Understanding Parables and Commandments

So, remember that Jesus has done many tales and done several things as they relate to His return and the Nation being destroyed. With only four chapters left, we will see that this chapter 12 is no different. So let’s read starting at verse 1:

The Parable of the Vineyard

Chapter 12 Mark Meat April 18th 2021

And he began to speak to them by parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a hole for the wine and press, and built a tower, and let it out to caretakers, and went into a distant country. 2 And at the harvest he sent to the farmer a servant, that he might receive the fruit of the vineyard from the caretakers. 3 And they caught the servant, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent to them another servant; and they cast stones at him, giving him a head wound, and sent him away having treated him shamefully. 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having then one son, his well-beloved, he sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son. 7 But those caretakers said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. 8 And they took and killed him and cast his body out of the vineyard.

9 Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the caretakers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 And have you not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner: 11 This was the Lord's doing, and it was marvelous in our eyes? 12 And they wanted to seize him but feared the people: for they thought that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him and went their way. 13 And they sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to try and catch him with words. 14 And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care for anything from men: for you do not even consider their person, but teach the way of YHWH in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay them or not? But he knew their hypocrisy and said to them, Why are you giving me this test? Bring me a coin and let me examine it. 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose image and superscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's. 17 And Yeshua said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to YHWH the things that are YHWH's. And they marveled at him.

The Question of Resurrection

18 And the Sadducees, who teach that there is no resurrection, came and questioned him, saying, 19 Master, Moses wrote to us, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers: and the first took the wife, but died leaving no child. 21 And the second took her, and died, and didn’t leave a child either: and the third likewise. 22 And the seven had her but left no child: last of all the wife died too. 23 In the resurrection whose wife will she be, as the seven all had her as a wife? 24 And Yeshua said, you are mistaken because you fail to know the scriptures and the power of YHWH. 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither are married nor get married but are like the angels which are in heaven.

26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, how from the bush YHWH spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: therefore you are greatly mistaken.

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them disputing and perceiving that Yeshua had responded to them well, asked him, Of all the commandments which is the greatest? 29 And Yeshua replied and said to him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel; The YHWH our God is one YHWH: 30 And you should love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: is the first commandment. 31 And the second is similar, that, You should love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said to him, You are right, teacher and have truly stated that he is one and

The Kingdom of YHWH

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself means more than all wholly consumed burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Yeshua saw that he responded wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of YHWH. And no man thereafter dared to ask him anything more. 35 And while Yeshua taught in the temple, he asked, How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David? 36 For David was inspired by the Holy Spirit and said, YHWH said to my Adonai, You sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. 37 Because David himself called him Lord; then how is the Messiah his son? And a great crowd were pleased with what they heard from him.

Teachings in the Temple

38 And teaching them he said, Beware of the scribes, who enjoy wandering around in flowing robes, and salutations in the marketplaces, 39 And the premiere seats in the synagogues, and reclining first at feasts: 40 Which devour widows' houses, and pretentiously give long prayers: these will receive greater damnation. 41 And Yeshua sat opposite of the treasury, and watched people put money into the treasury: the rich putting in large amounts. 42 And a poor widow came, and she put in two small coins, which amounted to very little. 43 And he called his disciples to him, and said, Truly, I say to you, that this poor widow hath put more in than all of those who have given to the treasury: 44 For they all gave of their abundance; but she in her poverty gave all that she had, her entire livelihood.

The Vineyard Parable

Last week we talked about Jesus using the Fig tree as a type for Israel’s destruction and the cleaning of the temple as the same. He is about to give us another one in the teaching of the people. Listen to the imagery relative to that time as he says: And he began to speak to them by parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a hole for the wine and press, and built a tower, and let it out to caretakers, and went into a distant country. 2 And at the harvest he sent to the farmer a servant, that he might receive the fruit of the vineyard from the caretakers. 3 And they caught the servant, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent to them another servant; and they cast stones at him, giving him a head wound, and sent him away having treated him shamefully. 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having then one son, his well-beloved, he sent him to them last, saying, They will respect my son. 7 But those caretakers said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. 8 And they took and killed him and cast his body out of the vineyard.

This parable illustrates both the history of the Nation of Israel and God sending her prophets in search of fruit from his vineyard, the Nation mistreating them (verses 2-5), then His finally sending to her His only Son (verses 6-8) and them killing him outside the gates of the city (which they would do).

9 Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the caretakers, and will give the vineyard to others.

Consequences for Israel

This is Yeshua’s plain teaching of the consequences God himself would bring upon the House of Israel for killing His Son. These consequences were played out entirely in 70AD upon Jerusalem. The response of the Jews of that day (verse 12 shows they fully understood what he meant by the parable and in the passages he quotes them (verse

10 And have you not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner: 11 This was the Lord's doing, and it was marvelous in our eyes?

