Markchapter 12
44 verses · Mark · AD 55 to 65 · The Gospels
“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
Introduction
Mark, The Gospels, Mark Overview.
Mark wrote this for believers in Rome, many of them poor and some of them under suspicion from the authorities. The chapter spends one long day in the temple courts, where each party in Jerusalem takes its turn at him. Every question is built as a trap, and each concerns a matter the questioners cared about deeply. Mark translates the local coins into Roman money so his readers can weigh what is given. Listen for the story he tells first, and for who in the crowd understands it is about them. The chapter closes with one quiet act at the offering chests.
Context
- Who
- Roman readers for whom Mark converts the money into coins they knew
- What
- A parable against the temple's leaders, then four questions on taxes, the resurrection, the first commandment and David's son, and a widow's gift.
- Where
- The temple courts in Jerusalem, ending beside the offering chests.
- When
- A day of the last week before the Passover, about AD 30 or 33.
- Why
- To show Jesus answering every party in Jerusalem, and to set true devotion beside the show of it.
Historical context
The vineyard parable describes an ordinary arrangement in that economy. Large estates were owned by absentee landlords and leased to tenant farmers for a share of the crop, collected by agents. Violence against those agents was not unheard of, and a tenant party might gamble that killing the heir would let them claim the land.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The tax question was live and dangerous. The poll tax went directly to Rome, and it had triggered armed revolt in AD 6. The Herodians, a party loyal to Herod's house and the Roman settlement behind it, are paired with Pharisees precisely to catch him whichever way he answered. The denarius he asks for carried the emperor's head and an inscription calling him son of the deified Augustus.
The Sadducees' puzzle rests on the levirate law of Deuteronomy, under which a man married his childless brother's widow to raise an heir in the dead man's name. The Sadducees rejected the resurrection outright, so the riddle was designed to make the doctrine look absurd.
The widow's gift is where Mark's Roman readers get their clearest translation. She puts in two lepta, the smallest coins in circulation in Judea, and Mark adds that together they make a quadrans, a Roman coin his readers handled every day. The offering chests stood in the temple court with trumpet-shaped mouths, so a large gift of metal announced itself audibly.
Significance
For a Gentile church, the answer about Caesar's coin and God's image was the working rule of a whole life. Pay the tax; the man on the coin does not own you.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the widow at the treasury was the standard the chapter ends on, set directly against scribes who devour widows' houses. To believers who had little and were losing it, Mark says the accounting Jesus used measured not the sum given but what was left afterwards.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Vineyard and the Rejected Stone
The parable opens, A man planted a vineyard, with a wall, a watchtower and a wine vat that all stand in Isaiah 5:1-7. Spoken straight after the question of authority in chapter 11, the parable has a target plain to everyone listening.
Mark 12:1
“And he began to speak unto them by parables,.... As of the two sons the father bid go to work in the vineyard; and of the planting of a vineyard, and letting it out to husbandmen, as here; though the latter is only related by this evangelist, yet both are by Matthew. This was not the first time of his speaking by parables to the people, though it might be the first time he spake in this way to the chief priests and elders, and who are particularly designed in them. A certain man planted a vineyard.”
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Mark 12:1
“The verses before us contain a historical parable. The history of the Jewish nation, from the day that Israel left Egypt down to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, is here set before us as in a mirror. Under the figure of the vineyard and the husbandmen, the Lord Jesus tells the story of God's dealings with His people for fifteen hundred years. Let us study it attentively, and apply it to ourselves. Let us observe, in the first place, God's special kindness to the Jewish Church and nation . He gave to them peculiar privileges.”
Mark 12:1
“Or, the hedge is the law, which prohibited their mingling with strangers. There follows, And went into a far country. Or else, By the first servant, understand the prophets who lived about the time of Elias, (2 Chron. 18:23.) for Zedekiah the false prophet beat Micaiah; and by the second servant whom they wounded in the head, that is, evil entreated, we may understand the prophets who lived about the time of Hosea and Isaiah; but by the third servant understand the prophets who flourished about the time of Daniel and Ezekiel.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 12:1
“Members of the church are God's tenants, and they have both a good Landlord and a good bargain, and may live well upon it, if it be not their own fault.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:2-5
he sent a servant to the tenants: The owner keeps sending instead of acting at once, and of the many others sent, some they beat and others they killed. It is a picture of God's patience through generations of prophets Israel refused and at times killed.
Mark 12:2
“Many that seem careful to give to men their due, are in no care to give God the glory due to his name; whereas our hearts and best affections are as much due to him as ever rent was to a landlord, or tribute to a prince.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
sent him away empty-handed: Gill takes the seizing and beating as the rough handling Israel's prophets met, whether by fists or by rods and scourges. The servant returns with no fruit to show the owner. The tenants keep the harvest and give back only injury.
