CHAPTER 12

1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.
5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

The chief priests and elders recognized the earthly story. But they did not recognize the heavenly application.

They realized the "householder" was the owner of the vineyard. They realized that the owner had authority over the workers. They also realized that when the workers killed the son, that the owner would "destroy those wicked men."

Then Jesus put the parable into spiritual perspective. He told them quite plainly that they were the "wicked servants"!! And He told them that the "kingdom" was taken from them, and would be given to those who would bear "fruit" of the kingdom of God.

Jesus alluded to Scripture that was known by these men to be prophetic of Messiah. Psalm 118:22-23 refers to the "Stone" which the "builders" rejected!

This "Stone can be none other than the "Cornerstone" - Jesus Christ - the MESSIAH!!

ALL these things refer back to the beginning of chapter 11 when the people were praising Jesus and accepting Him as MESSIAH! They had been singing and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"

NOW the men realized the real meaning of the parable!
And NOW they were ANGRY!!! They wanted to KILL Jesus right then! But they also realized that many of the people BELIEVED Jesus to be the Messiah. And they realized that if they arrested Jesus now, the people would rebel and kill them!

This same type of instance reoccurred several times in the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests and elders would seek to destroy Jesus, but the time would not be right. The time of His crucifiction was right ONLY when Jesus allowed it!

13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
14 And when they were come, they say unto him, 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: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.

The Pharisees were legalists. They were strict in observing the law, but they refused to believe that God could come in a "Man." They did not believe Jesus was the long-awaited "Messiah," and refused to surrender to Him as Lord.

Since they would not surrender, they sought to discredit!

The intention of the Pharisees with the temptation of the money was to see if Jesus would ascribe lordship to Caesar. Under the "law" (of God), is it right to pay "tribute" to a person or government? Some try to do this today, saying that if a person really believes in God, he will not pay taxes. Taxation is a form of ascribing lordship.

But the truth is, money has a dual relationship! Yes, there are taxes to be paid. And yes, there are tithes to be paid!

Is "Caesar" lord over you? YES! Then DO what is right; pay what is DUE!
Is GOD "LORD" over all that you are? YES! He is LORD of lords, KING of kings! Then DO what is right; pay what is DUE!

One can pay taxes, serving the "lords" of the world without compromising the Lordship of God!

18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

While the Pharisees were legalistic in their view of the law, the Sadducees were aristocratic in nature, and had developed a ritualistic view of the law. They were the "Chief Priests," and sometimes tended to interpret the law even more strictly than the Pharisees. They believed that ONLY the "seventh" brother would be correctly married to the woman. AND the Sadducees did not believe in a "resurrection."

But the truth is, BOTH were too rigid in their interpretation to see the truth! The genuineness of the "law" is sometimes tainted by men's perspective. BOTH the Pharisees and the Sadducees were so intent on this age-old problem, they failed to see the TRUTH in the law.

The TRUTH, Jesus pointed out is that there are NO husbands and wives in heaven!!! Everyone there is going to be married to Jesus!

Jesus also pointed out a second truth: there IS a resurrection! Yes, EVERY soul will be resurrected and face Christ in a judgment. Those who have received Christ through repentance and surrender to His Lordship, will be acquitted of all sin! They shall receive the eternal judgment of heaven! Those who have not surrendered to Christ will receive the eternal judgment of hell!

Jesus wanted these people to know that there is no escape from final judgment. The soul is created to exist for eternity (See Genesis 2:7)(See also Revelation 20:11-15). All souls will exist for eternity SOMEWHERE!

Jesus concluded with saying, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the LIVING!" God exists for eternity, and His "breath" exists for eternity. And all those created by His breath exist for eternity.

Jesus' clear interpretation of the Scriptures "astonished" those who were listening.

Please note that the reason the Pharisees and Sadducees errored was that they did not "know ... the Scriptures!"

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And 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.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

The Pharisees heard the comments on the question presented by the Sadducees. They were glad that the Sadducess had been stymied, but they still wanted to ensnare Jesus. This "lawyer" was one of the Pharisees. He was skilled in the law of Moses. Obviously, the Pharisees thought he was more likely to ensnare Jesus than the Sadducees. And they put him up to asking the question (See Matthew 22:34-35

To answer, first, Jesus quoted part of the Shema, which is the Jewish equivalent of a profession of faith. The part Jesus quoted was Deuteronomy 6:5.