12 And they wanted to seize him but feared the people: for they thought that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him and went their way. 13 And they sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to try and catch him with words.

Herodians were a Jewish political party that accepted the social customs they the Herod’s introduced to Israel from Rome and who also sympathized with their general policy of government. As such, they were highly attuned to political crimes.

14 And they came

Teaching the Way of YHWH in Truth

…and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care for anything from men: for you do not even consider their person, but teach the way of YHWH in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

PO Yeshua was impervious to the manipulations and faulty ideas of Man. (see, John 2:25). This approach led these religiously inclined, politically motivated leaders to call Him “teacher” and to admit that by refraining from the ideas of Man He taught truth. While they were certainly being hypocritical through flattery, their conclusions were accurate. At His deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., the veil in the temple that served to separate men from God, and could only be broached by a High Priest, was torn in two. This is a clear indication that human intercession between individuals and God was no longer necessary or advisable; that all seekers are now free to adopt the attitude Yeshua had in His pursuit of truth and to “not care for anything from Man.”

15Should we pay them or not?

PO This question was aimed at catching Yeshua in the act of insurrection against the Government – something many upstart religious leaders seek to bring in their messages to the masses. Yeshua was not politically motivated; his kingdom was not of this world, and his Gospel works in harmony with all governments on earth (see, Romans 13:1-7).

But he knew their hypocrisy and said to them, Why are you giving me this test? Bring me a coin and let me examine it.
16And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose image and superscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's.
17And Yeshua said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to YHWH the things that are YHWH's. And they marveled at him.

The Sadducees' Question on Resurrection

18And the Sadducees, who teach that there is no resurrection, came and questioned him, saying, 19Master, Moses wrote to us, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.

The Sadducees confronted Yeshua with an extreme hypothetical example of what is called, the Levirate Law, which is when the brother of a man who has died without children would take his childless widow to wife as a means to provide her with them. (see, Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5-10).

20Now there were seven brothers: and the first took the wife, but died leaving no child. 21And the second took her, and died, and didn’t leave a child either: and the third likewise.
22And the seven had her but left no child: last of all the wife died too.
23In the resurrection whose wife will she be, as the seven all had her as a wife?
24And Yeshua said, you are mistaken because you fail to know the scriptures and the power of YHWH.
25For when they rise from the dead, they neither are married nor get married but are like the angels which are in heaven.
26And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, how from the bush YHWH spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: therefore you are greatly mistaken.

True Understanding of God

COMMENT?

FROM THIS POINT at verses 28-35 I NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME. LETS READ

I want to cite an online brother (Kel) and his many astute insights into the makeup of the true and living God. His original biblical thinking has done much to help me articulate what I also see in scripture.

When it comes to understanding the make-up of God there is nothing more decisive than what Jesus and did in His life. I suggest that we can trust that we can trust what He said and not what men say he said. He is the most reliable trustworthy witness.

The very reason Jesus came to give us understanding is so we might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Why? This is life eternal. He did this by declaring and/or expressing the only true God that nobody has ever seen.

1st John 5:20 says “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his

The Revelation of God Through Jesus

Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

And remember this:

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

With Him being the Word of God made flesh, we can readily see that this is what Jesus came to do – to declare and/or express, the only True God and Him whom the Only true God had sent. Addtiionally, Jesus was a Jew born under the Law. It’s important because Jesus having been born under the Law means that Jesus had to obey the Law. Perfectly. He was an Israelite. And God gave the Law to them. He was required to observe the Law – to know what the Law meant AND to obey it – honestly, from the heart, and out of love for God and Man. We can trust that Jesus understood the commands he followed and obeyed, can’t we?

Jesus and the Law

So, two facts thus far – Jesus came to reveal God to us and 2) Jesus, as an Israelite, obeyed the law. Is there a believer who disagrees? In the Gospel of Mark we read about Yeshua testifying about a specific element of the Law. There, in chapter 12, He told us what the primary, foremost commandment of the Law was as an Israelite who obeyed the Law? And here he cited the Great Shema which says:

“Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall LOVE the Lord thy God with all your heart and soul and strength.”

That is the first commandment of the Law, which Jesus kept as a Jew – the Great Shema. And in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus actually has a conversation with a Jewish scribe where He appeals to it. What is really interesting about this conversation is that unlike many other interactions Yeshua has with scribes and pharisees, this one is peaceful and wholly agreeable.

