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Mark

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Then he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it,⁠ dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop. 3 But those tenants seized his slave, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 So he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. 6 He had one left, his one dear son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’⁠ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.⁠ 10 Have you not read this scripture:⁠ “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.⁠ 11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12 Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away. 13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap him with his own words. 14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” 15 But he saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”⁠ 16 So they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”⁠ And they were utterly amazed at him. 18 Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’⁠ 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.⁠ 26 Now as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” 28 Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’⁠ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him. 35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law say that the Christ is David’s son? 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said, “‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 If David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.⁠ 38 In his teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.” 41 Then he sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts.⁠ 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Kings 17:12 and Mark 12:43

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

1 Kings describes a poor widow who surrenders her last handful of meal and oil at Elijah’s request. Mark echoes this theme when Jesus points out a poor widow giving her final two coins, giving all she had to live on.

Passages

1 Kings 17:12

Hebrew Bible
10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a little water in a cup, so I can take a drink.” 11 As she went to get it, he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” 12 She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned. But first make me a small cake and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

Mark 12:43

New Testament
41 Then he sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

References

"... Mark 12:41-44 finds Jesus watching people put money into the Temple treasury. Many rich people put in large sums, but a poor widow comes and puts in two small copper coins, worth a penny. Jesus calls his disciples and tells them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Scholars recognize in the widow's story a remote parallel to the story of the poor widow and the prophet Elijah, who asks for her last bit of food (1 Kings 17:8-16). ..."
Amy-Jill Levine, The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2006), 143.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Kings 17:12 and Mark 12:43

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