Tuesday Night Group (TNG ) Notes
Stay up to date on our weekly study of the Gospel of Mark
Mark devotes roughly one-third of his entire text (chapters 11–16) to the final week of Jesus’ life, AKA Holy Week. Because of this, some scholars describe Mark as a passion narrative with an extended introduction. Mark treats Jesus’ life and ministry, including the miracles, not as the main point of the story. All of that simply serves, for Mark, as the buildup to Jesus’ ultimate mission – his suffering, death and resurrection. Like he’s telling his Gentile Christian community in Rome not to get lost in the teachings and the miracles. For as great as they are, without the suffering, the death and the resurrection, it’s all simply good advice and great stories.
Mark 12:1 & 2 – “Jesus then began to speak to them in parables.” – Mark makes it a point to let us know that, once again, Jesus is speaking in parables. From Mark 4:10-12, we already know why Jesus speaks in parables. Faith in Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart. God invites you to participate. Jesus doesn’t just tell us what’s what. Jesus speaks in parables as an invitation to put on your thinking cap, invest some sweat equity and to actually take the time to reason things out. To engage your brain, as well as your heart, into being a follower.
“A man planted a vineyard.” – In this parable there’s a vineyard owner who puts in all the work to prepare a fully functioning vineyard. The owner didn’t do all of this for himself. He did it in order to rent it out to tenants who would then tend to the vineyard and pay him rent. A very normal, understandable example of a real estate transaction from Jesus’ day.
“At harvest time…” – How this kind of arrangement worked was that a vineyard owner would take a financial risk. In this case specifically, this vineyard owner created everything and then allowed tenants to move in and care for everything. But then, at harvest time, the owner expected to receive his rent payment in the form of a percentage of their harvest.
Mark 12:3 – “But…” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible. Instead of receiving a percentage of the harvest, the vineyard owner’s servant was beaten and sent away empty-handed. Everyone listening would’ve found this revelation appalling.
Mark 12:4 & 5 – “Then he sent another…” – The vineyard owner sent many other servants, in order to collect his percentage of the harvest and all of them were beaten or even killed.
Mark 12:6 – “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved.” – The vineyard owner decides to send his beloved son to the tenants. With the thought that since he was the vineyard owner’s son, the tenants would respect him and pay what they owed.
Mark 12:7 & 8 – “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours.” – Instead of respecting the vineyard owner’s beloved son, the tenants saw this as an opportunity to, once-and-for-all, control the vineyard. If they got rid of the son, then his inheritance, the vineyard, would be theirs. So, they kill the beloved son of the vineyard owner.
Mark 12:9 – “What then will the owner of the vineyard do?" – A question that didn’t need to be pondered for long. For everyone listening to this parable knew that the vineyard owner was well within his rights to kill the tenants and rent the vineyard out to others.
Mark 12:10 & 11 – “Haven’t you read this passage of scripture:” – To sum up his parable, Jesus refers to Psalm 118:22-23.
Now your question is this: What does this parable mean? This is the beauty of parables, for you want to figure them out. And in order to figure out a parable you have to put in time and effort. Following Jesus is both a matter of the head, as well as the heart.
And there’s a catch, there’s always a catch. Every parable, including this one, has nuances of meaning, depending on where you are on your journey to be, right here and right now. The main point will always be the same. But how you get to that main point might be a little different than someone else.
Mark 12:12 – “Then” – This is the logical consequence, from the perspective of the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. They wanted to look for a way to arrest Jesus. Because they were mad that he was talking about them, in his last parable. Point To Ponder: If you believe that something insulting is targeted at you, why would you simply try to get rid of the one insulting you?
“But” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible. Fear is a great motivator. For the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders were more afraid of the people than they were of their perspective of Jesus. They wanted to arrest and eventually kill Jesus, but they believed that there would be a very negative public response if they did. So, they didn’t.
Mark 12:13 – “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians” – The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders might have left Jesus, in the last verse. But Jesus, and what they wanted to do to Jesus, never left them. So, they reintroduced the dynamic duo of Pharisees and Herodians into the situation. In Mark 3:6 this duo started their deadly scheme. The hope was that they had a better plan for the successful arrest and murder of Jesus.