Mark 12:3
“And they caught him,.... This clause is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions, though it seems proper to be retained; and denotes the rudeness and violence with which the prophets of the Lord were used by the Jewish nation: and beat him: either with their fists, or with rods, and scourges, till the skin was flayed off: and sent him away empty; without any fruit to carry with him, or give an account of, to the owner of the vineyard.”
struck him over the head: Adam Clarke notes that no Greek writer uses this verb for a wound to the head. Most learned men of his day read it as making short work of the servant. Bede takes this second servant as David and the psalmists, whose songs Israel despised.
this one they killed: Bede reads the third servant and his companions as the whole band of the prophets, and asks which of them Israel did not persecute. Gill thinks the many others may include the faithful of the Maccabean years, pointing to Hebrews 11:37. The owner still sends more after the first death.
Mark 12:5
“And again he sent another,.... That is, another servant, or set of men, it may be in the times of the Maccabees, who were used in a very inhuman manner; see Heb 11:37; and him they killed; either with the sword, or by inflicting some capital punishment, as stoning, strangling, &c. and many others; that is, either the owner of the vineyard sent many other servants, or the husbandmen ill used many others that were sent to them: beating some; with their hands, or with scourges; and killing some; in one or other of the above ways.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:5
“It was no wonder if those who abused the prophets, abused Christ himself. God did at length send them his Son, his well-beloved; it was therefore so much the greater kindness in him to send him; as in Jacob to send Joseph to visit his brethren, Gen. xxxvii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:6-8
having one beloved son: Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them, and beloved is the word spoken over Jesus at His baptism. Jesus now sets that word in His own parable of Himself.
Mark 12:6
“Matthew and Mark say: "He sent his only son, saying 'they will respect my son.' " Luke sounds as though the outcome is in doubt, as though he did not know without doubt. But in Matthew and Mark he says: "they will respect my son," that is, it is declared that respect will be shown. God can neither be in doubt, nor can he be deceived. For one can only be in doubt who is ignorant of the future. One is deceived who has predicted one thing while another happened.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.17.214-18patristic
Adam Clarke reads their words as a conscience that recognized the Messiah and chose to protect its own authority and revenues. Bede hears Psalm 2:8 behind the inheritance, the nations promised to the Son, and concludes that the leaders acted from envy with full knowledge.
Mark 12:7
“This is the heir - So they appear to have acknowledged in their consciences that this was the Messiah, the heir of all things. The inheritance shall be ours - By slaying him we shall maintain our authority, and keep possession of our revenues.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
threw him out of the vineyard: Gill reads the throwing out as the leaders handing Jesus over to the Gentiles, who stood outside the vineyard, for death on a cross. Matthew's account puts the throwing out first. Pseudo-Jerome sees the same act in their refusal to own him as one of their own people.
Mark 12:8
“And they took him, and killed him, and cast him, out of the vineyard. They sent their officers and servants, and apprehended him in the garden; they delivered him to the Gentiles, who were without the vineyard, and by whom, at their instigation, he was put to death, even to the death of the cross. The Ethiopic version reads it in the same order as in Matthew; "they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed hin"; See Gill on Mat 21:39.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:8
“Or else, they cast Him out of the vineyard, that is, out of the people, saying Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil. (John 8:48) Or, as far as in them lay, they cast Him out of their own borders, and gave Him up to the Gentiles that they might receive Him. There follows, What then will the Lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard unto other.”
Pseudo-Jerome · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 12:8
“Note, If men's prejudices be not conquered by the evidence of truth, they are but confirmed; and if the corruptions of the heart be not subdued by faithful reproofs, they are but enraged and exasperated. If the gospel be not a savour of life unto life, it will be a savour of death unto death.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:9-11
He will come and kill those tenants: , and will give the vineyard to others answers the parable's own question. The judgment falls on the tenants who held the vineyard, and Mark does not say who the others are.
Mark 12:9
“What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do?.... The Arabic and Ethiopic versions add, to them; that is, to the husbandmen, as is expressed in Mat 21:40; see Gill on Mat 21:40, he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. As the former clause contains a question put by Christ upon his having finished the parable, this is an answer to it, given by the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, in whose presence, and for whose sake it was delivered; See Gill on Mat 21:41.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:9
“And will give the vineyard unto others - The vineyard must not perish with the husbandmen; it is still capable of producing much fruit, if it be properly cultivated. I will give it into the care of new vine-dressers, the evangelists and apostles. - And under their ministry, multitudes were brought to God before the destruction of Jerusalem.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jesus turns to Psalm 118, where the leaders who were tenants in the story now appear as builders. Bede notes the shift and reads the cornerstone as Christ, on whom Jews and Gentiles are built into one temple. Theophylact calls the corner the Church, joining the two peoples.
Mark 12:10
“The exaltation of Christ was the Lord's doing, and it is his doing to exalt him in our hearts, and to set up his throne there; and if it be done, it cannot but be marvellous in our eyes. Now what effect had this parable upon the chief priests and scribes, whose conviction was designed by it?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Mark 12:10
- QuotingPsalms 118:22“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
'the stone which the builders rejected' ('have ye not read this scripture')
The line finishes the Scripture Jesus quotes from Psalm 118. Gill reads it of the Son the leaders rejected and killed, whom the Lord then raised to the place of the cornerstone. What the builders rejected, the Lord made marvelous.
