Глава 12

1–12. The parable of the evil vinedressers. – 13–17. The Lord's answer to the Pharisees and Herodians about tribute to Caesar. – 18–27. The Lord's answer to the Sadducees on the question of the resurrection of the dead. – 28–34. The most important commandment. – 35–37. Christ is the Son and Lord of David. – 38–40. Speech against the scribes and Pharisees. – 41–44. Two mites for the poor widow. Mark 12:1. And he began to speak to them in parables: A certain man planted a vineyard and surrounded it with a fence, and dug a winepress, and built a tower, and having given it to vinedressers, he went away. Mark 12:2. And at one time he sent a servant to the winegrowers to receive from the winegrowers the fruits of the vineyard. Mark 12:3. They grabbed him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Mark 12:4. Again he sent another servant to them; and they smashed his head with stones and released him in dishonor. Mark 12:5. And again he sent another: they killed him too; and many others were either beaten or killed. Mark 12:6. Having another son dear to him, he finally sent him to them, saying: They will be ashamed of my son. Mark 12:7. But the vinedressers said to each other: This is the heir; Let's go, kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. Mark 12:8. And they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:9. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vinedressers to death and give the vineyard to others. Mark 12:10. Have you not read this in Scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; Mark 12:11. this is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Mark 12:12. And they tried to seize Him, but they were afraid of the people, for they realized that He had spoken a parable about them; and leaving Him, they went away. “And he began to speak to them in parables” (verse 1). According to the Gospel of Mark, it turns out that the Lord spoke several parables to the high priests and scribes (“them”). And the Evangelist Matthew, indeed, reports in a parallel section (Matthew 21:28–44, 22:1–14) three parables. It is clear that if in the present case the Evangelist Mark gives only one, he does so due to a large reduction in the narrative. The parable he chose (the second in Matthew) is the most powerful. In the same way, of the servants that Matthew speaks of (Matthew 21:34), the Evangelist Mark mentions one that is probably the most important. “And they cast them out” (verse 8). According to the Evangelist Matthew, they first took their son out of the vineyard and then killed him. And Mark uses such an expression (ἐξεβαλον αὐτόν), which is everywhere applied not to a corpse, but to a living person (cf. Mark 5:40; Luke 8:54; John 2:15). Thus, to this expression must first be added: “after first,” and the whole of verse 8 must be translated as follows: “and they took him and killed him, after having first driven him out of the vineyard.” “He will come and put you to death...” (verse 9). The evangelist Mark puts these words into the mouth of the Lord, while Matthew attributes them to the listeners of Christ. But in the Gospel of Mark these words can also be considered the answer of the listeners, placing in front of them the expression: “and they said.” “And they tried to seize Him...” (verse 12). The chief priests and scribes (this is how the thought of verse 12 should be conveyed more accurately) used all means to capture Christ, but at that time they were gripped by fear of the possibility of a popular uprising because of Christ. The reason for their efforts was their understanding that the above parable was directed against them. Mark 12:13. And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Him in the word. Mark 12:14. They came and said to Him: Teacher! we know that You are fair and do not care about pleasing anyone, for You do not look at any face, but teach the true way of God. Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not? should we give or not give? Mark 12:15. But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them: Why are you tempting Me? Bring me a denarius so that I can see it. Mark 12:16. They brought it. Then he says to them: whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him: Caesar's. Mark 12:17. Jesus answered and said to them, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him. Mark 12:18. Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: Mark 12:19. Teacher! Moses wrote to us: “If anyone’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no children, then let his brother take his wife and restore seed to his brother.” Mark 12:20. There were seven brothers: the first took a wife and, dying, left no children. Mark 12:21. The second one took her and died, and he left no children; also the third one. Mark 12:22. Seven took her for themselves and left no children. After all, the wife died. Mark 12:23. So, in the resurrection, when they rise again, which of them will she be the wife of? For seven had her as a wife? Mark 12:24. Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you being led astray by this, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God?” Mark 12:25. For when they rise from the dead, then they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like angels in heaven. Mark 12:26. And about the dead, that they will be resurrected, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, how God at the bush said to him: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? Mark 12:27. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. So, you are very mistaken. “Are you being led astray by this?” (verse 24). These words, quoted only by the Evangelist Mark, are better conveyed as follows: “Are you being led astray by what you conveyed above (the case depicted by the questioners), i.e. come to doubt the resurrection of the dead? But you can be misled only by not knowing properly the Scripture, which is not at all intended to regulate the relations of the future life, and not understanding that the power of God can, in a completely different way than here on earth, establish all relations between people in the future life.” Mark 12:28. One of the scribes, hearing their debate and seeing that Jesus answered them well, came up and asked Him: What is the first of all the commandments? Mark 12:29. Jesus answered him: The first of all commandments is: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; Mark 12:30. and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” - this is the first commandment! Mark 12:31. The second is similar to