Mark 12 · The Lantern

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and he placed a fence around it and dug a wine vat and built a tower, and rented it out to farmers and traveled abroad.

And at the due time he sent a servant to the farmers, that from the farmers he may receive from the fruits of the vineyard.

But having taken him, they beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

And again he sent to them another servant; and him they struck on the head and dishonored.

And he sent another; and him they killed — and many others, some beating, some killing.

Yet he had one, a beloved son. He sent him last to them, saying that ‘They will have respect for my son.’

But those farmers said to themselves that ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

And having taken him, they killed him and cast him forth outside the vineyard.

What therefore will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and will destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

(de Con. Evan. ii. 70) Matthew indeed subjoins that they answered and said, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, (Matt. 21:41) which Mark here says was not their answer, but that the Lord after putting the question, as it were answered Himself.

What will the Lord of the vineyard do, therefore? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. The Lord himself explained this verse shortly afterward in Matthew, saying: Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matthew XXI).

Or else, the vineyard is given to others, that is, to those who come from the east, and from the west, and from the south, and from the north, and who sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which those building rejected, this has become the head of the corner;

(ubi sup.) But that this was done by Divine interposition he affirms, by immediately afterwards adding, And have ye not read this Scripture, The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone in the corner?

The stone then which the builders refused, the same has become the head-stone of the corner, that is, of the Church. For the Church is, as it were, the corner, joining together Jews and Gentiles; and this corner has been made by the Lord, and is wonderful in our eyes, that is, in the eyes of the faithful; for miracles meet with detraction from the faithless.

This rejected stone, which is borne by that corner where the lamb and the bread met in the supper, ending the Old and beginning the New Testament, does things marvellous in our eyes as the topaz. (Ps. 118, Ps. 127. Vulg.)

this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

And they were seeking to lay hold of Him, and they feared the crowd; for they knew that He had spoken the parable against them. And having left Him, they went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they may catch Him in discourse.

And having come, they say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true and there is no care to You about anyone; for You do not look on the appearance of men, but teach the way of God on the basis of the truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?”

“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” And He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.”

And they brought it. And He says to them, “Of whom is this likeness and inscription?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And Jesus said to them, “Give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God.” And they were amazed at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

And Sadducees come to Him, who say there is no resurrection, and they were questioning Him, saying,

They put to him the strongest case they could to impair his credibility. They fashioned a contorted argument to pursue the question which they had initiated. Their deceptive inquiry concerned the flesh, whether or not it would be subject to marriage after the resurrection.

A certain heretical sect of the Jews called Sadducees denied the resurrection, and said that there was neither angel nor spirit. These then coming to Jesus, craftily proposed to Him a certain tale, in order to show that no resurrection should take place, or had taken place; and therefore there is added, And they asked him, saying, Master.

But in a mystical sense: what can this woman, leaving no seed of seven brothers, and last of all dying, mean except the Jewish synagogue, deserted by the seven-fold Spirit, which filled those seven patriarchs, who did not leave to her the seed of Abraham, that is, Jesus Christ? For although a Son was born to them, nevertheless He was given to us Gentiles.

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if anyone’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother shall take the wife and may raise up seed for his brother.

There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying he left no seed.

And the second took her and died, not having left seed; and the third likewise;

and the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.

In the resurrection, when they rise, of which of them will she be wife? For the seven had her as wife.”

Jesus was saying to them, “Is it not because of this that you err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God?

For when they rise out from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in the heavens.

But is it not absurd to say that these members will exist after the resurrection from the dead, since the Saviour said, "They neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but shall be as the angels in heaven?" And the angels, say they, have neither flesh, nor do they eat, nor have sexual intercourse; therefore there shall be no resurrection of the flesh. ...

(ubi sup.) We must here consider that the Latin custom does not answer to the Greek idiom. For properly 1different words are used for the marriage of men, and that of women; but here we may simply understand that, marry is meant of men, and given in marriage of women.

Thus then they do not understand the Scripture, in that in the resurrection, men shall be as the Angels of God, that is, no man there dies, no one is born, no infant is there, no old man.

But concerning the dead, that they rise — have you not read in the book of Moses, at the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’?

But concerning the dead, that they will rise, have you not read in the book of Moses at the bush, how God spoke to him, saying: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? To confirm the truth of the resurrection, he could use many more manifest examples, among which is this: The dead will be raised, and those in the tombs will rise.

In yet another respect the Sadducees show themselves ignorant of the Scriptures. If they understood them, they would have grasped why it was said, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" — which refers to the living. For the Lord did not say "I was," but "I am" their God, as though they are present, not perished.

But I say, in the bush, in which is an image of you; for in it the fire was kindled, but it did not consume its thorns; so my words set you on fire, but do not burn off your thorns, which have grown under the curse.

He is not God of the dead but of the living. You greatly err.”

The Greatest Commandment

And one of the scribes, having come up, having heard them reasoning together, seeing that He answered them well, questioned Him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

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 th…

See how He has enumerated all the powers of the soul; for there is a 1living power in the soul, which He explains, when He says, With all thy soul, and to this belong anger and desire, all of which He will have us give to Divine love.

This question is only that which is a problem common to all skilled in the law, namely, that the commandments are differently set forth in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Wherefore He brought forward not one but two commandments, by which, as by two paps rising on the breast of the bride, our infancy is nourished.

Jesus answered, “The first is: ‘Hear, Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;

That God alone must be worshipped. "As it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Also in Exodus: "Thou shalt have none other gods beside me." Also in Deuteronomy: "See ye, see ye that I am He, and that there is no God beside me.