Mark 12:11
“This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. That is, the exaltation of the Messiah, after he had been so ill treated, and at last put to death by the Jews. These words are a continuation of the passage cited out of Psa 118:22.”
they knew that He had spoken this parable against them: At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away, and fear of the people decides what they do next.
Mark 12:12
“They feared the multitude - How wonderful is the providence of God, using all things for the good of his children! Generally the multitude is restrained from tearing them in pieces only by the fear of their rulers. And here the rulers themselves are restrained, through fear of the multitude!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Caesar's Image and God's
Mark 12:13-15
to catch Jesus in His words: The Pharisees and Herodians, two parties at odds, the nationalist and the collaborator, are joined by one target. Their praise, You are honest and seek favor from no one, closes every escape before the question of taxes to Caesar lands.
Mark 12:13
“Let us observe in the beginning of this passage, how men of different religious opinions can unite in opposing Christ . We read of "Pharisees and Herodians" coming together to "catch our Lord in His words," and perplex Him with a hard question. The Pharisee was a superstitious formalist, who cared for nothing but the outward ceremonies of religion. The Herodian was a mere man of the world, who despised all religion, and cared more for pleasing men than God.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:13
“We have said elsewhere of the Herodians, that they were a certain new heresy, who said that Herod was the Christ, because the succession of the kingdom of Judah had failed. Others however say that the Herodians were the soldiers of Herod, whom the Pharisees brought as witnesses of the words of Christ, that they might take Him, and lead Him away. But observe how in their wickedness they wished to deceive Christ by flattery; for it goes on: Master, we know that thou art true.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 12:13
“And they send unto him,.... That is, the chief priests, Scribes, and elders, who had been with Jesus in the temple, and were silenced by his reasonings, and provoked by his parables; and therefore left him, and went together to consult what methods they should take to get him into their hands, and be revenged on him; the result of which was, they send to him certain of the Pharisees.”
Is it lawful to pay taxes: The praise of Jesus as impartial is bait. Bede explains that it pushed him to side with God against Caesar, so that the Herodians present could report him as a rebel against Rome. Matthew Henry adds that they wanted an accusation from whichever side he took.
Mark 12:14
And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavour to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Caesar; and He answered, "Tell Me, whose image does the coin bear?" And they said, "Caesar's." And again He answered them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Justin Martyr · written before 165 · The First Apology, Chapter XVIIpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:14
“The question they put was, Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? They would be thought desirous to know their duty. As a nation that did righteousness, they ask of God the ordinances of justice, when really they desired nothing but to know what he would say, in hopes that, which side soever he took of the question, they might take occasion from it to accuse him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Bring Me a denarius: Gill notes that the second question, whether they should pay, pressed Jesus to take a side and so be charged for his advice. Jesus names the test and asks for a coin. Bede observes that wisdom lets the tempters be confounded by their own answer.
Mark 12:15
“Shall we give, or not give?.... They not only ask whether it was lawful, but whether also it was advisable to do it, that they might not only accuse him of his principles, but charge him with persuading, or dissuading in this case.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:15
“The circulation of the money is from him as the fountain, and therefore it must return to him. As far as it is his, so far it must be rendered to him; and how far it is his, and may be commanded by him, is to be judged by the constitution of the government, according as it is, and hath settled the prerogative of the prince and the property of the subject.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:16-17
His question about the image turns their own coin against them, since the face of Caesar on it settles what belongs to Caesar. The coin bears the image of Caesar, and a man bears the image of God.
Mark 12:16
“And they brought it,.... The penny, which was a Roman one, and worth seven pence halfpenny of our money: and he saith unto them, whose is this image, and superscription; for it had the head of an emperor upon it, very likely the image of the then reigning emperor Tiberius, and a superscription on it, expressing his name, and perhaps a motto along with it: and they said unto him, Caesar's; one of the Roman emperors, Augustus, or Tiberius; most probably the latter; See Gill on Mat 22:20, Mat 22:21.”
The answer turns on the image the coin bears. Tertullian reads it as a pair: Caesar receives the money stamped with his image, and God receives the person who bears His. Augustine calls believers God's coins, worn by wandering and restamped by the One who first formed them.
Mark 12:17
“And Jesus answering said unto them,.... Very wisely and pertinently, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's: or "to the king, which are the king's", as the Arabic and Ethiopic versions render it: and to God the things that are God's; See Gill on Mat 22:21; and they marvelled at him; at his wisdom and prudence in returning such an answer, which cut off all occasion against him.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:17
“Idolatry is condemned, not on account of the persons which are set up for worship, but on account of those its observances, which pertain to demons. "The things which are Caesar's are to be rendered to Caesar." It is enough that He set in apposition thereto, "and to God the things which are God's.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Idolatrypatristic
God of the Living, Not of the Dead
Mark 12:18-23
who say there is no resurrection: The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, build their trap on Deuteronomy 25:5-6, that the man is to marry his brother’s widow. Seven brothers marry the woman in turn, a case built to make resurrection look absurd.
