Mark 12: ancient fake news tries to hide Yeshua’s influence to goodness

 

Guide: NKJV New Testament, online, emphasis in bold or Old Testament from chabad.org, text I emphasize in green; CJB in magenta; chabad.org Hebrew Bible in olive. footnotes to NKJV in superscript ^{sky blue} , discussion in yellow; and my comments in gray. I may use endnotes to cite outside literature or extensive comment.

Using AI, Search Assist for discussion with me; my statement the SA’s response:

A.   Genesis 1:26 improves Sumerian philosophy if goodness is a surrogate for God. SA: “Genesis 1:26 presents humanity as created in the image of God, emphasizing a unique relationship between humans and the divine, which contrasts with Sumerian views that often depicted gods as distant and capricious. This biblical perspective elevates the concept of goodness, suggesting that humans reflect divine qualities and have a purposeful role in creation, thus offering a more positive and relational understanding of divinity compared to Sumerian philosophy.”

B.    Genesis 1:26 informs that on earth, persons may choose goodness.

SA: “Genesis 1:26 indicates that humans are created in God's image and are given the responsibility to rule over the earth, which includes the ability to choose between good and evil. This choice reflects their unique role and dignity as representatives of God in creation.”

C.    Genesis 1:26 means each person has the power, authority, and responsibility to order the earth.

SA: “Genesis 1:26 indicates that humans are created in God's image and are given dominion over the earth, which means they have the power and responsibility to manage and care for creation. This dominion is meant to reflect God's character, emphasizing stewardship rather than exploitation.”

Key opinions:

I write opinion, in order to facilitate listening to others, because I do not know the ineluctable truth. I think the Bible suggests goodness-which-motivates-good-behavior.

Key verses:

1.     V1-11, reminding elite Jews of the Tanakh.

a.      In particular, the importance of the God’s emissary on earth, the Lord.

b.     Injustice by workers toward their benefactor seems a metaphor for Yeshua’s leaders’ behavior.

c.      Yeshua speaks of badness to encourage goodness.

d.     V12 the elites sense the crowd’s awareness of hypocrisy, so withdraw.

2.     V13-17 Yeshua informs antagonists to aid Caesar’s civil order.

a.      Without civil order, personal opportunity cannot flourish

3.     V18-27 Yeshua informs that the resurrected are like angles in heaven but the God is God to the living, as recorded for the patriarchs.

a.      Together, these thoughts imply that a physical person who accepts God during life has life in the afterdeath.

b.     However, life afterdeath does not reflect physical commitments like marriage.

4.     V28-34 Yeshua told the scribe he was not far from the kingdom of God, which he had established in V27 is the kingdom of the living.

a.      “Not far from” implies nearly pure acceptance of God, rather than impending death.

b.     I think extrapolation of this passage to claim that reaching perfection before the God portends death is erroneous.

                                                             i.      Living people may and can pursue perfect behavior.

c.      Love as competition with whole burnt offerings and sacrifices makes love a quid pro quo object.

                                                             i.      I prefer to accept, appreciate, and mimic goodness.

                                                           ii.      I appreciate whatever constrains the consequence of human choice and look to experience and observations for guidance.

1.     For example, harm invites loss.

d.     Blanket love for neighbor either precludes consideration of badness or makes resistance to badness an act of love.

5.     V35-37 has Yeshua asking, before Pilate executed him, about the Messiah.

6.     V38-44 has Yeshua approving of “the treasury” accepting sacrifice from the weak, a show of arrogance toward Sumerian law 4100 years ago.

a.      I do not think Yeshua approved sacrifice, especially from the weak.

The Text: Mark 12 NKJV

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^{[tenant farmers]}

^12:1 Then He began to speak to them^{[in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders]} in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. ² Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ⁵ And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. ⁶ Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
¹¹ This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” ^{[Psalm 118:22]}

¹² And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?

¹³ Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees [The Pharisees were a prominent Jewish sect and philosophical school during, active from roughly the mid-second century BCE until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, characterized by their rigorous interpretation of the Mosaic Law through an oral tradition believed to have been transmitted alongside the written Torah, and their advocacy for doctrines including the resurrection of the dead, angelic intervention, and a balance between divine providence and human free will.] and the Herodians [The Herodians were a Jewish political faction active in first-century AD Judea and Galilee that favored the continuation of rule by the Herodian dynasty under Roman imperial oversight, viewing it as essential for national stability and order.[1] Primarily attested in the New Testament Gospels, they appear as collaborators with the Pharisees—despite ideological tensions between the pro-Roman Herodians and the more nationalist Pharisees—in plots to eliminate Jesus of Nazareth, including after his Sabbath healing (Mark 3:6) and in the entrapment question regarding tribute to Caesar (Mark 12:13; Matthew 22:16).[1] Jesus himself critiqued their influence, warning his disciples against the "leaven" of Herod (Mark 8:15), interpreted by scholars as a caution against their accommodationist politics and perceived hypocrisy.[1] This unlikely alliance underscores the Herodians' pragmatic prioritization of Herodian authority, often aligned with Roman interests, over strict Torah observance or messianic expectations that threatened the status quo. Their prominence reflects the fragmented political landscape of Herod Antipas's tetrarchy (r. 4 BC–AD 39), where factional maneuvering amid Roman client kingship shaped Jewish responses to emerging religious movements.[1]], to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴ When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and ^[d]care about no one; for You do not ^[e]regard the person of men ^{[Court no man’s favor]}, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶ So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render ^[pay] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees [The Sadducees (Hebrew: צְדוֹקִים; Greek: Σαδδουκαῖοι) were an ancient Jewish sect active from approximately the 2nd century BCE until the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, primarily drawn from priestly, aristocratic, and military elites who emphasized strict adherence to the written Torah while rejecting oral traditions, the resurrection of the dead, angels, spirits, and predestined fate in favor of human free will. Their name likely derives from Zadok, the high priest under Solomon, reflecting ties to hereditary priestly lineages that positioned them as custodians of Temple worship in Jerusalem.], who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. ²¹ And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. ²² So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”

²⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore ^[g]mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor 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 But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘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 the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken ^{[Or deceived]}.”

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?

²⁸ Then one of the scribes [Tanakh writers and teachers] came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving ^[seeing] that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first ^[foremost] commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³² So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. ³³ And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

But after that no one dared question Him.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?

³⁵ Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ [Messiah] is the Son of David? ³⁶ For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

³⁷ Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

And the common people heard Him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

³⁸ Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses [Ur-Nammu’s law code, 4100 years ago, warned the strong not to take advantage of the weak.], and for a pretense ^{for appearance’ sake]} make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Two Mites

⁴¹ Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites ^{[Gr. lepta, very small copper coins]}, which make a quadrans^{[A Roman coin]}. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

Genesis 37 and Matthew 21: pursuing order notwithstanding earth’s chaos

Genesis 1 Update

My query to Search Assist (): What is the chief message in Genesis 1:26?

Answer: God created humanity in His own image and likeness, granting them authority over all living things on Earth. This verse emphasizes the special status of humans in creation and their responsibility to govern the world.

Conclusion: accepting that God is a metaphor for a mystery --- whatever constrains the consequences of human choices, I feel I have affirmation of my opinion: I have the opportunity to limit chaos in my way of living.

Highlights this study:

1.       Joseph’s is a story of cunning and hate among three ethnicities descended from 3 mates of Abram: Arabs from Hagar, Jews from Sarah, and a dispersed culture from Keturah.

2.       People who do not accept Genesis 1:26 power, authority, and responsibility to pursue order in earth’s chaos will not enjoy their journey in life.

1Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

2These are the generations of Jacob: when Joseph was seventeen years old, being a shepherd, he was with his brothers with the flocks, and he was a lad, [and was] with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought evil tales about them to their father.

3And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was a son of his old age; and he made him a fine woolen coat.

4And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, so they hated him, and they could not speak with him peacefully.

5And Joseph dreamed a dream and told his brothers, and they continued to hate him.

6And he said to them, "Listen now to this dream, which I have dreamed:

7Behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf."

8So his brothers said to him, "Will you reign over us, or will you govern us?" And they continued further to hate him on account of his dreams and on account of his words.

9And he again dreamed another dream, and he related it to his brothers, and he said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream, and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me."

10And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will we come I, your mother, and your brothers to prostrate ourselves to you to the ground?"

11So his brothers envied him, but his father awaited the matter.

12And his brothers went to pasture their father's flocks in Shechem.

13And Israel said to Joseph, "Are your brothers not pasturing in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am."

14So he said to him, "Go now and see to your brothers' welfare and the welfare of the flocks, and bring me back word." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15Then a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field, and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?"

16And he said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me now, where are they pasturing?"

17And the man said, "They have traveled away from here, for I overheard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " So Joseph went after his brothers, and he found them in Dothan.

18And they saw him from afar, and when he had not yet drawn near to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.

19So they said one to the other, "Behold, that dreamer is coming.

20So now, let us kill him, and we will cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him,' and we will see what will become of his dreams."

21But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their hand[s], and he said, "Let us not deal him a deadly blow."

22And Reuben said to them, "Do not shed blood! Cast him into this pit, which is in the desert, but do not lay a hand upon him," in order to save him from their hand[s], to return him to his father.

23Now it came to pass when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his shirt, of the fine woolen coat which was upon him.

24And they took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty there was no water in it.

25And they sat down to eat a meal, and they lifted their eyes and saw, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites [Arabs] was coming from Gilead, and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and lotus, going to take [it] down to Egypt.

26And Judah said to his brothers, "What is the gain if we slay our brother and cover up his blood?

27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but our hand shall not be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh." And his brothers hearkened.

28Then Midianite [descendants of Keturah and thus not Israelites] men, merchants, passed by, and they pulled and lifted Joseph from the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver [pieces], and they brought Joseph to Egypt.

29And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he rent his garments.

30And he returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone! And I where will I go?"

31And they took Joseph's coat, and they slaughtered a goat, and they dipped the coat in the blood.

32And they sent the fine woolen coat, and they brought [it] to their father, and they said, "We have found this; now recognize whether it is your son's coat or not."

33He recognized it, and he said, "[It is] my son's coat; a wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn up."

34And Jacob rent his garments, and he put sackcloth on his loins, and he mourned for his son many days.

35And all his sons and all his daughters arose to console him, but he refused to be consoled, for he said, "Because I will descend on account of my son as a mourner to the grave"; and his father wept for him.

36And the Midianites sold him to Egypt, to Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain, chief of the slaughterers.

Matthew 21

New King James Version

The Triumphal Entry

21 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to ^[a]Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ³ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

^4 [b]All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

⁶ So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, ^[c]and set Him on them. ⁸ And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

¹⁰ And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹ So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple ^[d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁴ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were ^[e]indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”

¹⁷ Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

The Fig Tree Withered

¹⁸ Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree

²⁰ And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²³ Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

²⁴ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: ²⁵ The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward ^[f]relent and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

³³ “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. ³⁴ Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. ³⁵ And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. ³⁷ Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will ^[g]render to him the fruits in their seasons.” [This is a metaphor for accepting Genesis 1:26 – accepting the world’s chaos and pursuing order.]

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. [If you do not accept Genesis 1:26, you will not benefit from your life.] ⁴⁴ And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they ^[h]perceived that He was speaking of them. ⁴⁶ But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 21:1 M Bethsphage
2. Matthew 21:4 NU omits All
3. Matthew 21:7 NU and He sat
4. Matthew 21:12 NU omits of God
5. Matthew 21:15 angry
6. Matthew 21:32 regret it
7. Matthew 21:41 give
8. Matthew 21:45 knew