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When They Tried to Ratio Jesus and Failed.

Q: What's the Difference Between Pharisees and Sadducees?

Pharisees believed in resurrection, angels, and the oral law. Sadducees rejected all three. Jesus took on both groups — but for different reasons.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Voting and Politics?

The Bible doesn't endorse a political party. It calls Christians to seek justice, honor authority, and remember that God's kingdom is bigger than any election.

Q: Who Were the Scribes?

Scribes were professional copiers and interpreters of the Law — the theologians and lawyers of the ancient world. Some were humble scholars. Others Jesus publicly rebuked.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Generosity?

The Bible celebrates radical generosity — from the widow's coins to the early church sharing everything. The measure isn't the amount; it's the heart behind it.

Q: Did the Exodus Actually Happen?

There's no Egyptian inscription saying 'the Hebrews left.' But absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence — here's what we actually know.

Mark 12 — Every group tried to ratio Jesus and every group caught an L

9 min read

Key Takeaways

Jesus' 'give to Caesar what's Caesar's' line hits different when you realize Caesar's image is on a coin but God's image is on YOU — that's the real flex.

Jesus told a scribe 'you are not far from the Kingdom of God' — which sounds like a compliment until you realize 'not far' means he still wasn't there yet.
Jesus called out religious leaders who flex long robes and VIP seats while exploiting widows — all drip, no substance, and facing the harshest judgment.

📢 Chapter 12 — They Tried It 🎯

Things were heating up in . had already flipped tables in the , cursed a fig tree, and had the religious leaders shook. They wanted Him gone, but the crowds were too big and too hype. So instead of coming at Him directly, the , , and came with their best gotcha questions — one after another — trying to catch Him slipping.

Inside this Chapter

Love Faith Justice Integrity Comparison Leadership People-Pleasing

Questions about this Chapter

culture

What's the Difference Between Pharisees and Sadducees?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Voting and Politics?

culture

Who Were the Scribes?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Generosity?

history

Did the Exodus Actually Happen?

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Spoiler: it didn't work. Not even once. What follows is one of the greatest back-to-back sequences in all of — Jesus fielding every challenge, cooking every opponent, and then going on offense Himself.

The Parable of the Terrible Tenants 🍇

looked right at the religious leaders and started telling a . And everyone in the room knew exactly who He was talking about.

Jesus said: "A man planted a vineyard — set up a fence around it, dug a winepress, built a watchtower, the whole operation. Then he leased it out to some tenants and went to another country. When harvest season came, he sent a servant to collect his share of the fruit. They beat the servant and sent him back with nothing.

Jesus said: So he sent another servant. They hit that one in the head and humiliated him. He sent another — they killed him. He kept sending people, and the tenants kept beating some and killing others.

Jesus said: He had one person left — his beloved son. He sent him last, thinking, 'Surely they'll respect my son.' But those tenants said to each other, 'This is the heir. If we kill him, the inheritance is ours.' So they killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

Jesus said: What do you think the owner is going to do? He's going to come back, destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others.

Jesus said: Haven't you read this Scripture: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone — this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

(Quick context: The vineyard is . The tenants are the religious leaders. The servants are the God kept sending. And the beloved son? That's Jesus Himself, telling them exactly what they're about to do to Him.)

The leaders caught the message loud and clear — He told this Parable about them. They wanted to arrest Him right then and there, but they were too scared of the crowd. So they walked away, already plotting their next move. Caught in 4K and still couldn't handle it. 😤

The Tax Trap 💰

Round two. The teamed up with the Herodians — which was wild because those two groups normally couldn't stand each other. But they had a common enemy now, and they came with what they thought was an impossible question.

"Teacher, we know you're legit and you don't care about anyone's opinion. You teach the way of God truthfully, no matter who's watching. So tell us — is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

The setup was pure manipulation. If said "yes, pay taxes," the Jewish crowd would turn on Him for supporting . If He said "no, don't pay," the Romans would arrest Him for rebellion. It was a lose-lose — or so they thought.

