The Gospel of St. Mark

Aquarian Gospel

Chapter Twelve

Chapter 154

1: And he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country.

THE multitudes would hear what Jesus had to say, and so they built a platform in the temple court, and Jesus stood upon the place and taught. He spoke in parables; he said,
2) A man possessed a vast estate; he planted out a vineyard, placed a hedge about it, built a tower, installed the press for making wine.

3) He placed his vineyard in the hands of husbandmen and then he journeyed to a distant land.

2: When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.

4) Now, in the vintage time the man sent forth a servant to receive and bring to him his portion of the fruitage of the vines.

3: And they took him and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

5) The husbandmen came forth and beat the man; laid forty lashes on his back and cast him out beyond the vineyard gate.

4: Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.

6) And then the owner sent another man to bring to him his own. The husbandmen laid hold of him and sorely wounded him and cast him from the vineyard, leaving him half dead beside the way.

5: And he sent another, and him they killed; and so with many others, some they beat and some they killed.

7) The owner sent another man to bring to him his own. The husbandmen seized hold of him and with a javelin they pierced his heart; then buried him beyond the hedge.

6: He had still one other, a beloved son; finally he sent him to them, saying, `They will respect my son.'

8) The owner was aggrieved. He thought within himself, What shall I do? and then he said, This will I do. My only son is here, and I will send him to the husbandmen,
9) They surely will respect my son and send me what is mine.

10) He sent his son; the husbandmen took counsel with themselves; they said, This is the only heir to all this wealth, and if we take his life the vast inheritance is ours.

8: And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

11) They took his life and cast him out beyond the vineyard hedge.

9: What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.

12) The day will come; the owner will return to reckon with the husbandmen, and he will seize them every one, and cast them into scorching fires where they shall stay until they pay the debts they owe.

10: Have you not read this scripture: `The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner;

14) Then turning to the priests and scribes he said, Did not your prophets say,
15) The stone the builders cast away became the capstone of the arch?

16) You men who pose as men of God, as husbandmen, lo, you have stoned and killed the messengers of God, his prophets and his seers, and now you seek to slay his son.
17) I tell you men, the kingdom shall be snatched away from you, and shall be given unto people who are not a people now, and to a nation that is not a nation now.
18) And men whose speech you cannot understand, will stand between the living and the dead, and show the way to life.

11: this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

12: And they tried to arrest him, but feared the multitude, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them; so they left him and went away.

19) The chief priests and the Pharisees were deeply moved with anger when they heard this parable and would have seized the Lord and done him harm, but they were sore afraid; they feared the multitude.

20) And Jesus spoke another parable; he said,
The kingdom is like a certain king who made a feast in honor of the marriage of his son.
21) He sent his servants forth to call the people who had been invited to the feast.
22) The servants called; but then the people would not

come.
23) And then the king sent other messengers abroad to say, Behold, my tables now are spread; my oxen and my fatlings are prepared.
24) The choicest viands and the richest wines are on my boards; come to the marriage feast.
25) The people laughed and treated with disdain his call, and went their way; one to his farm, another to his merchandise;
26) And others seized the servants of the king; abused them shamefully; and some of them they killed.
27) And then the king sent forth his soldiery who slew the murderers and burned their towns.
28) And then the king sent other servants forth; to them he said, Go to the corners of the streets, the partings of the ways, and to the marts of trade and say,
29) Whoever will may come up to the marriage feast.
30) The servants went their way and called; and lo, the banquet hall was filled with guests.
31) But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who had not on a wedding robe; he called to him and said,
32) Friend, why are you here without a wedding robe? Would you dishonor thus my son?
33) The man was dumb; he answered not.
34) And then the king said to his guards, Take you this man and bind him hand and foot and cast him out into the darkness of the night.
35) The many have been called, but none are chosen to be guests who have not clad themselves in wedding robes.

Chapter 155

13: And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Hero'di-ans, to entrap him in his talk.

14: And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

My Lord, you are a man of truth; you show the way to God, and you do not regard the personality of men;
3) Tell us, what do you think; should we, who are the seed of Abraham, pay tribute unto Caesar? or should we not?

15: Should we pay them, or should we not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.

4) And Jesus knew his wickedness of heart and said, Why do you come to tempt me thus? Show me the tribute money that you speak about.

16: And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesar's.

