Scripture referenced 7 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Mark 12:1-17 the primary text for the evening, covering the parable of the tenant farmers and the question about paying taxes
1 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country.
2 When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.
4 Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
5 Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.
6 Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.
10 Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner.
11 This was from the Lord, it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
13 They sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.
14 When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”
16 They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
17 Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
2 Samuel (Nathan's parable to David)
used as a parallel to show how Jesus telling a story calls out the guilty party, as Nathan's story called out David
Keep this verseIsaiah (the vineyard love song)
quoted to show the vineyard imagery in Jesus' parable echoes God's love song to Israel in the Old Testament
Keep this verseActs (Peter's speech)
Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, applies the cornerstone verse to Jesus after the resurrection and ascension
Keep this versePsalm 118 (the stone the builders rejected)
Jesus quotes it in verse 10 to identify himself as the rejected stone become cornerstone
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever.
4 Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever.
5 Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom.
6 Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7 Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off.
13 You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
16 The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!”
17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.
18 Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it.
21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
23 This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!
25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.
26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.
27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you.
29 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
1 Peter (living stones, royal priesthood)
cited in the closing prayer and benediction to describe believers as a chosen people called out of darkness into light
Keep this verseRomans 12 (first two verses)
raised by a participant named Ray in discussion of what it means to give God what belongs to God
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
7 or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
10 In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;
11 not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message worked through two connected passages in Mark 12: the parable of the tenant farmers and the question about paying taxes to Caesar. The preacher traced the through-line from God's long patience with his people to the religious leaders' plot to kill Jesus, and then to what it means for a community of faith to give God what belongs to God.
What was said
The setting matters. The events covered in these two passages fell on a Tuesday of what the preacher called passion week, the week of Jesus' crucifixion. The timeline was striking: by Sunday Jesus had entered Jerusalem, by Tuesday the religious leaders were already murderous with anger, and by Friday he was dead. He had predicted his own death three times before entering the city, and he walked into it anyway.
The parable of the tenant farmers is rooted in a much older story. Jesus drew directly from Isaiah's love song about God's vineyard, where God clears the stones, plants the best vines, and builds a watchtower, only to find bitter fruit instead of sweet. That image of God's patient, careful love for his people was presented not as background detail but as the emotional key to the whole passage.
The allegory in the parable maps plainly onto the moment Jesus is speaking. The one who planted the vineyard is God. The vineyard is Israel. The tenant farmers are the religious leaders. The servants who are beaten and killed are the prophets. The beloved son, sent last and killed, is Jesus. By this point in Mark, the preacher noted, the religious leaders had to know exactly what Jesus was saying about them.
The rejected stone saying that closes the parable becomes the pivot. Peter quotes the same line in Acts when he tells the crowd that the man they crucified on Friday, God raised from the dead, and that Jesus is the cornerstone on which everything rests. The preacher read that moment as evidence that what Jesus did that week actually stuck: the church began, the Spirit came, and Peter stood up full of that Spirit to make exactly this claim.
The tax question follows directly and is treated as a connected piece, not a separate topic. The question was designed to trap Jesus: say yes to the tax and alienate his own people, say no and face a charge of treason. Jesus asks for a coin, notes whose image is on it, and says to give Caesar what is Caesar's and give God what is God's. The weight of that second half is where the preacher paused. The coin bears Caesar's image; a human life bears God's image. To give God what belongs to God is to offer him the whole of a life made in his image.
The life application commentary the preacher cited points to what comes just before and just after this parable in Mark as the answer to what fruit God requires. Just before is the clearing of the temple, where Jesus insists that the place of worship be a house of prayer for all nations, not a barrier or a place of extortion. Just after is the teaching on forgiveness: before you pray, forgive anyone you are holding something against. Together those frame what the vineyard is supposed to produce.
The closing thought gathered it all under one image from 1 Peter: God's people are called living stones, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own possession, called out of darkness into light so that they can show others his goodness. The preacher brought that back to the cornerstone: a community built around Jesus, accepting, prayerful, forgiving, devoted, and loving, with Jesus as the stone that holds it all together.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The message described God's love and care for His people through the imagery of the vineyard in Isaiah, clearing the stones and planting the best vines. Where do you see evidence of that same care in your own life, even in seasons that felt bitter?
- Nathan told David a story that made David see himself clearly, but the religious leaders in Jesus' parable only grew more angry rather than turning back to God. What do you think makes the difference between a story that leads someone to repentance and one that hardens them further?
and 3 more questions in the guide