Herodians were a Jewish political interest group, loyal to the Herodian dynasty, the Roman-backed ruler of Galilee and Perea. They supported Roman authority in the region. They stood in stark contrast to Jewish groups longing for independence. Yet, sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Another Point To Ponder: If you have to join forces with people who diametrically oppose you in almost every matter, are you doing the next right thing?
“Catch him in his words” – The Pharisees and the Herodians had an agenda. They wanted to get Jesus to say something that would allow them to publicly call for his arrest. They didn’t come as open books, ready to understand Jesus. They came in with their guns already loaded. They were already convinced that they were the good guys and Jesus was the bad guy. Your perspective will always dictate your experience.
Mark 12:14-15 – “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity.” – Here comes the scam. It all starts with fake platitudes and over-the-top smoke blowing. Always beware of people who want to butter you up. Not just saying something nice or simply being nice. But people who really pile it on.
“Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar of not?” – They thought that they had Jesus. For if he said “No, don’t pay taxes to Caesar”, they could have him arrested. For it was unlawful to undermine the authority of Caesar in public. If he said “Yes, pay taxes to Caesar”, they could turn to the crowd and present Jesus as a Roman sympathizer. A very unpopular view to many Jewish people. Just ask the Herodians.
“But” – I won’t say it. Jesus knew that these guys were trying to trap him. Again, your perspective will always dictate your experience.
“Why are you trying to trap me?” - Jesus simply asked them publicly, so that everyone could hear, why they were trying to trap him. This response puts Jesus on the offense. For now he’s publicly announced that he knows that the Pharisees and Herodians have a hidden agenda for this encounter. And so does the crowd.
“Bring me a denarius and let me look at it” – A denarius was a standard Roman silver coin, worth about a day’s wage for a common laborer. It featured the head and inscription of the reigning Roman emperor at the time. We’re now moving into an object lesson. A lesson that’s being taught by a man of integrity, not swayed by others, who teaches the way of God in accordance with the truth. According to the Pharisees and Herodians own words.
Mark 12:16-17 – “They brought the coin” – The Pharisees and Herodians are committed now. They have to go along with Jesus. I bet their demeanor has changed.
“Give back to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s.” – Mic drop! Earthly governments have a legitimate, limited authority over material things like money. But God claims total ownership of your heart, soul, mind, body and your life.
Mark 12:1 & 2 – “Jesus then began to speak to them in parables.” – Mark makes it a point to let us know that, once again, Jesus is speaking in parables. From Mark 4:10-12, we already know why Jesus speaks in parables. Faith in Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart. God invites you to participate. Jesus doesn’t just tell us what’s what. Jesus speaks in parables as an invitation to put on your thinking cap, invest some sweat equity and to actually take the time to reason things out. To engage your brain, as well as your heart, into being a follower.
“A man planted a vineyard.” – In this parable there’s a vineyard owner who puts in all the work to prepare a fully functioning vineyard. The owner didn’t do all of this for himself. He did it in order to rent it out to tenants who would then tend to the vineyard and pay him rent. A very normal, understandable example of a real estate transaction from Jesus’ day.
“At harvest time…” – How this kind of arrangement worked was that a vineyard owner would take a financial risk. In this case specifically, this vineyard owner created everything and then allowed tenants to move in and care for everything. But then, at harvest time, the owner expected to receive his rent payment in the form of a percentage of their harvest.
Mark 12:3 – “But…” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible. Instead of receiving a percentage of the harvest, the vineyard owner’s servant was beaten and sent away empty-handed. Everyone listening would’ve found this revelation appalling.
Mark 12:4 & 5 – “Then he sent another…” – The vineyard owner sent many other servants, in order to collect his percentage of the harvest and all of them were beaten or even killed.
Mark 12:6 – “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved.” – The vineyard owner decides to send his beloved son to the tenants. With the thought that since he was the vineyard owner’s son, the tenants would respect him and pay what they owed.