it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other greater commandment than these. Mark 12:32. The scribe said to Him: good, Teacher! You have spoken the truth, that there is only God and there is no other besides Him; Mark 12:33. and to love Him with all your heart and with all your mind, 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. Mark 12:34. Jesus, seeing that he answered wisely, said to him: You are not far from the Kingdom of God. After that, no one dared to ask Him anymore. Evangelist Mark differs somewhat from Matthew in this section. So, he says that one of the scribes came to the Lord, having listened to the debate that the enemies of Christ were having among themselves (Matthew calls him “a lawyer from the Pharisees”). The Evangelist Mark does not say that this questioner had tempting intentions (as Matthew reports). Perhaps, in fact, the scribe, who wanted to tempt Christ, soon abandoned his intention, which is why the Evangelist Mark did not consider it necessary to mention that intention. Further, Mark precedes the commandment to love God with the words of the famous Jewish prayer (“Shema”), which was a repetition of the words of Moses (Deut. 6:4). In the Evangelist Mark, these words of Moses are the basis for the demand for exclusive love for God: God is the only Lord or Master, therefore, all the love of an Israeli should belong to Him alone. “The scribe said to Him: Well done, Teacher!” (verse 32). It is better to relate the word “well” to the verb “said,” because nowhere in the Gospel of Mark is the address “Teacher” placed in second place. “More than all burnt offerings” (verse 33; see Hos. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:22). This addition was very important for the readers of the Gospel of Mark, pagan Christians, who were embarrassed by the fact that they did not have such a temple and such a solemn cult as the Jews had before the year 70. “When Jesus saw that he answered wisely...” (verse 34). The reasonableness of the scribe’s answer was reflected not only in his agreement with the words of Christ, but also in his desire to accurately determine the abilities with which a person should serve God. Precisely (for a better reading, see Tischendorf, 8th ed.), he says that God must be loved with the heart, mind or understanding and strength: he thus places reason (ἡ σύνεσις) 13 as an instrument of love for God, which really should be a completely meaningful feat, and not just a matter of feeling. However, recognition of the unity of God and the need for love for people is still not enough for entry into the Heavenly Kingdom. It is still necessary to fulfill this highest commandment: the scribe needs to approach Christ not only as a Teacher, but also as a Savior, Who alone can give him the strength necessary to fulfill that greatest commandment. But he obviously did not yet have faith in Christ as the Messiah. Mark 12:35. Continuing to teach in the church, Jesus said: How do the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? Mark 12:36. For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Mark 12:37. So, David himself calls Him Lord: how then is He His Son? And a multitude of people listened to Him with delight. Unlike the Evangelist Matthew, Mark portrays the speech of Jesus Christ as monologue. Christ here speaks to the people about the scribes. But the scribes are undoubtedly present at this address of Christ to the people, because the Evangelist Mark says that the Lord “answered” here (ἀποκριθείς - verse 35; in the Russian translation it is not accurate - “continuing to teach”). But to whom did He answer? It is clear, to the scribes to whom, according to the Evangelist Matthew, He asked the question and who expressed their opinion about the Messiah to him. Mark 12:38. And He said to them in His teaching: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and receive greetings in public assemblies, Mark 12:39. to sit in front in the synagogues and recline in the first place at feasts, - Mark 12:40. these, who devour the houses of widows and pray for a long time for show, will receive the most severe condemnation. From the extensive speech of the Lord against the scribes and Pharisees, which is reported by the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 23), Mark cites only a few sayings that characterize the ambition, greed and hypocrisy of the Pharisees or, in fact, the scribes, about whom the Lord spoke, according to the Evangelist Mark. For the readers of the Gospel of Mark, the entire extensive description of Pharisaism given by Matthew was not of great interest. Noble people usually wore “long robes.” “In public assemblies” - in markets (ἀγοραῖς). Mark 12:41. And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. Mark 12:42. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Mark 12:43. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who put into the treasury, Mark 12:44. for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in everything she had, all her food. The Evangelist Matthew does not have a story about a poor widow who put two mites into the church treasury (Luke has this story - Luke 21:1-4). Christ sat “opposite the treasury,” that is, probably in the women’s courtyard, at the church circle (the question of what the treasury is, γαζοφυλάκιον 14, has not yet been finally resolved by researchers of the Holy Scriptures). According to custom, those passing by the mug put donations into it for the needs of the church, and the rich put large sums of money. But then a poor widow came up and put in “two mites,” i.e. the two smallest copper coins, which made up one “codrant” (λεπτόν – Greek coin, κοδράντης – Roman quadrans; the cost of a codrant is 1/2 kopeck; in Hebrew “mite” was called “pruta”). The Lord, having in mind the supposed piety of the scribes - wealthy people - about which He had just spoken, did not fail to point out to His disciples the example of a widow who gave everything she had, and who therefore, with her donation, rose above the rich, who gave much more, but still donated only the smallest part of their property. Christ (verse 30) used the expression διάνοια - less emphasizing the point of sound and accurate reasoning than σύνεσις. This word is made up of the Hebrew word "gas" - treasure, and the Greek φυλάκιον - storage. Perhaps the treasury consisted of a whole series of rooms, because in ancient times private property that belonged to widows and orphans was sometimes kept at the church (2 Mac. 3:10). 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