Mark 12:18
“Then came unto him the Sadducees,.... The same day, immediately after he had silenced the Pharisees and Herodians: these were a set of men distinct from the former, in some of their sentiments, especially in their religions ones, and particularly in the following: which say there is no resurrection: of the dead, in a literal sense, either general or particular; See Gill on Mat 22:23; and they asked him, saying; as in the next verse.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:18
“These verses relate a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. The religion of these men, we know, was little better than infidelity. They said there was "no resurrection." They too, like the Pharisees, thought to entangle and perplex our Lord with hard questions. The Church of Christ must not expect to fare better than its Master. Formalism on one side and infidelity on another, are two enemies for whose attacks we must always be prepared. We learn from this passage, how much unfairness may often be detected in the arguments of infidels .”
Mark 12:18
“Their specious inquiry concerned the flesh, whether or not it would be subject to marriage after the resurrection; and they assumed the case of a woman who had married seven brothers, so that it was a doubtful point to which of them she should be restored. Now, let the purport both of the question and the answer be kept steadily in view, and the discussion is settled at once.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Resurrection of the Fleshpatristic
raise up offspring for him: The Sadducees cite Deuteronomy 25:5, the law that a brother marry a childless widow to keep the dead man's line alive. Gill notes that they held to the written text of Moses and rejected the rabbis' traditional readings. Their case is built from Scripture itself.
Mark 12:19
“Master, Moses wrote unto us,.... Has left in writing for us the following precept to observe; for they acknowledged the writings of Moses, and indeed all the Scriptures of the Old Testament; adhering to the literal sense of them, and rejecting the traditional interpretation of them by the Rabbins: if a man's brother die, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother; which is the sense of the law in Deu 25:5; See Gill on Mat 22:24.”
Cross references
Mark 12:19
Now there were seven brothers: Gill notes that the law Moses wrote bound only brothers of the same father. The first brother married and died with no children, so the second was bound to marry the widow. Each death keeps the case inside what Moses wrote.
Mark 12:20
“Now there were seven brethren,.... In a certain family, at a certain place; perhaps at Jerusalem, who were brethren by the father's side; for such only were reckoned so, and such only did this law oblige: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed: no child: hence it is clear that the ancient Jews used the word seed, of a single person, as these Sadducees did; though modern ones deny such an use of it in our present controversies with them about the sense of Gen 3:15; See Gill on Mat 22:25.”
the second one married the widow: The second brother does what Deuteronomy 25:5 required and still leaves no heir. Tertullian calls it a crafty question built on a law whose purpose was to raise up offspring for the dead. That purpose fails again with each brother.
none of the seven left: All seven brothers married the woman in turn, and none left any children before she died last of all. Bede, on verse 19, calls the story a fable made up to mock the resurrection. He grants it could have happened.
Mark 12:22
“And the seventh had her, and left no seed,.... All, the seven brethren married her, one after another, and neither of them had any children by her: and last of all the woman died also; after all the seven brethren, to whom she had been married.”
whose wife will she be?: The Sadducees assume that marriage in the resurrection stands as it does now. Bede says they use the story to deny the resurrection itself. Tertullian answers that the seven will have no jealousy over her, for the risen will be like the angels in heaven.
Mark 12:23
“To Christians, after their departure from this world, no restoration of the carnal aspect of marriage is promised in the day of the resurrection, translated as they will be into the condition and sanctity of angels. In the day of resurrection no dilemma arising from sexual jealousy will injure any of her so many husbands, even in the case of her whom they chose to represent as having been married to seven brothers successively.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · To His Wife 1.1patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:23
“In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise,.... This last clause, "when they shall rise", is omitted in two copies of Beza's, and in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, because, perhaps, it might be thought superfluous; but this is agreeably to the way of speaking and writing with the Jews: so in the Targum on Zec 3:7, באחיות מיתיא אחינך, "in the quickening of the dead I will quicken thee"; or, in the resurrection of the dead I will raise thee.”
Mark 12:23
“When they shall rise - This clause is wanting in BCDL, four others, Syriac, later Arabic, later Persic, Coptic, Saxon, and two of the Itala. Griesbach leaves it doubtful.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Mark 12:24-25
Jesus names a double failure behind their question: you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Their case assumed marriage would go on unchanged, but when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
Mark 12:24
“And Jesus answering said unto them,.... Which they thought he was not able to do, but would have been silenced at once by them, as many of their antagonists had been: do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God? what is expressed in Matthew affirmatively, is here put by way of interrogation, which, with the Jews, was a more vehement way of affirming; See Gill on Mat 22:29.”
like the angels in heaven: Albert Barnes limits the likeness to the angels to relationships, so that marriage as a bond will cease. He adds that the verse leaves open the memory and recognition of those once married. Bede applies marry to men and given in marriage to women.