Moses also says to the people: "If hearing thou wilt hear the Lord God, and do that which is good and right in His eyes." And again: "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord." And our Lord is often recorded in the Gospel to have said: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And wise Solomon says: "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and reject not the laws of th…

"But to those who are persuaded that He is evil, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Call not me good, for One only is good.' And again, 'Be ye good and merciful, as your Father in the heavens, who makes the sun rise on good and evil men, and brings rain upon just and unjust.' But to those who were misled to imagine many gods, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Hear, O Israel; the L…

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.”

And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; according to truth You have spoken that He is one and there is no other besides Him;

Accordingly, God's judgment will be more full and complete, because it will be pronounced at the very last, in an eternal irrevocable sentence, both of punishment and of consolation, (on men whose) souls are not to transmigrate into beasts, but are to return into their own proper bodies.

The first way, therefore, is that of life; and is this, which the law also does appoint: "To love the Lord God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, who is the one and only God, besides whom there is no other;" "and thy neighbour as thyself." And whatsoever thou wouldest not should be done to thee, that do not thou to another.

And the scribe said to him: Well said, teacher, you have truly said that there is one God, and there is none other besides him. And to love him with all your heart, and with all your understanding, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love the neighbor as oneself, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And Jesus, having seen him, that he answered wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one was any longer daring to question Him.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

And answering, Jesus was saying, teaching in the temple, “How do the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

And answering, Jesus, teaching in the temple, said: How do the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? For he himself says in the Holy Spirit: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet. For David himself calls him Lord, and how is he his son? The questioning of Jesus benefits us even today against the Jews.

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.

That is, He openly speaks to them of Himself, that they may be inexcusable; for it goes on: How say the Scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I place Your enemies under Your feet.”’

David himself names Him Lord; then how is He his son?” And the great crowd was listening to Him gladly.

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.

(ubi sup.) The question of Jesus is useful for us even now against the Jews; for they, acknowledging that Christ is to come, assert that He is a mere man, a holy Person descended from David. Let us then ask them, as our Lord has taught us, if He be a mere man, and only the son of David, how David in the Holy Spirit calls Him Lord.

(non occ.) Thus then the Lord concludes from what has gone before the doubtful question. For from the foregoing words of David it is proved that Christ is the Lord of David, but according to the saying of the Scribes, it is proved that He is his son. And this is what is added, David himself then calls him Lord, how is he then his son?

Beware of the Scribes

And in His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes who are desiring to walk about in robes and greetings in the marketplaces

The Pharisees looked to the "tithing of anise and cummin, and left undone the weightier matters of the law." While devoting great care to the things which were external, they overlooked those which bore upon salvation of the soul.

The common people, it is said, heard "Him gladly," and He began to say to the people: beware of the scribes, who wear magnificent garments and on account of them demand honors for themselves; who love to receive greetings and praises in the marketplaces and all other marks of glory; who devour the houses of widows, insinuating themselves to these defenseless women under the gui…

After confuting the Scribes and Pharisees, He burns up as a fire their dry and withered examples; wherefore it is said, And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the Scribes, which love to go in long clothing.

and first seats in the synagogues and first places at the feasts,

those devouring the houses of the widows and as a pretext praying at great length. These will receive more excessive judgment.”

The Widow’s Offering

And having sat down opposite the treasury, He was watching how the crowd cast money into the treasury; and many rich were casting in much.

(ubi sup.) The Lord, who had warned them to avoid the desire of high place and vain glory, now distinguishes by a sure test those who brought in gifts. Wherefore it is said, And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury.

But the Scribes used to come to women, who were left without the protection of their husbands, as though they were their protectors; and by a pretence of prayer, a reverend exterior and hypocrisy, they used to deceive widows, and thus also devour the houses of the rich. It goes on, These shall receive a greater damnation, that is, than the other Jews, who sinned.

But in a mystical sense, they are rich, who bring forth from the treasure of their heart things new and old, which are the obscure and hidden things of Divine wisdom in both testaments; but who is the poor woman, if it be not I and those like me, who cast in what I can, and have the will to explain to you, where I have not the power.

And one poor widow, having come, cast in two lepta, which is a kodrantes.

And having called His disciples to Him, He says to them, “Amen I say to you that this poor widow has cast in more than all of those casting into the treasury;

When alms are given, we attend to nothing else except the disposition required. And if you say that money is needed, and houses and clothes and shoes, read those words of Christ, which he spoke concerning the widow, and stop being anxious. For even if you are extremely poor, and among those that beg, if you cast in your two small coins, you have done all in your power.

Therefore, those who possess good will have everything. This alone can be sufficient if there are no other things, but if it alone is lacking, whatever they possess profits nothing. If it is present, it alone suffices, but everything else avails nothing if charity alone is lacking.

Again, in Mark 12 the Lord says of the widow: Amen I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all. For all cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all that she had, her whole living: but in this the poor widow is praised: therefore those who do this, the more perfectly they act, the more praiseworthy they are: therefore etc.

for all cast in out of that which is abounding to them, but she out of her poverty cast in all, as much as she had — all her livelihood.”

It is better to begin from one's feeble state and end up strong, to progress from small things to larger, than to set your heart from the very first on the perfect way of life, then only to abandon it later—or keep to it solely out of habit, because of what others will think—in which case all this labor will be in vain.

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.

For all of them have contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, has given all she had, her whole livelihood. The Jew contributes to the gifts of God out of his abundance, who, presuming upon his own righteousness, prays to himself thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, etc. (Luke 18).