Chapter 12
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 And he began to speak to them in parables.
In the Bible, parables are told when speaking against corrupt rulers.
“A man…
God, the Father.
…planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, …
This is Jerusalem/Israel.
…and built a tower, …
The Temple
…and let it out to tenants,
The children of Israel (and their leaders in particular).
…and went into another country.
God “went away”.
2 When the time came, …
God calling to account.
…he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed.
These are the prophets.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
Jesus.
7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
A prophecy of the crucifixion.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
Pointing towards a New Israel.
10 Have you not read this scripture:
‘The very stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner;
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Jesus is referring to Himself as this “stone which the builders rejected”.
12 And they tried to arrest him, but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them; so they left him and went away.
Like John the Baptist, Jesus was a popular figure.
The Question about Paying Taxes
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Hero′di-ans, to entrap him in his talk.
These two were natural enemies.
14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God…
Sucking up…
…Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?15 Should we pay them, or should we not?”
If Jesus says “yes”, then he’ll be called a traitor by the Pharisees. If he says “no” , then he’ll be called a seditionist by the Herodeans.
But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one.
Notice that they are the ones with the coin, not Jesus.
And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
The Jews didn’t like this because (a) it was an image (b) it was a symbol of Roman domination and (c) it was blasphemous since it attributed divinity to Ceasar.
17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
We are made in God’s likeness and image (Genesis). Therefore everything we have belongs to God.
The Question about the Resurrection
18 And Sad′ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; …
This fact is important.
…and they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
This is found in Leviticus
20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children; 21 and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; 22 and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
They’re trying to demonstrate that the doctrine of the Resurrection makes no sense.
24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?
This could be a jab at the fact that the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of Moses.
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
In terms of marriage, humans will be like angels.
This passage is not saying that humans become angels upon death.
Marriage comes to an end in Heaven because the sign has been replaced with the reality.
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘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.”
Jesus then demonstrates the Resurrection using the only Scriptures they recognize.
The First Commandment
28 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 first of all?”
This was a favourite question of the time.
29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, 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.’
Jesus answers with Deuteronomy, the Shema, the prayer prayed by Jews each day.
31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
This is from Leviticus.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Paul will later say that upon these two commands depends the Law and the Prophets.
32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, …
The scribe likes this answer.
…is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
This is a theme repeated by the prophets.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any question.
This is a complement, albeit a rather backhanded one.
The Question about David’s Son
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, …
Jesus is now going to ask His own question…
…“How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, inspired by[c] the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
till I put thy enemies under thy feet.’
37 David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
Jesus shows that there are problems with their understanding of what to expect in the Messiah.
Jesus Denounces the Scribes
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
Jesus complains about their self-seeking attitude and the way they drain the poor dry. This is important for what comes next…
The Widow’s Offering
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”
Jesus makes the point that this woman was far more generous.
However, it is also a condemnation against the religious officials who were bleeding the people dry.