Mark 12:25
"But if 'in that age they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be equal to angels,' is not the fact that there will be no restitution of the conjugal relation a reason why we shall not be bound to our departed consorts? "Nay, but the more shall we be bound (to them), because we are destined to a better estate-destined (as we are) to rise to a spiritual consortship, to recognise as well our own selves as them who are ours.
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Monogamypatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:25
“A beautiful clause is added in Luke (Lu 20:36) --"and are the children of God"--not in respect of character, which is not here spoken of, but of nature--"being the children of the resurrection," as rising to an undecaying existence (Ro 8:21, 23), and so being the children of their Father's immortality (1Ti 6:16).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 12:26-27
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac: Jesus answers from the burning bush in the Book of Moses, the part of Scripture the Sadducees held authoritative. God speaks in the present tense after the patriarchs died: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Mark 12:26
“But when He says, The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; by naming God thrice, He implied the Trinity. But when He says, He is not the God of the dead, by naming again the One God, he implies One Substance. But they live who make good the portion, which they had chosen; and they are dead, who have lost what they had made good. Ye therefore do greatly err.”
Pseudo-Jerome · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Cross references
Mark 12:26
- QuotingExodus 3:6“Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”
'I am the God of Abraham', resurrection argument
not the God of the dead: Bede argues that a God who still names himself the God of the patriarchs must have living persons to be God of. The body that shared their deeds must rise with them. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that all classes in Israel held the Pentateuch as the foundation.
Mark 12:27
“But the God of the living - Θεος, God, is left out by ABCDKL, and in more than forty others, Syriac, one Arabic, one Persic, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, Itala, and Origen. Griesbach has omitted it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:27
“It was because the Pentateuch was regarded by all classes as the fundamental source of the Hebrew religion, and all the succeeding books of the Old Testament but as developments of it, that our Lord would show that even there the doctrine of the Resurrection was taught.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The First Commandment of All
Mark 12:28-31
Jesus answers with the Shema, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One, the confession Israel recited daily. He joins to it Love your neighbor as yourself, from Leviticus 19:18.
Mark 12:28
“These verses contain a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and "one of the Scribes." For the third time in one day we see our Lord tried by a hard question. Having put to silence the Pharisees and Sadducees, He is asked to decide a point on which much difference of opinion prevailed among the Jews — "Which is the first commandment of all?" We have reason to bless God that so many hard questions were propounded to our Lord. Without them the marvelous words of wisdom which His three answers contain, might never have been spoken at all.”
4 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:28
“And one of the Scribes came,.... Matthew calls him a lawyer, Mat 22:35, an interpreter of the law, as a Scribe was: and having heard them reasoning together; being present at the dispute between Christ and the Sadducees, which he diligently attended to: and perceiving that he had answered them well: in a most beautiful manner.”
Mark 12:28
“For in this law given to Adam we recognise in embryo all the precepts which afterwards sprouted forth when given through Moses; that is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God from thy whole heart and out of thy whole soul; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; Thou shalt not kill; Thou shall not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; False witness thou shall not utter; Honour thy father and mother; and, That which is another's, shall thou not covet.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · An Answer to the Jewspatristic
Mark 12:28
“Our Lord's answer is in a strain of respect very different from what He showed to cavillers--ever observing His own direction, "Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine; lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Mt 7:6).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 12:28
“Which is the first commandment? - The principal, and most necessary to be observed. The Lord our God is one Lord - This is the foundation of the first commandment, yea, of all the commandments.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Jesus answers the scribe with the words Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:4, words every devout Jew said twice a day. Gill notes that He answered at once. The command to love God rests on the Lord being One.
Mark 12:29
“Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is,.... Christ replied at once, without taking any time to consider of it, that the chief and principal of all the commands of the law, and what is of the greatest importance is, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. The Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions read, "one God"; but the Syriac, and Ethiopic render it, "one Lord"; and that rightly, agreeably to the Greek text, and to Deu 6:4, from whence this is taken.”
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:29
Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord--This every devout Jew recited twice every day, and the Jews do it to this day; thus keeping up the great ancient national protest against the polytheisms and pantheisms of the heathen world: it is the great utterance of the national faith in One Living and Personal God--"ONE JEHOVAH!"
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 12:29
“Since God is one, it is ridiculous to suppose that there could be still another "Lord" of heaven and earth in addition to the Lord who is one. There is simply no room for a second Lord of all, if the one true God fills all things in the compass of heaven and earth.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Against the Heathen 6.4patristic
Mark 12:29
“Those that sincerely desire to be instructed concerning their duty, Christ will guide in judgment, and teach his way. That the great commandment of all, which is indeed inclusive of all, is, that of loving God with all our hearts. (1.) Where there is a commanding principle in the soul, there is a disposition to every other duty.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Mark 12:29
- QuotingDeuteronomy 6:4“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.”
the Shema, 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord', the first commandment
ConnectionsDeuteronomy 6:4
Four times the command says all. Basil of Caesarea reads that word as admitting no division, so whatever love is spent on lower things is missing from the whole. The Glossa Ordinaria refers strength to the powers of the body, so that the whole person is claimed.