But Jesus saw right through the act:

Jesus said: "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius."

They handed Him a coin.

Jesus said: "Whose face and name is on this?"

"Caesar's."

Jesus said: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."

Absolutely cooked. The answer was so , so perfectly balanced, that they just stood there stunned. They came to trap Him and left marveling instead. Jesus wasn't dodging the question — He was reframing the whole conversation. image is on a coin. But God's image is on you. Give your money to the government. Give your entire self to God. 🎤⬇️

The Sadducees Try Their Luck 💀

Next up: the . These were the wealthy religious elites who didn't believe in the — no afterlife, no , no coming back from the dead. And they had a hypothetical they thought was a total checkmate.

"Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must marry the widow and have kids to carry on the family line. Well, there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died with no children. The second married her and also died. Same with the third, and the fourth, all the way down to the seventh. Finally the woman died too. So in the Resurrection, whose wife is she? Because all seven had her."

They weren't actually curious. They thought this scenario was so absurd it would prove the Resurrection was a ridiculous concept.

didn't even flinch:

Jesus said: "Isn't this exactly why you're wrong? You don't know the Scriptures and you don't know the power of God. When people rise from the dead, they don't marry or get married. They're like Angels in heaven.

Jesus said: And as for whether the dead are raised — haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead. He is God of the living. You are completely wrong."

Two things happened here. First, Jesus corrected their assumption that the afterlife is just a continuation of earthly life — it's something entirely different and beyond what we can fully picture. Second, He used their own against them. God said "" — present tense — the God of , , and . They're not gone. They're alive with Him. The Sadducees thought they were clever. They were not. ⚡

The Greatest Commandment 🫶

After watching handle the and the , one of the came up. But this one was different — he wasn't trying to trap Jesus. He'd heard the back-and-forth, and he was genuinely impressed. So he asked a real question:

"Which commandment is the most important of all?"

Jesus answered with the — the foundational declaration of Jewish :

Jesus said: "The most important is this: 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

Jesus said: The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

The Scribe actually agreed:

"You're right, Teacher. There is one God and no other besides Him. And to love Him with all your heart, understanding, and strength — and to love your neighbor as yourself — that's worth more than all the burnt offerings and Sacrifices in the world."

Jesus looked at him and said:

Jesus said: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

That's one of the most beautiful and haunting lines in the whole . "Not far" means he was close — he understood the truth intellectually. But "not far" also means he wasn't there yet. Knowing the right answer and surrendering your life to it are two different things.

After that, nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions. They were done. 💯

David's Son or David's Lord? 👑

Now it was turn to ask the questions. While teaching in the , He posed something that would have made every in the room uncomfortable:

Jesus said: "How can the Scribes say the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."'

Jesus said: David himself calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?"

(Quick context: Everyone expected the to be a descendant of — and Jesus was. But Jesus is pointing out that David called the Messiah "Lord," which means the Messiah isn't just David's descendant. He's David's King. He's greater than David. The Messiah isn't just a human ruler — He's divine.)

The massive crowd heard all of this and they were loving it. The religious leaders had been flexing their authority for years, and Jesus was dismantling their theology in real time. 🧠

Watch Out for the Clout Chasers ⚠️

wasn't done. He turned His attention to the themselves — not just their theology, but their character:

Jesus said: "Watch out for the Scribes. They love walking around in long robes, getting respectful greetings in the marketplace, claiming the best seats in the Synagogues, and sitting at the head table at every banquet.

Jesus said: They exploit widows and steal their homes, and then put on a show with long prayers to look spiritual. They will receive the harshest judgment."

This is one of those passages that should make anyone in leadership pause. Jesus wasn't against religious authority — He was against people who used it as a platform for their own ego. The robes, the greetings, the VIP seats — that's not ministry, that's a brand. And the worst part? They were taking from the most vulnerable people while performing for the crowd. All , no substance. All performance, no heart.

Jesus made it clear: God sees through the costume. And the for those who use His name to build their own is the heaviest of all. 🔥