Reading the Bible Everyday; Mark 12

Joy: You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode Number 40.  Today, we’ll read the 12th chapter of Mark together:  A parable pretty much anybody can understand; Jesus accused the Sadducees of not knowing the Scriptures; and a widow is a good example to us all. 

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together.  Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should.  It’s just easier to do it with a friend.  So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud.  I’m so glad you’re here!

My friend is the pastor of his own church now.  His name is DavidMark Grabowski, and I just watched his church service on Facebook.  I love how creative he and his family have been while being The Church, scattered.  They don’t have replays…church starts at 10:45 so you’d better be on time!  The video shows him at the church at the top of the steps and then DavidMark greets just as if you were actually entering the church…I love it.  I know I invite you to our church every Sunday on line, but if you need more, I encourage you to tune into Hughson First Baptist Church.  I put the link in the show notes.

Mark, Chapter 12:  1 Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent another slave to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. [He] also [sent] many others; they beat some and they killed some. 6 “He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 “But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 “Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 11 This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes ?” 12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away. 13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him to trap Him by what He said. 14 When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 So they brought one. “Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them. “Caesar’s,” they said. 17 Then Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. 18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and questioned Him: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies , leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 The seven also left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” 24 Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. 26 Now concerning the dead being raised-haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob ? 27 He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.” 28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 “This is the most important,” Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. 33 And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more [important] than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer. 35 So Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David? 36 David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’ 37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight. 38 He also said in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, and who want greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher punishment.” 41 Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little./ 64 of a daily wage, was the smallest Roman coin. 43 Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed-all she had to live on.”

Okay, I think you’ll agree that you don’t need to be a theologian to identify all the players in the Parable of the Vinyard Owner.  The Israelites had a penchant for killing their prophets when they preached things they didn’t want to hear.  Obviously, the vinyard owner is God; the tenant farmers are the Israelites; the servants he sends are the prophets; and he finally sends his son, Jesus.  But again, maybe we need to re-holster that pointing finger.  We may not be Israelites, but to deny that we practice some of their hypocrisy would be a little blind-sided, don’t you think?  And then, what can we learn from this precious little lady who gives her two copper pennies? What did she value?  What did she think was not so important?  Jesus was impressed with her because she brought what she had.  Jesus will never ask us to bring what we don’t have.  He will stretch us and grow us, to be sure, and there is no better classroom than suffering.  No, he will never ask us to bring anything more than…all we have.  Let’s pray.  Oh Lord, the Gospel is so simple, and yet it’s the hardest thing we will ever do!  Especially while we are in this fallen world and confined by this human flesh.  Help us always to see the bigger kingdom picture, Father.  Help us to see that the earth won’t crack if we don’t look like the Jones’s
or if we have to suffer for a season.  Give us your vision for what is important.  Amen.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here.  In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort.  Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us.  If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you right here tomorrow.  Be well!