Mark:12

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* Jesus then began to speak to the disciples in stories . A man planted a farm of vines for growing fruit called grapes . He put a fence of small trees around it . He dug a place to press the juice from the fruit . He built a high house from which men could watch over the farm . Then he let some men pay to use it and went to a country far away . * At harvest time the owner sent one his servants to get some of the fruit from the farm . * The men took the servant and beat him . They sent him away without any fruit . * He sent another servant . They hurt this one also , and cut his head . The things they did to him were very wrong . * So he sent another servant . The men killed him . He sent many others , and the men beat some and killed others . * There was one left . He was his own son . He sent him last . He said , "They will respect my son ." * But the men said to each other , "This is the one who will have everything when his father dies . Let us kill him . Then everything will belong to us ." * They killed him and threw his body outside the farm . * What will the man who owned the farm do to them ? He will come back and kill the men in the farm . And he will give the farm to other men to use . * Have you not read this writing : "The stone which the builders would not use is now the chief stone of the corner . The Lord did this . It looks wonderful to us ."? * They tried to catch Jesus but they feared the people . They knew that Jesus had spoken this against them . So they left him and went away . * They sent some Pharisees and some of Herods people to Jesus . They planned how to make Jesus say something wrong . * They came and said to him , Teacher , we know that you are true . You do not fear any person or care how great he is . But you teach the true way of God . Tell us , is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or is it not ? * Should we pay taxes or not ? Jesus knew they were trying to get him into trouble . So he said to them , Why are you trying to get me to do wrong ? Bring me a piece of money . Let me look at it . * They brought one to him . He asked , Whose picture and name is this ? They answered , Caesars . * So he said , Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God . The Pharisees and Herods people were much surprised at Jesus . * Some of the Sadducees came to Jesus . They say that people do not rise from death . They asked Jesus a question . * Teacher , they said , Moses gave us this law : if a man dies and leaves a wife but no children , then his brother must marry the wife and raise a family for his brother . * There were seven brothers . The first one married . He died and left no child . * e second brother married the wife . He also died and left no child . It was the same with the third one . * All seven brothers married her . They all had no children . Last of all the woman died also . * Now then when people rise from death , whose wife will she be ? All seven of them had married her . * Jesus said to them , You are wrong ! You do not know what the holy writings say . And you do not know what power God has . * When people rise from death , men and women do not marry . But they are like angels in heaven . * People do rise from death ! Have you never read what Moses wrote ? It is in the place where we read about the small tree which burned . Moses tells how God said to him , "I am the God of Abraham , the God of Isaac , and the God of Jacob ." * He is not the God of dead people , but of living people . The way you look at things is wrong altogether . * One of the scribes heard them talking . He saw that Jesus gave them a good answer . Then he came and asked , Which law is the greatest law of all ? * Jesus answered , The greatest one is , "Hear , O Israel . The Lord our God is one Lord . * Love the Lord your God with all your heart . Love him with all your soul . Love him with all your mind . And love him with all your strength ." * The second law is this : "Love your neighbour as you love yourself ." No law is greater than these laws . * Then the scribe answered Jesus , Teacher , what you say is right . There is one God . There are no other gods . * Love God with all your heart . Love him with all your understanding . Love him with all your strength . That is much better than to burn offerings and make sacrifices . Love your neighbour as you love yourself . That is better than any of these offerings and sacrifices . * Jesus saw that the scribe was wise . So he said to him , You are not far from the kingdom of God . After that everyone feared to ask him any more questions . * Jesus was teaching people in the temple . He said , How can the scribes say that Christ is Davids son ? * The Holy Spirit spoke through David and he himself said : "The LORD said to my Lord , Sit beside me until I make you master over your enemies ." * So David calls Christ his Lord . How can Christ be Davids son ? Most of the people were glad to hear Jesus teaching . * Jesus went on to teach them . He said , Take care . Do not let the scribes fool you by the way they do things . They like to walk about with long gowns . They want people to greet them in the market . * They want to sit in the front seats in the meeting houses . They want to sit in the best places at feasts . * They take away the homes of women whose husbands are dead . They cover up the wrong things they do by talking to God a long time . They will be punished more ! * Jesus sat down in the temple near the place where people put in their money . He saw how the people put in money . Many rich people put in much money . * A poor woman , whose husband was dead , came . She put in two small pieces of money . * Jesus called his disciples . He said , I tell you the truth . This poor woman has given more money than all the other people . * All these people had plenty of money and they gave only a part of it . She was poor and she gave everything she had . She has nothing left to live on .

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