Mark 12:30
“It is not the privilege of any chance person to go forward to the perfection of love and to learn to know him who is truly beloved, but of him who has already "put off the old man, which is being corrupted through its deceptive lusts, and has put on the new man," which is being renewed that it may be recognized as an image of the creator.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · Exegetic Homilies, Homily 17patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:30
“OUR SAVIOUR said, “This is the first and great commandment.” It is “the first” commandment—the first for antiquity, for this is older than even the ten commandments of the written law. Before God said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal,” this law was one of the commands of his universe; for this was binding upon the angels when man was not created.”
Mark 12:30
“What then are we here bound down to do? One word is made to express it. Had the essence of the divine law consisted in deeds, it could not possibly have been expressed in a single word; for no one deed is comprehensive of all others embraced in the law.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The second command comes from Leviticus 19:18. John Wesley calls it like the first in scope, since it takes in the whole of a person's duty to others. Chrysostom joins the two, saying that one who loves God does not neglect his brother.
Mark 12:31
“The second is like unto it - Of a like comprehensive nature: comprising our whole duty to man. There is no other moral, much less ceremonial commandment, greater than these.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:31
“And thus it is a condemnation of the idolatry of the creature. Our supreme and uttermost affection is to be reserved for God. But as sincerely as ourselves we are to love all mankind, and with the same readiness to do and suffer for them as we should reasonably desire them to show to us.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Mark 12:31
“And the second is like,.... "Unto it", as in Mat 22:39 and so it is read here in two ancient copies of Beza's, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Cross references
Mark 12:31
- QuotingLeviticus 19:18“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'
Mark 12:32-34
the scribe replied: The scribe adds that such love is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices, echoing Hosea 6:6 and Samuel's word to Saul. Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely and told him he was not far from the kingdom of God.
Mark 12:32
“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master--Teacher. thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he--The genuine text here seems clearly to have been, "There is one," without the word "God"; and so nearly all critical editors and expositors read.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:32
“And thus must we subscribe to Christ's sayings, must set to our seal that they are true. Christ had quoted that great doctrine, that the Lord our God is one Lord; and this he not only assented to, but added, " There is none other but he; and therefore we must have no other God besides." This excludes all rivals with him, and secures the throne in the heart entire for him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:32
“And the scribe said - The answer of the scribe, contained in Mar 12:32-34, is not found either in Matthew or Luke. This is another proof against Mark’s supposed abridgment.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
more important than all burnt offerings: Bede reports that the scribes argued over which commandment was most important, some placing burnt offerings and sacrifices first and others love. This scribe sides with love. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see him grasping that God always commands love, while offerings bind only as long as God commands them.
Mark 12:33
“And to love him with all the heart . . . and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices--more, that is, than all positive institutions; thereby showing insight into the essential difference between what is moral and in its own nature unchangeable, and what is obligatory only because enjoined, and only so long as enjoined.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
not far from the kingdom: Jesus' words measure a distance. Pseudo-Jerome notes that the scribe still stood some way from the kingdom, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown allow that he may never have entered it. Adam Clarke thinks it very probable that he did at last believe in and confess Jesus.
Mark 12:34
“‘And when Jesus saw’ [’saw him,’ so it should be] ‘that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.’Mark 12:34. THIS MAN BEGAN with Christ as a foe, and he ended as a friend. It does not quite appear from Mark, but it is plainly stated by Matthew, that the scribe asked a question of the Savior ‘tempting him.’ He was, therefore, an enemy.”
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:34
“Or else, he is not far who comes with knowledge; for ignorance is farther from the kingdom of God than knowledge; wherefore he says above to the Sadducees, Ye err, not knowing the Scriptures, or the power of God. It goes on: And no man after that durst ask him any questions.”
Pseudo-Jerome · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 12:34
“Jesus said to him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God - Reader, art not thou? then go on: be a real Christian: else it had been better for thee to have been afar off.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Mark 12:34
“Thou art not far from the kingdom of God - This scribe appears to have been a prudent, sensible, and pious man; almost a Christian - so near the kingdom of God that he might have easily stepped in. It is very probable that he did at last believe in and confess Jesus.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
David's Son, Proud Scribes, and a Widow's Two Mites
Mark 12:35-37
Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared in Psalm 110:1, The Lord said to my Lord, and so gave his descendant the title Lord. The riddle resolves only in a Messiah who is both David's son and David's Lord.
