Why does Jesus point out the widow to his disciples when she donates a penny (12:41-44)? What lesson is he trying to teach the disciples, especially in the context of his reference to the Scribes just before this story?
Jesus’ teachings become increasingly apocalyptic after he enters Jerusalem in the Gospel of Mark. Is there a connection between the difference in his teachings and the location?
What elements of these portions of Mark would you identify as ‘apocalyptic’? How do they make you feel?
What does the Parable of the Wicked Tenants mean (12:1-12)? Who are the tenants, the slaves, the man, the son?
Applying the Text:
What might Jesus mean when he says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (12:17)? How does such a statement apply to our lives?
Jesus is appalled by the practice of the money-changers in the Temple (11:15- 17). However, to the leaders of the time, those practices may have seemed normal and useful. What parts of everyday life do you imagine Jesus might expose today?
Most early Christians believed that, in their lifetimes, Jesus would return, and the apocalypse would happen. Can we believe that God holds the future, even when we may feel that the world as we know it is deviating from what God’s Kingdom should look like?