Mark 12:7 & 8 – “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours.” – Instead of respecting the vineyard owner’s beloved son, the tenants saw this as an opportunity to, once-and-for-all, control the vineyard. If they got rid of the son, then his inheritance, the vineyard, would be theirs. So, they kill the beloved son of the vineyard owner.
Mark 12:9 – “What then will the owner of the vineyard do?" – A question that didn’t need to be pondered for long. For everyone listening to this parable knew that the vineyard owner was well within his rights to kill the tenants and rent the vineyard out to others.
Mark 12:10 & 11 – “Haven’t you read this passage of scripture:” – To sum up his parable, Jesus refers to Psalm 118:22-23.
Now your question is this: What does this parable mean? This is the beauty of parables, for you want to figure them out. And in order to figure out a parable you have to put in time and effort. Following Jesus is both a matter of the head, as well as the heart.
And there’s a catch, there’s always a catch. Every parable, including this one, has nuances of meaning, depending on where you are on your journey to be, right here and right now. The main point will always be the same. But how you get to that main point might be a little different than someone else.
Mark 12:12 – “Then” – This is the logical consequence, from the perspective of the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. They wanted to look for a way to arrest Jesus. Because they were mad that he was talking about them, in his last parable. Point To Ponder: If you believe that something insulting is targeted at you, why would you simply try to get rid of the one insulting you?
“But” – Always pay attention to the “buts” in the Bible. Fear is a great motivator. For the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders were more afraid of the people than they were of their perspective of Jesus. They wanted to arrest and eventually kill Jesus, but they believed that there would be a very negative public response if they did. So, they didn’t.
Mark 12:13 – “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians” – The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders might have left Jesus, in the last verse. But Jesus, and what they wanted to do to Jesus, never left them. So, they reintroduced the dynamic duo of Pharisees and Herodians into the situation. In Mark 3:6 this duo started their deadly scheme. The hope was that they had a better plan for the successful arrest and murder of Jesus.
Herodians were a Jewish political interest group, loyal to the Herodian dynasty, the Roman-backed ruler of Galilee and Perea. They supported Roman authority in the region. They stood in stark contrast to Jewish groups longing for independence. Yet, sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Another Point To Ponder: If you have to join forces with people who diametrically oppose you in almost every matter, are you doing the next right thing?
“Catch him in his words” – The Pharisees and the Herodians had an agenda. They wanted to get Jesus to say something that would allow them to publicly call for his arrest. They didn’t come as open books, ready to understand Jesus. They came in with their guns already loaded. They were already convinced that they were the good guys and Jesus was the bad guy. Your perspective will always dictate your experience.
Mark 12:14-15 – “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity.” – Here comes the scam. It all starts with fake platitudes and over-the-top smoke blowing. Always beware of people who want to butter you up. Not just saying something nice or simply being nice. But people who really pile it on.
“Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar of not?” – They thought that they had Jesus. For if he said “No, don’t pay taxes to Caesar”, they could have him arrested. For it was unlawful to undermine the authority of Caesar in public. If he said “Yes, pay taxes to Caesar”, they could turn to the crowd and present Jesus as a Roman sympathizer. A very unpopular view to many Jewish people. Just ask the Herodians.
“But” – I won’t say it. Jesus knew that these guys were trying to trap him. Again, your perspective will always dictate your experience.
“Why are you trying to trap me?” - Jesus simply asked them publicly, so that everyone could hear, why they were trying to trap him. This response puts Jesus on the offense. For now he’s publicly announced that he knows that the Pharisees and Herodians have a hidden agenda for this encounter. And so does the crowd.
“Bring me a denarius and let me look at it” – A denarius was a standard Roman silver coin, worth about a day’s wage for a common laborer. It featured the head and inscription of the reigning Roman emperor at the time. We’re now moving into an object lesson. A lesson that’s being taught by a man of integrity, not swayed by others, who teaches the way of God in accordance with the truth. According to the Pharisees and Herodians own words.
Mark 12:16-17 – “They brought the coin” – The Pharisees and Herodians are committed now. They have to go along with Jesus. I bet their demeanor has changed.
“Give back to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s.” – Mic drop! Earthly governments have a legitimate, limited authority over material things like money. But God claims total ownership of your heart, soul, mind, body and your life.
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