Mark 12:35
“And Jesus answered and said,.... To the Pharisees that were gathered together about him; See Gill on Mat 22:41. While he taught in the temple; Whilst he was in the temple, and as he was teaching the people there; among other things in his doctrine, he put this question, how say the Scribes, that Christ is the son of David?”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:35
“Because Christ was coming to His Passion, He corrects a false opinion of the Jews, who said that Christ was the Son of David, not his Lord; wherefore it is said, And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple. But Christ shows Himself to be the Lord, by the words of David.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Mark 12:35
“We have seen in the former part of this chapter, how the enemies of our Lord endeavored to "catch Him in His words." We have seen how the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes successively propounded to Him hard questions — questions we can hardly fail to observe more likely to minister strife than edification. The passage before us begins with a question of a very different character. Our Lord Himself propounds it. He asks His enemies about Christ and the meaning of Holy Scripture. Such questions are always truly profitable.”
Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 and stresses that David spoke by the Holy Spirit, which Gill reads as David writing under inspiration. Bede adds that the Father's subduing of the Son's enemies shows one nature working in both. The Son likewise subdues the Father's enemies.
Mark 12:36
“The Scribe is not far from the Kingdom of God when he confesses one God, Who is to be loved above all things. But his own statement of the law is a reproach to him that the mystery of the law has escaped him, that he does not know Christ the Lord, the Son of God, by the nature of His birth to be included in the confession of the one God.”
Hilary of Poitiers · written before 367 · On the Trinity 9.26patristic
Cross references
Mark 12:36
- QuotingPsalms 110:1The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
'The Lord said to my Lord' ('David himself said by the Holy Ghost')
ConnectionsPsalms 110:1
listened to Him with delight: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find the answer to the riddle in the two natures of Christ, David's son by descent and David's Lord by right. The crowd enjoyed the exchange. Matthew Henry cautions that many heard him as a pleasant song, as Ezekiel's hearers did in Ezekiel 33.
Mark 12:37
“Messiah is at once inferior to David as his son according to the flesh, and superior to him as the Lord of a kingdom of which David is himself a subject, not the sovereign. The human and divine natures of Christ, and the spirituality of His kingdom--of which the highest earthly sovereigns are honored if they be counted worthy to be its subjects--furnish the only key to this puzzle.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:37
“What is lofty you are to apply to the Godhead, and to that nature in him which is superior to sufferings and incorporeal; but all that is lowly to the composite condition of him who for your sakes made himself of no reputation and was incarnate.”
Gregory of Nazianzus · written before 390 · Oration 29, on the Son 18patristic
Mark 12:37
“Probably there was something more than ordinarily commanding and charming in his voice and way of delivery, which recommended him to the affections of the common people; for we do not find that any were wrought upon to believe in him, and to follow him, but he was to them as a lovely song of one that could play well on an instrument; as Ezekiel was to his hearers, Ezek. xxxiii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Mark 12:37
“See the notes at Mat 22:41-46. Mar 12:37 The common people heard him gladly - The success of the Saviour in his preaching was chiefly among the common or the poorer class of people. The rich and the mighty were too proud to listen to his instructions. So it is still. The main success of the gospel is there, and there it pours down its chief blessings. This is not the fault of “the gospel.” It would bless the rich and the mighty as well as the poor, if they came with like humble hearts.”
Mark 12:38-40
Jesus warns against scribes who defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Their piety on display stands beside plunder of the very people the law commanded Israel to protect.
Mark 12:38
“But they used to walk in honourable garments, because they wished to be highly esteemed for it, and in like manner they desired other things, which lead to glory. For it goes on: And love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts. He also especially teaches the Apostles, not to have any communication with the scribes, but to imitate Christ Himself; and in ordaining them to be masters in the duties of life, He places others under them.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:38
“In his doctrine - In his “teaching,” for so it should be rendered. Beware of the scribes - Be on your guard. Be cautious about hearing them or following them. Scribes - The learned men of the Jewish nation. Which love to go in long clothing - In long, flowing robes, as significant of their consequence, leisure, and learning. Salutations ... - See the notes at Mat 23:6-7.”
Mark 12:38
“Beware of the scribes - There was an absolute necessity for these repeated cautions. For, considering their inveterate prejudices against Christ, it could never be supposed the common people would receive the Gospel till these incorrigible blasphemers of it were brought to just disgrace.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Mark 12:38
“And he said unto them in his doctrine--rather, "in His teaching"; implying that this was but a specimen of an extended discourse, which Matthew gives in full (Mt 23:1-39).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the chief seats in the synagogues: Gill explains that the chief seats were where the synagogue rulers and elders sat. Clement of Alexandria answers that a true servant of God, even without the chief seat here, will sit among the twenty-four thrones John describes.
Mark 12:39
“And the chief seats in the synagogues,.... Where the rulers of the synagogue, and the elders of the people sat; See Gill on Mat 23:6. And the uppermost rooms at feasts; or the first and chief places where they sat, or rather lay along at public entertainment; See Gill on Mat 23:6.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:39
“Such an one is in reality a presbyter of the Church, and a true minister (deacon) of the will of God, if he do and teach what is the Lord's; not as being ordained by men, nor regarded righteous because a presbyter, but enrolled in the presbyterate because righteous. And although here upon earth he be not honoured with the chief seat, he will sit down on the four-and-twenty thrones, judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse.”
