In His last week in Jerusalem, Jesus begins by facing off with each faction of the religious leadership of Israel… Chief Priests, Teachers of the Law, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. He does not hold back in revealing their hypocrisy.

Here is the Video Link:

Mark 12… Into the Lion’s Den

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Here is the transcript used for today’s Podcast:

Mark 12

In the Lion’s Den

This is Jesus’ last trip to Jerusalem. He has come here to die, and in the presence of the religious leaders – rabbis, priests, teachers of the Law, Pharisees and Sadducees, He begins with a parable that they understood immediately. In this next parable Jesus explains the entire religious history of Israel. Almost every prophet sent by God to Israel was treated shamefully by Israel. culminating in the death of of the Son of God.

Cast of Characters:

The Vineyard: Israel

Tenant-Farmers: Those who ran the vineyard during the owners absence. These represent the religious leaders of Israel (the priests) who were to have acted in the owner’s interest. 

The Owner: God.

The Wall around the Vineyard: This wall separated the vineyard from all else. What separated Israel from its neighbors? The Law.

Servants sent to collect: The prophets – emissaries sent by the owner (God).

The Son: Jesus

Enter Chief priests, teachers of the law, and the elders

1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

If the tenants are the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders (v. 12; 11:18), then the “others” are apparently the Twelve.

This parable is the past and future of Israel. Israel’s history was riddled with their mistreatment of the holy men and women sent by God. The priests had been given the task of maintaining the health of Israel like the tenants were to take care of the vineyard. It is very apparent by what we are about to read that the priests and religious leaders of Jesus’ day understood He was talking about them in this parable, and His accusation of their failing to guard the spiritual health of God’s people.

I wonder, though, if they understood the end of the parable in light of Who they were facing at that moment. In the parable the owner (God) destroys the leadership of the vineyard, after the tenants killed His Son (Jesus), and He gives the Vineyard to others (Gentiles). This is exactly what happens. Jesus is killed, 30 years later, Rome sacks Jerusalem, destroys the Temple, thereby eradicating the priesthood – the original caretakers of God’s truth. Did the religious leaders understand that Jesus was telling them He KNEW they were going to kill Him, because HE is the Son in this parable?

Paul (throughout Romans) speaks of the Church being a continuation of Israel, which is what Jesus speaks of in this parable where the vineyard is handed over to new caretakers. The truth about God, originally placed into the hands of Israel, has now been passed to the church.

Jesus continues in His condemnation of the priests:

10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;

11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

I cannot begin to express how this moment impressed me. Jesus was telling them that He knew they were going to kill Him, and that would signify the death of the Jewish Priesthood, and the destruction of the nation Israel.

Enter the Pharisees and the Herodians

The Priests, teachers of the Law, and the elders could not contain Him, so they sent a coalition of Pharisees and Herodians to question Him. Normally adversaries, these two groups have apparently taken the path “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.. 

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[b] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

Their strategy makes sense because if they could trap Jesus into agreeing with the Pharisees, declaring for God instead of the Emperor, the Romans would have cause to arrest Him for sedition and perhaps treason. Problem solved (for the Pharisees). If, however, He were to side with Rome, then He would be labeled a traitor to Israel, becoming an enemy of Israel. People would abandon His cause, and His influence would vanish. Again – problem solved.

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him.

One simple answer that satisfied neither party.

Enter the Sadducees

The Priests, teachers of the Law and the Elders had a run at Him… they failed. The Pharisees and the Herodians had a run at Him… and THEY failed. The last group to show up – the Sadducees. They thought to “school” this upstart Rabbi on His interpretation of Scripture. The Sadducees only believed in the five books of Moses (Genesis,  Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).

18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[d]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Enter a Good Teacher of the Law

Not every teacher of the Law was bad. There were some good ones. The same goes for Priests and Pharisees. One of these teachers approaches Him next.

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’[h]

37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

I somehow get the feeling that Jesus is tweaking the noses of His adversaries here. But there is something more to consider. If we were to stick to the narrow definition of Messiah being the son of David, we can come alongside the theory that Messiah would be a military conqueror as His ancestor David was. Jesus’ point here, I believe, is Messiah is MUCH more than just a  physical descendant of David (which He was through both Joseph and Mary). A father does not call his son Lord. Yet David calls the future Messiah “Lord”. I know this a bit confusing, but the point I see Jesus making is that they don’t know NEARLY as well as they think concerning Messiah. There are two pictures of Messiah in the Scripture – the suffering Messiah and the conquering Messiah. They were confused as to which one comes first… or perhaps they didn’t even acknowledge that there was a suffering Messiah. In either case they were wrong.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

They were supposed to be the caretakers of Israel. Yet they took advantage of the very people they were to instruct in God’s ways. I see a lot of that today in the Church as well.

The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

I don’t think I need to say anything here, do I?

Is it possible that this widow was one of those widows representing the group defrauded by the Teachers of the Law?

They devour widows’ houses…

If so, her offering is an amazing one. If she was of the group defrauded of her home by a Teacher of the Law, the fact she is STILL coming to Temple to worship… and STILL giving an offering stuns me.

In His Grip,

Paige