Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 Mark 12:9 and Gospel of Thomas 65

New Testament · Nag Hammadi

Share:

Summary

In Mark, the killers in the vineyard are punished and new tenants take over. In the Gospel of Thomas, the story ends with the son's murder and Jesus' call to listen, leaving out the response that explains the owner's judgment.

Passages

Mark 12:9

New Testament
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.
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

Gospel of Thomas 65

Nag Hammadi
65 He said, “A good man owned a vineyard and leased it to some farmers to work it and he might receive its fruit from them. He sent his servant so that the farmers might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, and almost killed him, and the servant returned and told his master. His master said, ‘Perhaps they did not recognize him.’ He sent another servant. The farmers beat that one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, ‘Perhaps they will show respect to my son.’ The farmers knew that he was the heir of the vineyard. They seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears should hear.” 66 Jesus said, “Show me the stone that the builders rejected; that is the cornerstone.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... According to Mark, a vineyard owner leaves his vineyard in the hands of tenants while he is away. When he sends a servant to receive the owner’s portion of the harvest, the tenants beat him and send him away empty handed. The owner sends a second servant, whom they beat about the head and insult. The third servant they kill, “and so it was with many others” (12:5). Finally, he sends his own son. Thinking they will inherit the vineyard if they kill the heir, the wicked tenants kill the owner’s son. Jesus then poses the question, what will the owner do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. The quotation from Psalm 118 that follows, which looks beyond the death of the son, may not have been part of the original parable. The Gospel of Thomas contains a simpler, and hence possibly more primitive, form of this parable that lacks many of the allegorical features found in the Synoptics. In Thomas, there is no reference to Isaiah 5, only two servants are sent before the son, neither of the servants is killed, there is no interior monologue or question, “what shall I do?” (as in Luke), the son is not called “beloved,” the owner says “perhaps” they will respect his son, and the parable ends immediately following the report of the killing of the son. ...”
R. Alan Culpepper, The Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: Mark (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2007), 398–399.

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

Your feedback

Mark 12:9 and Gospel of Thomas 65

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library