In this episode of Add Bible, we journey through one of the most insightful chapters of Mark, uncovering the profound lessons embedded within Jesus’ teachings. From the gripping parable that foretells His fate to His conversations about the resurrection and commandments, each section offers compelling insights relevant to personal and collective faith practices. Dive into personal reflections that connect with the scripture and invite you to contemplate the application of these timeless lessons in your daily life.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Mark chapter 12. There are 44 verses in this chapter. We will listen to it by faith comes by hearing. Mark chapter 12. Mark 12.
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And he began to speak to them in parables.
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A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, They will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
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And they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him,
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Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not?
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But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test?
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Bring me a denarius, and let me look at it. And they brought one, and he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this?
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They said to him, Caesar’s.
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Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.
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And they marveled at him. And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection.
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And they asked him a question, saying, 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 widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.
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Jesus said to them, Is this not the reason you are wrong? Because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.
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You are quite wrong.” 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 most important of all?
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Jesus answered, The most important is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, 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. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
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And the scribe said to him, You are right, teacher. You have truly said that he is one and there is no other besides him. 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 is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
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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 more questions.
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And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, How can the scribe say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself in the Holy Spirit declared, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord.
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So how is he his son? And the great throng heard him gladly, and in his teaching he said,
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Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
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And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums, and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
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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 offering box. for they all contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.
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Mark 12 is a long chapter. Obviously, I cannot comment on every aspect of this chapter. And I don’t oftentimes because you hear the word of God. It touches your own heart. I just like to go back to my journals and see where it touched my heart in various times in my life. So again, that’s what we’ll share today. In 1986, I was moving from Denver, Colorado to Nashville, Tennessee. The moving truck came yesterday and today we were off and going on our way to Nashville. I wrote in my journal, stayed in Colorado Springs last night and said goodbye to family’s Tears flowed, pain in my heart. Left at 5.30 in the morning for Oklahoma City to stay with Terry’s sister and husband. On that day or that evening, somewhere I read Mark 11, 12, and 13. So I caught up from those two or three days I missed while we were packing our family and packing the truck and moving out of Denver. And regarding those passages that day I wrote, God asks us for the small things. Peter said he would die for Jesus, yet Jesus only asked him to confess him before men. Peter failed and wept bitterly. In 1996, I was reading the Bible at a little bit slower pace, so I was splitting some of these chapters. So I read Mark 12 in two different days. On the first day I wrote, Jesus predicts his death to his killers in this parable, and they knew it. And then I wrote on, no marrying and married in heaven. It won’t matter. Praise God. We have no concept of what it will be like to be in the presence of Jesus. I finished Mark 12 the next day. It was a Saturday, and I usually go to a Gideon prayer breakfast, so I read the passage, but I didn’t write any notes. 2006, I was reading Old Testament passages and New Testament passages on the same day. I was in Deuteronomy and also in Mark 12, the first 27 verses, so there was some combined notes in the two of those. For example, I wrote concerning Deuteronomy, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. Then I wrote, Jesus referred to this as the greatest commandment, which we read about in Mark 12. I also wrote in my 2006 journal, Jesus asks, centuries later, have you not even read the scripture? And is this not the reason you are mistaken that you do not understand the scripture or the power of God? We need to do as Moses and Jesus instruct. Hear or read, learn and observe the Word of God. The next day, I also read Deuteronomy and Mark 12, the rest of the chapter. All my notes, though, were on Deuteronomy. No notes on Mark 12. The opening story in Mark 12 is a parable that Jesus speaks, and the Pharisees and the scribes know exactly who he’s talking about. Verse 12 says, And they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. Rather than softening the hearts of the religious leaders, a parable like that hardened them even more against Jesus. Next, the Pharisees and the Herodians try to test Jesus. Jesus’ response, why put me to the test? I hear people from time to time say, when I get to heaven, I have a few questions for Jesus. Good luck with that. Just like these Pharisees and Herodians. But listen to the reputation that Jesus has. Verse 14 says, And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. for you are not swayed by appearances but truly teach the way of god is that your reputation do you speak truth or are you swayed by everyone else’s opinion do you can you truly teach the word of god In verse 10, he challenged the crowd. Have you not read this scripture? Maybe that’s a challenge for you today too. As you read scripture, as scripture is planted in your heart, you too will be able to speak and teach truth. The next challenge to Jesus is a scribe who wants to know what the greatest commandment is. And Jesus answers him in verse 29. with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Interestingly, the scribe verifies that Jesus is correct. Isn’t that nice? Verse 32, And the scribe said to him, You are right, teacher. I can’t imagine being in a place myself where I am judging whether the words of Jesus are right or not. But Jesus says to the scribe, you are not far from the kingdom of God. How about you? Are you far from the kingdom of God or are you close to the kingdom of God? Do you love the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength? How are you carrying out that great commandment in your life today? And more importantly, how would Jesus see you carrying out the great commandment? Do you truly love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength? And do you love others as yourself? Lord, we thank you that in your word we do learn truth. We pray that as we learn the truth from your word, we would not be swayed by the opinions of others. We also pray, Holy Spirit, that you will empower us to fulfill what you call the great commandment. Help us love you with our emotions, with our spirit, with our intelligence, and with our physical strength. And help our neighbors see our love for you. To God be the glory. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. Is the Bible unique or just like the other so-called sacred writings in the world? The teachings of Buddha, the Hindu writings, or the Koran? Many say they all say the same thing and lead people to the same place. I believe that is a statement of ignorance because most people have never read much, if any, of the sacred writings of the world. I have. I picked up the teachings of Buddha in the Buddhist country of Thailand. I got a Koran in the Muslim nation of Malaysia. And like a Bible placed in a hotel by the Gideons that I hoped people would read cover to cover, I read those other books. At EzraProject.net, check out our message called Origins of the Sacred Writings, God’s Word or Man’s. I tell you where they came from, quote from them, and you can decide. They all say the same thing and all lead people to the same place. It’s one of our most popular messages. I know you’re going to enjoy it and want to share it with others.
