Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 NKJV.

And in our chapter, Mark 12, listen to the wisdom of God compared to the confusion and pride of self of humans. Remember, the Pharisees could not answer by what authority Jesus, the Son, spoke. It was by His own. Jesus then began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and 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 give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Psalm 118:22, 23), v. 1-11. The history of Israel and by extension mankind. That group left and another came to test Jesus about whether to pay tax to Caesar. No one likes taxes. But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap Me?” He asked. “Bring me a denarius and let Me look at it.” They brought the coin, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. v. 13-17. We all of us have dual citizenship. And to our citizenship in the countries we live, we pay taxes to support that country. But we are made in the image of God and our true citizenship and wholeness is as His children in His kingdom. Another group came to test Jesus and this time about the resurrection of the dead with a scenario of a woman being wed by 7 brothers, according to ancient law, and no children from any. Whose wife would she be in the resurrection. The question was asked by the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection, only in the writings of Moses. Jesus replied, “Are you not in error 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; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising – have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to 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!” v. 18-27. Another teacher of the law witnessing all of these conversations and hearing Jesus’ answers then asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deut. 6:4). Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Deut. 6: 4, 5). The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Lev. 19:18). There is no commandment greater than these.” v. 28-31. And that man’s response was good and yet not fully understanding…“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” v. 32-33. He understood God’s heart and our need for God as did David, a man after God’s own heart, and so Jesus then asks the important question – “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘ (Psalm 110:1). David himself calls Him, ‘Lord.’ How then can He be his son?” v. 35-37. The Lord said to my Lord…Speaking by the Holy Spirit => Creator God. And then after all the men who tried to trap Jesus had left, Jesus sits and observes people putting money into the temple treasury. The rich threw in large amounts. But what caught His eye was the poor widow. She gave two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” v. 41-44. She put in everything, all she had…and Who she had was God. It goes back to what Jesus had just told the crowd: “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” v. 38-40. The widow probably never heard the conversations of the “important” people. Her focus was on her God. And He saw.