Read Mark 12 first here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12&version=NIV
Here we see the harshest curse yet. Jesus talks about a vineyard owner and the workers killing the owners servants and eventually the owners son. He then says the workers will be killed. This seems harsh then realize murderers probably should be stopped. Justice is to be done. How sad that the death of the son won’t stop the behavior. How sad for us that Jesus has died for us and we know it yet we still continue to live in sin. Yet God doesn’t kill us. His son takes our punishment.
Then the pharisees come up with some crazy scenario perhaps to trap Jesus or maybe they knew a woman who had done this. The custom at the time was when a man died the woman was to marry his brother. But the story they share is of a man with 6 brothers and his wife works through all of them as they keep dieing. I feel like she’s the one with the issue and if I was a brother marrying her would be a death sentence. I have lots of questions about her. But the pharisees only question is who will she be married to in heaven and the answer is- none of them. Praise God! She’d probably figure out a way to knock off her husbands in heaven too! But the point isn’t so much about that- it’s that in heaven we will be like angels. Angels don’t marry, dont have kids, their focus is on God and that’s enough. Marriage is an earthly thing that reminds us of the heavenly relationship Christ the groom has with his church the bride. The focus of our attention won’t be each other- it will be God!
Then Jesus is asked about the greatest command and he responds with a simple but no less profound thought: Love God love your neighbor. And the asker of the question adds that’s better than offerings.
Then he just makes a statement directly to the teachers of the law- about taking money from widows and being all about the show. This is the first he’s gone right at them that I can think of. It’s generally the other way around. The pharisees go after him and fail.
Then he talks about widow giving her last cent to the church and makes her a hero. Why is this different than the pharisees taking widow’s houses before? It’s about who makes it happen- consent if you will. If the pharisees make widows give them their last cent it’s awful. If widows want to it’s beautiful.
No healings in this chapter. 10/12 chapters have a healing. Perhaps that makes the hero in this chapter the widow who gave all to God. May we aspire to do the same.
Marking It Up 