Question 1

What is the meaning of the parable of the vineyard and the wicked tenants?

Accepted Answer

In the parable, the man who plants the vineyard pictures God, and the vineyard points to Israel, whom God cared for and protected. The tenants are the leaders put in charge. The servants sent for fruit are God’s prophets, who were beaten and killed. The beloved son is Jesus, sent last and rejected. By killing the heir, the tenants show their desire to rule without the true owner. The coming judgment on the tenants shows that rejecting God’s Son brings loss, and that God can give His blessings to others who will bear fruit.

Question 2

What does it mean that the stone the builders rejected became the head of the corner?

Accepted Answer

The rejected stone picture comes from a building site. The builders throw aside a stone as unfit, yet that same stone becomes the chief stone that holds the walls together. Jesus applies this to Himself. The religious leaders, like builders, judge Him unworthy and reject Him. But God chooses and lifts Him up as the key of His plan. This shows that human rejection does not stop God’s purpose. What looks weak or worthless in people’s eyes can be what God sets in the highest place.

Question 3

What did Jesus mean by “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”?

Accepted Answer

Jesus is asked a trap question about paying tax to Caesar. He asks whose image is on the coin, and they answer, “Caesar’s.” He then says to give Caesar what bears Caesar’s image, and give God what bears God’s image. So it is right to meet lawful civic duties, like paying tax. At the same time, our deepest loyalty, worship, and obedience belong to God. Money may go to rulers, but our hearts, lives, and praise belong to the One whose image we bear.

Question 4

Why did Jesus say the Sadducees were wrong about the resurrection?

Accepted Answer

The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, so they told a story about a woman who had seven brothers as husbands, trying to make the idea of life after death look foolish. Jesus says they are wrong because they do not know the Scriptures or God’s power. He explains that in the resurrection people do not marry, but are like the angels in heaven. Then He reminds them that God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob long after they had died, showing they still live to Him. God is the God of the living, not the dead.

Question 5

What are the first and second commandments that Jesus gives here?

Accepted Answer

When asked which commandment is first, Jesus begins with the confession that the Lord is one, then says the first command is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This means God is to be loved with every part of who you are, without rivals. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself, showing real care and kindness to others. Jesus says there is no other commandment greater than these. Love for God and neighbor stands above all outward sacrifices and rituals.

Question 6

Why did Jesus tell the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”?

Accepted Answer

The scribe agrees with Jesus that there is one God and that loving God with all the heart and loving one’s neighbor is better than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Jesus sees that this man understands that God wants love more than empty rituals. So He tells him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” It is both praise and invitation. The scribe is close because he sees what matters to God, yet he still needs to go further and truly follow Jesus, the one who brings people into God’s kingdom.

Question 7

What does Jesus teach about the Christ being David’s son and David’s Lord?

Accepted Answer

Jesus quotes a psalm where David says, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand.” He asks how the Christ can be both David’s son and the one David calls “my Lord.” By raising this question, Jesus shows that the promised Christ is more than just a human descendant of David. He is David’s Lord, sharing God’s authority and seated at God’s right hand. This points to Jesus’ divine status, even though He comes from David’s line according to the flesh. The common people enjoy hearing this teaching.

Question 8

Why does Jesus warn about the scribes who like long clothing and chief seats?

Accepted Answer

Jesus warns the crowd about scribes who love to walk in long robes, be greeted with honor, and sit in the best seats. They enjoy attention and show, but at the same time they “devour widows’ houses” and hide their greed under long prayers. He says they will receive greater judgment. The warning is that religious leaders can look holy on the outside and yet be unjust and harsh, especially to the weak. God cares about truth, humility, and mercy, not outward show and self-praise.

Question 9

What is the lesson from the poor widow putting in two mites at the treasury?

Accepted Answer

Jesus watches people giving money at the temple treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow comes and drops in two small coins, almost nothing in amount. Jesus calls His disciples and says she has given more than all the others, because they gave out of their surplus, but she gave all she had to live on. The lesson is that God measures giving not first by size, but by the heart and the cost. Her small gift showed deep trust in God and a willingness to put Him first.

Question 10

What does this passage teach about rejecting or receiving Jesus’ authority?

Accepted Answer

The whole passage shows different responses to Jesus. The parable shows leaders as tenants who beat the servants and kill the son, picturing how God’s messengers and finally His Son are rejected. The leaders then try to trap Jesus with questions on taxes and resurrection, instead of bowing to His wisdom. Yet one scribe listens and agrees with Him, and a poor widow quietly lives out real faith. The message is that rejecting Jesus brings loss and judgment, while listening to Him and trusting God from the heart is the way toward His kingdom.

Mark 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.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Paying Taxes to Caesar

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

The Greatest Commandment

Whose Son Is the Christ?

Beware of the Scribes

The Widow’s Offering

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

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Mark 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.

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The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Paying Taxes to Caesar

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

The Greatest Commandment

Whose Son Is the Christ?

Beware of the Scribes

The Widow’s Offering

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

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