28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them disputing and perceiving that Yeshua had responded to them well, asked him, Of all the commandments which is the greatest? 29And Yeshua replied and said to him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel; The YHWH our God is one YHWH: 30And you should love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: is the first commandment. 31And the second is similar, that, You should love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32And the scribe said to him, You are right, teacher and have truly stated that he is one and that there is no other than him: 33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself means more than all wholly consumed burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34And when Yeshua saw that he responded wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of YHWH. And no man thereafter dared to ask him anything more.

The Greatest Commandment

And so here in Mark we have the most agreeable discussion between Jesus and a scribe about the foremost commandment in the Law—the Great Shema—which again, says:

“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

So again,

ONE Jesus came to reveal the Invisible God to the world

TWO As an Israelite who came to save the Nation He was to obey all of the Law under which He was born, and

THREE, Jesus himself said is the foremost commandment of the Law He came to keep was the Great Shema.

Still with me?

When Jesus tells the scribe what He considered to be the primary and foremost commandment under the Law, listen to what the scribe says:

32 Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: you have truly said that He is one (God); and there is none other but . . . “him.”

And Jesus response to the scribe was that he had responded wisely – that He was right! Now think about what the scribe says here. “You are right, teacher, He is one and there is no other but He,

The Significance of the Great Shema

Him, ONE.

This is a description from both Jesus and the Scribe agreeing with each other what the Great Shema means, meaning how to see and interpret it. Notice that neither of them say, “The Lord our God is One what.” They say the Lord our God the Lord is one “He.” Not a one what, but a one He. Together they both qualify and agree on what the Great Shema means! And it means, from their own words that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one HE!” NOT the Lord is One WHAT – One He, one who. This is clear from both the Shema AND from what the Lord and the Scribe both say!

The Trinitarian claim that this conversation means (or should be seen and understood as “one unity of a divine nature in three) is entirely man-made because a divine nature would have to be a WHAT, and not a He in this scenario. But it's not. And now, from His own testimony, our most reliable witness Yeshua clearly agrees that the Shema refers to one identity and the words, “the Lord our God, the Lord is One, mean the Lord is one HE.”

The Role of Singular Personal Pronouns

The implication should be obvious to anyone – right off the bat – that the purpose of singular personal pronouns is to signify that a single person is being described! This is the POINT of personal pronouns, folks. The Lord our God is One, He. . . This is one person and it tells us this right here! But Trinitarians cannot read this plainly, cannot receive it plainly, and must default to man-made concepts that neither Jesus nor the scribe mention. Instead, they stay true to the words of the Great Shema.

Jesus testifies to the specific identity of that “one person,” the “one who,” the “One he” here in this talk with the scribe. And remember now, that Jesus obeyed the Law, and he said that the Greatest of all the Law was the Great Shema, and the Great Shema directly states that He, as the Messiah, was to love the One He, the One Lord God, with all of His heart soul and strength.

Are you convinced that when Jesus is having this conversation with the scribe that He was talking about a tri-une, three in one God of which He is supposed to compose a part? Do you think that the scribe was understanding this the same way? If not, why doesn’t Jesus use this time to correct Him? Instead, Jesus views slide right in with the scribes! Because that is what was true.

Jesus’ Interpretation and Obedience to the Law

Listen – in order for Jesus to perfectly obey the Law he had to perfectly understand it – that includes the primary foremost Law called the Great Shema? Here in Mark Jesus testifies to how He interprets the words of the Shema in and the scripture describes HOW HE OBEYED IT!

Do we see Jesus obeying the first Great commandment of the Law by worshipping “a three in one God” (again, of which he was apart) or do we see Jesus giving His total heart, soul and strength to a singular He (called His Father)? If the Great Shema was speaking of a “what” (trinity) and not a “He” (Jesus Father) then for Jesus to obey the Law, he would have to worship, and equally love (with all of His heart, soul and strength) the Father, Himself the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That’s the ONLY way He could have obeyed the Law!

But Jesus ONLY recognized His Father as His God, as the One God, as the He God. This is the same Father that Paul speaks to when he says in 1st Corinthians 8:6:

6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

This is who the Great Shema describes – Jesus’ Father – the Lord our God is One. And Jesus obeyed the first Great Commandment by loving HIS FATHER with all of Heart soul and strength. Not LOVING A TRIUNE MAN-MADE GOD with all of His heart, soul and strength, as the Trinitarians interpret the Shema, but His Father!

The FACT that Jesus Only recognized His Father as the one He worships throughout His life, proves, in addition to this conversation with the Scribe,

Jesus and the Shema

Jesus interpreted the One Lord God as His Father. Period. Because that is what He did. He only loved His Father as His God with all of His heart, soul and strength. In this way, we can clearly see how Jesus interpreted the Shema. Not men. Not tradition. Jesus. That’s who I trust. What HE said, what He did. And from His mouth and conversation with this Scribe there is no other God but HE.

