Mark 12: Questions reveal both resistance and recognition

Mark 12 turns the temple conflict into a sequence of parables, traps, genuine questions, and unsettling observations. The vineyard tenants mistake possession for ownership and kill the beloved son, only for the rejected stone to become the head of the corner. Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus over tribute, while Sadducees construct a resurrection puzzle whose assumptions he rejects. Then a scribe approaches differently, recognizes a good answer, and hears that love of God and neighbor outranks sacrifice. Jesus himself raises the question of how David's son can also be David's Lord. The chapter ends by moving from religious honor to a poor widow's two mites. After warning against scribes who devour widows' houses, Jesus makes her entire living the measure that matters. Small coins become a large question because Mark measures cost, not display.