The Religious Leaders

We have come to a dangerous moment in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus has gone to Jerusalem for the last time. On Sunday, He had entered the city to a king’s welcome. The people shouted. Now it is Tuesday morning. On Thursday He will be arrested, and on Friday He will be crucified.

And lurking around Him and plotting His death were the religious leaders of Israel. Going all the way back to the start of His ministry, they never liked Him. At first, they saw Jesus as a distraction. Then when He called out their hypocrisy, they saw Him as a threat. But when He went to the Temple and turned over the tables of the moneychangers, the religious leaders decided that Jesus must be destroyed. So, they were looking for just the right moment to arrest Him and kill Him.

What they did not know is that Jesus was actually the One in control of the situation. Jesus had come to Jerusalem on purpose, knowing He would die. In Chapter 12, we find Him standing in the Temple complex with the crowds watching. He tells them a parable, a story with a spiritual meaning. But this parable was an indictment against the religious leaders.

Please find Mark 12:1-12.