The Trap - Mark 11:27-12:17

The Authority of Jesus Challenged 

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”  

The Parable of the Tenants 

12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved 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 us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:  

“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected  

has become the cornerstone;  

11  this was the Lord’s doing,  

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”  

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.  

Paying Taxes to Caesar 

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him. 

Summary

A shift was beginning in the hearts of the people in Jerusalem. It began with the “Chief Priests, the Scribes, and the Elders.” They questioned Jesus on His identity. They didn’t believe He had the authority to dictate their actions (He had just overturned the tables in the temple) or question their theology. Jesus agreed to respond to their question if they would answer His question- “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”. John had many followers, and the religious leaders felt trapped. They didn’t feel safe to answer either way, so they simply said they didn’t know. Because they didn’t answer His question, Jesus wouldn’t answer theirs either, or at least not the way they wanted. He would show them through the Parable of the Tenants. The religious leaders were so focused on themselves, their status, and their way that they missed the gravity of what Jesus was teaching through the parable. Not only did Jesus reveal His identity and share with them “what authority” He had to do “these things,” but He also revealed that He, the Son of God, would be killed by the people and that God, His Father, had sent Him. Rather than feeling convicted, their anger grew toward Jesus, and their hearts grew further from their messiah. So, they came up with another trap for Jesus. This time, they would make it seem as though they really wanted Jesus’ advice, but it was a trick! They asked if they should pay Caesar taxes or not. Jesus, of course, knew exactly how to answer. Even though they marveled at Him, the religious leaders still sought to have Jesus killed. Because, after all, the darkest Night was still part of God’s plan. 

HEAR about it:

What did you HEAR from God’s word today? Use the HEAR method (Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond) to examine today’s passage. If you need to know more about the HEAR method, click here.

Talk about it:

• What authority had Jesus been given to lead the religious leaders? Who gave him authority? 

• Who do you think the father, son, and tenants represented in the Parable of the Tenants? 

• Why did “they” want to arrest Jesus after hearing the parable?