The Shema asserts the unity of One God, and the assurance there is One and only ONE God. It also asserts that our devotion and allegiance is to be given to this One God alone. We are to surrender to Him as Creator and Master of our souls. We are to learn from His Holy Word. And we are to continually teach that Word to our children.

Jesus stated that this was the "first and great commandment." THAT is the answer to the question posed by the "lawyer." The answer is to love the Lord God as ONE, and to love Him with all that you are.

Jesus also stated that the SECOND greatest commandment is: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." This was also a quote. It comes from Leviticus 19:18. The Hebrew word rea', literally meant one near - an associate, or a fellow-created person. Traditionally, this word had been later translated to mean a friend, or one who lived in like manner as oneself. However, Jesus taught (in Luke Luke 10:30-37) that ALL humans are "neighbours!"

Thus, these two laws form hinges for relationships. First, our relationship to God; and second, our relationship to our fellow man.

Remember, when God gave Moses the ten commandments, He gave them in TWO tablets. The first contained the four laws governing our relationship with God. The second contained the 6 laws governing our relationship with others. (See Exodus 20:1-17)

Perspective is the issue here. Jesus was stating that these two laws would give the right perspective to obedience of all other laws.

35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

Now, the Pharisees had all been "gathered together in a little corner listening to this interchange between the "lawyer" and Jesus.

Jesus took the opportunity to confront them with the most basic of questions for salvation: WHAT SHALL I DO WITH JESUS? Jesus did not ask them what they thought of "Jesus of Nazareth." He asked them what they thought of "CHRIST." Remember "Christ" is the Greek translation of "Messiah." Messiah is the One Whom the Jews anticipated coming to bring salvation.

Jesus was asking them, "Who's son is the Messiah?"
Their answer was "The Son of David."

But Jesus now pointed to the veracity of the Scripture, and asked them another question: "If David then call Him LORD, how is he his son?"

Indeed David called Messiah "Lord" in Psalm 110:1. What David was saying was that the long-awaited Messiah was to be "son of David" physically, but God in flesh Spiritually!

These Pharisees did not believe God would come as a man! But they purportedly believed the Scriptures! This statement of Jesus directly opposed their faith in the Scriptures! For if they truly believed the Scriptures, they MUST believe that God would come in a man, and would be of the lineage of David! (See Isaiah 43:11)

If God did not come Himself, He could not be perfectly righteous and win the fight over evil.
But if God did not come as a man, He could not pay the price for sin, the blood of man.

Yes, the "Lord" (Messiah) had existence before and during the time of David. He was both David's Creator and Master. He is the ETERNAL "Son of God!"

And, yes, He DID come in the form of a man, that He might pay to God man's price for sin - death!

God has "highly exalted Him (Messiah-Jesus)," and placed Him at His "right hand." He has placed the enemies of Satan, sin and death at the feet of Jesus, and made them "His footstool!"

So here's the question of the day: WHAT SHALL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

Shall you receive Him as LORD?
Shall you honor Him as MASTER?
Is He not God come in man to bring salvation to all mankind?

THIS is the question that ultimately faced the Pharisees. But they were not able to "answer Him a word." And neither did they ask Him any more questions trying to trip Him up!

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Now Jesus spoke directly to the people gathered around.

The intent of this statement is identified in the previous discussions with the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. The Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes had sought to entrap Jesus in His teachings. Now Jesus speaks to the multitude AND to His disciples of the TRUTH of Scripture.

The term "sit in Moses' seat" means teaching of the law of God. Indeed, if the scribes and Pharisees are teaching of the law of God, then all should "observe" what they teach.

But the manner of their action against Jesus should be discarded! Because of self-pride, they were refusing the "Stone" of the corner! They were refusing the One and Only Messiah!

Therefore, their condmnation would be "greater!" There is no hope for those who try to come to God on the basis of their own accomplishment!

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

This widow did not come as coincidence! It was Divine intervention in the affairs of men and it was used as a period at the end of a sentence!

The ONLY way to come to God is to come giving ALL of oneself!!

The Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees had only one goal for servitude to God: elevation of self!
But this poor widow came giving ALL she had, and holding NOTHING back!

THIS is the way to approach Jesus! This is the ONLY way to approach Jesus!

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