Mark 11–13: You Are Not Far from the Kingdom of God": Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Last Arguments

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’ ”

So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it, and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

The disciples answered as Jesus had instructed them, and the people gave them permission. Then they led the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it.

Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting:

Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day, when they had left Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when he reached it, he found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And his disciples heard this statement.

When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Then Jesus began to teach them, and he declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they looked for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.

And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots. Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered.”

“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. “Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

After their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you the authority to do them?”

“I will ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me!”

They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’...” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet. So they answered, “We do not know.”

And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

Then he sent them another servant, and they struck him over the head and treated him shamefully.

He sent still another, and this one they killed.

He sent many others; some they beat and others they killed.

Finally, having one beloved son, he sent him to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. Have you never read this Scripture:

At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that he had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left him and went away.

Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in his words. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, you are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to inspect.” So they brought it, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

And they marveled at him.

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned him: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children. Then the second one married the widow, but he also died and left no children. And the third did likewise. In this way, none of the seven left any children. And last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.

But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but him, and to love him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, he said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to question him any further.

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared:

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”

And the large crowd listened to him with delight.

In his teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces, and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, he watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts. Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On my account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what to say. Instead, speak whatever you are given at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house. And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not occur in the winter. For those will be days of tribulation unmatched from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has cut them short.

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

But in those days, after that tribulation:

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out the angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come.

It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning. Otherwise, he may arrive without notice and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”