The Jews, like this scribe, knew who that one God is, and the scribe and Jesus agree on His identity completely! Completely! Jesus did not sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace.. He was obedient to the Law. More than anything else, He was obedient to the first and foremost Law – the Great Shema without qualification, deviation, alteration or man-made reconfiguration.

Challenging Trinitarian Views

Trinitarians play games with this so they can keep the man-made myth alive. They say that Jesus secretly, in His head, knew the real meaning of the Shema (which was a three-personed WHAT, and not a One person He) and that He pretended to obey this primary law the way the Jews around Him did. But that He knew better. See, if Jesus did NOT love the One God (his Father) with all of His heart, soul and strength, then He disobeyed the Shema. The Shema instructed Him to recognize His God and to love Him with all His being!

He did this by serving and worshipping only His Father as the Only One He. He didn’t secretly believe the Shema meant one thing but then act in another way – His actions proved that His interpretation of the Shema was One He, not Three What’s! If He did anything else He would have been a deceiver, a liar and a disobedient one at that. Jesus was not a disobedient liar. He was the most trusted witness of the One God and the best interpreter of the Shema to have ever lived.

See, the Trinitarian doctrine, in the end, makes Jesus a disobedient liar. How? Because it suggests that Jesus interpreted the Shema one way, but taught and acted in another. In other words, He doesn’t obey what He thinks God is (a Trinity); He does something else. This is the implication of the Trinity doctrine. But Jesus did not sin, so we can be absolutely certain that what Jesus did to interpret, and understand and obey and observe this commandment is how it was meant to be. Nothing more.

Jesus' life and obedience to the Shema has to match with the interpretation of it, or He was a liar and was disobedient to the Law. But His life was in harmony with the Shema and it is the Trinitarian doctrine that makes His life, words, prayers, and actions a lie. Who do you trust – traditions created by Men or the Son of Man?

The Revelation of God's Identity

In the Revelation (God gave Jesus to share with John) we read in chapter 1 verse 6: “He has made us priests and kings to the Triune God.” No? No, what it says, speaking of Jesus: Is, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” The God here in Revelation is the same One God, the single “He” that is mentioned in the Great Shema.

The Trinitarians suggest that Jesus secretly knew that the One Lord is “one unity of three uncreated co-equal persons,” and that He knew that he would somehow have to love such a triune God (of which He was a part) with all of His heart, soul, and mind, but unfortunately for them, the record of His life shows He never saw God His Father that way, but instead obeyed the One God as the One True God of which there is no other.

Conclusion of the Chapter

35 And while Yeshua taught in the temple, he asked, How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David?
36 For David was inspired by the Holy Spirit and said, YHWH said to my Adonai, You sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.

PO: This is the most oft-quoted passage from the Tanakh in the Apostolic Record. (see, Commentary of Mark 12:35-37)

37 Because David himself called him Lord; then how is the Messiah his son? And a great crowd were pleased with what they heard from him.

38 And teaching them he

The Essence of Religious Piety

38And he said, Beware of the scribes, who enjoy wandering around in flowing robes, and salutations in the marketplaces, 39And the premiere seats in the synagogues, and reclining first at feasts: 40Which devour widows' houses, and pretentiously give long prayers: these will receive greater damnation.

In describing the Scribes of His day, Yeshua captures the essence of religious piety then and now – to be on display in public places, wearing special religious clothing to distinguish them, to receive preferential treatment (in seating and at meals), and to make long prayers. Using these egoistic traits Yeshua tells his audience “to beware.” A key term to describe this behavior is profasis – which means an “outward showing.” (see, Matthew Chapter 23; Luke 18:10-14).

The Lesson of Long Prayers

On Long Prayers (see, Ecclesiastes 5:2; Proverbs 10:19; 20:25; Matthew 6:7)

41And Yeshua sat opposite of the treasury, and watched people put money into the treasury: the rich putting in large amounts. 42And a poor widow came, and she put in two small coins, which amounted to very little. 43And he called his disciples to him, and said, Truly, I say to you, that this poor widow hath put more in than all of those who have given to the treasury: 44For they all gave of their abundance; but she in her poverty gave all that she had, her entire livelihood.

Observations at the Treasury

Having mentioned one evil motivation of Scribes (to eat or devour widow’s houses) Yeshua appears to have then witnessed the events (of verses 41-42) and delivers a teaching on sacrificial giving. Yeshua’s observations at the treasury cannot be seen as his recommendation of widows giving all they have to the treasury but rather an observation of what he was witnessing relative to the rich and their donations.

And that is chapter 12.