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Stromata Book 6patristic
They defraud widows of their houses: Albert Barnes explains that the scribes offered widows counsel in the law and in managing their estates, then took large fees or the property itself. Bede says they prayed through the night to win money from the poor. Greater trust abused brings greater condemnation.
Mark 12:40
“Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation--They took advantage of their helpless condition and confiding character to obtain possession of their property, while by their "long prayers" they made them believe they were raised far above "filthy lucre." So much the "greater damnation" awaited them.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:40
“Which devour widows’ houses - Which devour the families of widows, or the means of supporting their families. This they did under pretence of counseling them in the knowledge of the law and in the management of their estates. They took advantage of their ignorance and their unprotected state, and either extorted large sums for their counsel, or perverted the property to their own use. No wonder that our Saviour denounced them!”
Mark 12:41-44
sitting opposite the treasury: One poor widow put in two small copper coins, the smallest in use. Jesus weighs the gift by its cost, since she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.
Mark 12:41
“Sat over against - Opposite to, in full sight of. The treasury - This was in the court of the women. See the notes at Mat 21:12. In that court there were fixed a number of places or coffers, made with a large open mouth in the shape of a trumpet, for the purpose of receiving the offerings of the people; and the money thus contributed was devoted to the service of the temple - to incense, sacrifices, etc.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:41
“And Jesus sat over against the treasury,.... the Arabic version reads, "at the door of the treasury"; the place where the chests stood, into which money was put for various uses: there were thirteen chests in the temple (d); six of them were, לנדבה, for voluntary oblations, or freewill offerings; for what remained of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the turtles; for those that had fluxes, and for new mothers; and of the sacrifices of the Nazarite, and of the trespass offering for the leper; and the last was for a freewill offering in general;…”
two small copper coins: Barnes notes that these copper coins were the smallest in use among the Jews. Adam Clarke, on the verse before, cites a rule that no one should put less than two into the treasury. The poor widow put in two, all she had.
Mark 12:42
“I pass on to the widow in the gospel who, though she was but a poor widow was yet richer than all the people of Israel. [Mark 12:43] She had but a grain of mustard seed, but she put her leaven in three measures of flour; and, combining her confession of the Father and of the Son with the grace of the Holy Spirit, she cast her two mites into the treasury. All the substance that she had, her entire possessions, she offered in the two testaments of her faith.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Letter 54, to Furia 17patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:42
“Two mites - The word translated “mite” denotes a small coin made of brass - the smallest in use among the Jews. The precise value cannot now be easily estimated. It was much less than any coin we have, as the “farthing” was less than an English farthing. It was in value about three mills and a half, or one-third of a cent.”
has put more than all: Bede says God weighs the conscience of the giver and the store the gift comes from. Albert Barnes reads more as more in proportion to her means. By that reckoning her two coins outweigh every other gift.
Mark 12:43
“This poor widow hath cast more in ... - That is, more in proportion to her means, and therefore more that was acceptable to God. He does not mean that this was more in value than all which the others had put in but it showed more love to the sacred cause, more self-denial, and, of course, more sincerity in what she did. This is the rule by which God will reward us. Compare 2Co 8:12.”
1 more voice on this verse
Mark 12:43
“I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all - See what judgement is cast on the most specious, outward actions by the Judge of all! And how acceptable to him is the smallest, which springs from self-denying love!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Barnes explains that the others contributed out of a surplus they did not need, while the widow gave all she had to live on. She trusted God for the rest. Chrysostom says the Lord looked at her soul, and by that measure she gave most.
Mark 12:44
“Of their abundance - Of their superfluous store. They have given what they did not “need.” They could afford it as well as not, and in doing it they have shown no self-denial. She of her want - Of her poverty. All her living - All that she had to live on. She trusted in God to supply her wants, and devoted her little property entirely to him. From this passage we may learn: 1. That God is pleased with offerings made to him and his cause. 2. That it is our duty to devote our property to God.”
2 more voices on this verse
Mark 12:44
“There is an old saying that a miser lacks as much what he has as what he has not. The believer has a whole world of wealth; the unbeliever has not a single farthing. Let us always live "as having nothing and yet possessing all things." [2 Cor. 6:10] Food and raiment, these are the Christian's wealth. [1 Tim. 6:8] If your property is in your own power, [Cf. Acts 5:4] sell it: if not, cast it from you.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Letter 53, to Paulinus 11patristic
Mark 12:44
“If Christ saith, Well-done, no matter who saith otherwise; and we must hence learn, 1. That giving alms, is an excellent good thing, and highly pleasing to the Lord Jesus; and if we be humble and sincere in it, he will graciously accept of it, though in some circumstances there may not be all the discretion in the world.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Keep studying
Studies14
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Mark; Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATE ON JOHN 40.9; Basil of Caesarea, EXEGETIC HOMILIES, HOMILY 17; Bede; Charles Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 6; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome; Tertullian and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.