observed the giving in the temple and He observes our
giving. He saw the rich casting much into the treasury. Sadly, they made a big show
of their giving. He likewise observed the giving of the poor. The Lord especially observed the giving
of a poor widow. He said, "I tell you that this poor widow has put
in more than all the others." It is not the amount that we give that the
Lord observes, but the amount that we keep for ourselves. The poor widow made a
sacrifice in her giving. The rich gave a larger amount but had much left and
therefore did not make any real sacrifice.
If a person is
wrong about Jesus Christ, he is wrong about salvation. Do you have a living
faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? If so it is time to become a
Christian now! To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans