Mark 11: 27 to 12: 44
Controversy with the Religious Leaders (11:27-12:40)

•	Jesus is back in the ______________________area and is confronted by the religious leaders and Jewish rulers.  This is a day of______________________.

The Challenge (11: 27-28)
•	The Jewish rulers are determined to break the hold that Jesus has on the people.  Only then could they hope to kill Him.  They had recovered from Jesus’ onslaught the previous day.  So they challenge Him to show “by what ______________________…who gave him this authority to do these things? (v. 28). They were within their right in asking this question since they were ______________________for the temple area.

For Certain
•	They had not given Jesus this______________________. So where did it come from? They did not recognize Him as God, the______________________, or a prophet. So we encounter their double barrelled question.

Jesus’ Answer (11: 29-12:12)
•	Jesus responds by asking a question of His own.  If they would answer where John the Baptist had gotten his authority to baptize, then Jesus would answer their question.  Jesus did not act under ______________________authority or receive help from John. But since John baptized Jesus, he was the only ______________________source He could point toward. So, what did they think about John and His baptism?

Their Dilemma
•	They ______________________ (imperfect tense verb in Greek) for sometime among themselves.  If they said, “from______________________” Jesus would ask why they did not believe John’s message.  If they said, “of______________________” they would be in trouble because the people considered John a prophet. They answered, “We cannot tell”.  Actually the Greek reads, “We do not really know”.

Their Retreat
•	Was into______________________.  This is the haven of many who refuse to believe in JC.  They knew about John by experience (ginosko), but they had not bothered to think through the matter to a firm ______________________ (oida).  

Jesus’ Point
•	If they could not determine the truth about John’s ministry and______________________, then how in the world, could they be trusted to determine the truth about His ministry? How they even dare to pose as ______________________over Jesus?  He refused to answer their question!

Actually
•	Jesus had by inference claimed authority from God as the______________________.  But had He said so, they would simply have denied it. They used His claim as the Christ to accuse Him before Pilate as a______________________.

Jesus tells a parable—
•	a parable of judgment on the nation Israel (12: 1-12; see especially vs. 9).
•	This is the parable of the______________________. Jesus will take off the kid gloves now.  Due to their hard-heartedness and rebellion, they lost the opportunity to be used of God, both as rulers and as a______________________.  So they were cast aside. Jesus teaches this in the parable.
Jesus Parable
•	This parable recalls Isaiah 5:1-7.  Every preparation was made to make the vineyard ready to______________________.  The owner of the vineyard leased it to a husbandman and went away into a distant land (v. 1).  “At the season” of harvest the owner sent a ______________________ (doulon) to collect his share of the grapes (v.2). 

But with increasing violence
•	 they refused to give the rent (v. 3-5).  Notice the order (beat…cast stones…______________________ …killing). One son, his wellbeloved son, he sent him, they will revere him, the heir.  But they said, “Let us kill him, and the ______________________will be ours.” Strange reasoning, but they did it (v.8)

The Issue at Hand
•	What will the owner do?  He will come and destroy the husbandmen and will give the vineyard to others. (v. 9).  Jesus applied the parable by citing Psalm______________________: 22ff (v. 10f).  He is the stone rejected by the builders or the ones’ supposed to be building God’s kingdom, but which God made the “chief______________________”, the stone which holds the building together. See 1 Ptr 2:4-10; Matt 21: 43-45.

The Jewish Rulers 
•	Knew that Jesus was speaking about them.  So they “kept on______________________” (an imperfect) verb to seize Him and to destroy Him (v. 12).  However they feared the people who were enthusiastic about Jesus.  So they went away, biding their ______________________until they had opportunity to carry out their evil plans.

Controversies on other issues
•	Before taking Jesus the rulers had to show Jesus up before the people. They felt they had to ______________________Him in their eyes.  Since they had failed to show his lack of authority, not they wanted to confront Him and discredit Him.  So they arrange a series of______________________.  The only thing is these prove to be disastrous for them and not Jesus!

Controversy over the tribute of Caesar (12:13-17)
•	The first to try to discredit Jesus was a coalition of ______________________and ______________________ (v. 13). After false praise they put a question to Jesus: “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?” (v. 14).  Neither of these wanted to pay the tribute to the foreign power.  Their purpose was not to seek information, but to trap Jesus. 

Their Designed Dilemma 
•	If Jesus says “Yes, pay them” then they would accuse Him before the people as a______________________.  If he says, “No” then they accuse Him before the Romans as a ______________________against Rome.

Jesus’ Awareness
•	He knows they are asking this question based on hypocritical design.  So, He asks for a coin, a______________________, a Roman coin (v. 15).  The fact that they had such showed they recognized Caesar’s authority over them. “Whose image and______________________?” (v. 16).  On one side was the superscription and on the other the image of Tiberias Caesar.

“Render to Caesar”
•	The things that belong to him and to God the things that are His.” (v. 17).  One owes obligations to both. But they should not be in______________________.  Taxes to Caesar and tithes to God.  The tempters can only wonder and fall back. They retired to ______________________their wounds.

Controversy over the resurrection (12: 18-27)
•	Now the ______________________take a turn at Him.  They denied the resurrection of the body.  They probably tried a problem on Jesus that they had tried successfully against the Pharisees.  They cited the Law of Moses about a brother’s duty to marry a brother’s ______________________when he died childless (v. 19 = Deut 25:5f).  

The Problem of the Ressurection
•	Which of the 7 brothers will she be married when the resurrection occurs?(v. 20-23). Jesus replied by accusing the experts on Scripture of ______________________of the same and the power of God (v. 24).  There is no marriage in heaven.  All are the family of God (v. 25) “as the______________________” who do not marry and produce offspring. 

As For Death
•	 those who die physically live on (v. 26) God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (v. 27).  So the ______________________erred in not understanding the Mosaic books they were supposed to accept as Scripture.  The ______________________taught life after death, a thing denied by the Sadducees. So this effort failed: it showed the people what a brilliant person Jesus was.

Controversy over the first commandment (12:28-34)
•	As if they had not learned their lesson fully yet, the Pharisee decided to take a another shot at Jesus.  They tried to trick Him with a question about “what is the greatest______________________?”  Jesus quoted Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19: 18b (vv 30-31).  The first has to do with absolute love for God and the second with a similar love for one’s______________________.

The Scribe
•	Commended Jesus for His answer (v. 32f).  In turn Jesus said, “Thou art not far from the Kingdom of______________________.” (v. 34).  What began as a criticism on the scribe’s part ended in ______________________for Jesus.  The scribe was not in the kingdom, but was near. One can hope he entered the kingdom through faith in Jesus.

“No man after that”
•	Uses a double ______________________ (oudeis ouketi) dared (imperfect sense) ask Him any question.” Jesus was complete ______________________over His critics. His hold on the people was stronger than ever.

Controversy over the person of the Messiah (12:35-40)
–	a question from Jesus (35-37).  Jesus was not through though.  He sprinkled ______________________on the wounds of the religious leaders. “How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of______________________?”  He quotes a Messianic Psalm 110:1.  

The Point
•	Of the quote is that even though the scribes denied it, Jesus was/is the Messiah, the Lord.  He did not claim it here, but implied it. The people the previous ______________________had proclaimed Him as such. And they heard Him not. One may well believe that both they and the ______________________got the point.

The Statement
•	By Jesus involved both His ______________________ (Son of David) and His ______________________ (Lord).  “The common people, not the scholars, heard Him gladly. (v.37).  “Heard” is in the imperfect tense.  The large crowd was listening gladly.  They were delighted to see Him put the scholars int heir place.

a denunciation and warning by Jesus (38-40)
•	Jesus now turned to his disciples and to the crowd (Mt 23).  “______________________” is teaching. Beware of the scribes which love to go in long clothing and love salutations in the marketplace (v. 38).  Most of the scribes were______________________. Mark only summarizes a longer indictment found in Matthew 23.  Jesus unveiled their hypocrisy.

Beware
•	Means to look out for! ______________________! Don’t get caught off______________________!

Long Robes
•	Is a reference to the apparel of ______________________such as kings and priests (v. 38).  They make a great ______________________and coveted being saluted in public as great ones.

They Love the Chief Seats
•	In the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feasts (v. 39).  TO show their piety they sat in the front seats. “______________________” were couches and they wanted to recline on the ______________________of highest honor. The Twelve were not immune to this (Lk 22:24).

Devour Widow’s Houses
•	(v. 40). This they did by getting them to give them to the temple, but actually took them for themselves.  “Long______________________” as a pretense of piety. They preyed on widows and prayed long prayers in public.  For these things they will receive judgment.  Jesus condemned ______________________to the utmost.

Commendation of the Widow’s Offering (12: 41-44)
•	This is a beautiful ending to a day of controversy.  With His ______________________gone, Jesus rested in the Temple area.  He sat over against the ______________________ (v. 41).  It was in the court of women. 

“Treasury”
•	Renders a compound word (gazophulakeion), from gaza (treasure) and phlake (to guard), a safe place into which gifts for various purposes might be______________________.  In the Court of ______________________receptacles were placed for such gifts.  

Jesus was watching
•	(another imperfect verb) as people cast money into the treasury.  The Lord of the treasury is concerned about the treasure given by His people.  ______________________were casting in much or were like a steady stream of givers.  The “much” in contrast to the widow’s gift.
•	“______________________” means pauper, the extremely poor in contrast to the “rich”.  

“Two Mites” or lepta
•	Was worth about one ______________________of a cent.  This was the smallest gift which according to the scribes, was legal to give.  In her case, it was all she had.  Notice Jesus’ statement about her gift (v. 403-44).  Her gift was an expression of her great ______________________for her God.  God does not measure one’s gifts by what one has before he gives, but what is remaining after he gives.

At this point the public ministry 
•	of Jesus has ended.  What remains to be told in the ______________________concerns private matters with his disciples and friends and the events surrounding Christ’s ______________________and resurrection.