5) The man brought forth a piece of coin on which an image was engraved.
6) And Jesus said, Whose image and whose name is on this coin?
7) The man replied, 'Tis Caesar's image and his name.

17: Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they were amazed at him.

8) And Jesus said, Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's own; but give to God the things of God.
9) And they who heard him said, He answers well.

18: And Sad'ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying,

19: Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.

Rabboni, Moses wrote that if a married man shall die, and have no child, his widow shall become his brother's wife.

20: There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children;

11) Now, there were seven brothers and the eldest had a wife; he died and had no child; a brother took his widow for his wife, and then he died;

21: and the second took her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise;

22: and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

12) And every brother had this woman for his wife; in course of time the woman died;

23: In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.

13) Now which will have this woman for a wife in the resurrection day?

24: Jesus said to them, Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither 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.

14) And Jesus said, Here in this plane of life men marry just to gratify their selfish selves, or to perpetuate the race; but in the world to come, and in the resurrection day, men do not take upon themselves the marriage vows.
15) But, like the angels and the other sons of God, they form not unions for the pleasure of the self, nor to perpetuate the race.

16) Death does not mean the end of life. The grave is not the goal of men, no more than is the earth the goal of seeds.
17) Life is the consequence of death. The seed may seem to die, but from its grave the tree arises into life.
18) So man may seem to die, but he lives on, and from the grave he springs up into life.

26: And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

19) If you could comprehend the word that Moses spoke about the burning bush that burned and still was not consumed, then you would know that death cannot destroy the life.
20) And Moses said that God is God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel.

27: He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.

21) God is not God of dead men's bones, but the living man.
22) I tell you, men, man goes down to the grave, but he will rise again and manifest the life;
23) For every life is hid with Christ in God, and man shall live while God shall live.

24) The Pharisees and scribes who heard the Lord, exclaimed, He speaks the truth; and they were glad to have the Sadducees discomfited.

28: And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is the first of all?

25) And then an honest scribe came forth and said to Jesus,
Lord, you speak as one whom God has sent, and may I ask,
26) Which is the greatest and the first of the Commandments of the Law?

27) And Jesus said, The first is Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one;

30: and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength;

31: The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.

28) And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
29) These are the greatest of the ten, and on them hang the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms.

32: And the scribe said to him, You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he;

30) The scribe replied, My soul gives witness that you speak the truth,

33: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

for love fulfils the law, and far transcends burnt offerings and sacrifice. 

34: And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And after that no one dared to ask him any question.

31) And Jesus said to him,
Lo, you have solved a mystery; you are within the kingdom and the kingdom is in you.

35: And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

36: David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared, `The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet.'

37: David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son? And the great throng heard him gladly.

38: And in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places

32) To his disciples Jesus spoke, and all the people heard; he said, Beware you of the scribes and Pharisees who pride themselves in wearing long and richly decorated robes,
33) And Love to be saluted in the market place,

39: and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,

40: who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.

and take the hard-earned wages of the poor to satisfy their carnal selves, and pray in public, long and loud.
34) These are the wolves who clothe themselves to look like sheep.

35) And then he said to all,
The scribes and Pharisees are placed by law in Moses' seat, and by the law they may interpret law;
36) So what they bid you do, that do; but do not imitate their deeds.
37) They say the things that Moses taught; they do the things of Beelzebub.
38) They talk of mercy, yet they bind on human shoulders burdens grievous to bear.
39) They talk of helpfulness, and yet they put not forth the slightest helpful efforts for their brother man.
40) They make a show of doing things, and yet they do not anything but show their gaudy robes, and broad phylacteries, and smile when people call them honored masters of the law.
41) They strut about and show their pride when people call them father, so and so.
42) Hear, now, you men, Call no man father here. The God of heaven and earth, and he alone, is Father of the race of men.
43) Christ is the hierarch, the high, exalted master of the sons of men.
44) If you would be exalted, sit down at the master's feet and serve. He is the greatest man who serves the best.

Chapter 156

THE scribes and Pharisees were wild with rage; and Jesus said,
2) Woe unto you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you stand within the way; you block the door; you will not go into the kingdom and you turn aside the pure in heart who are about to enter in.
3) Woe unto you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he has been made he is a son of hell, just like yourselves.
4) Woe unto you who call yourselves the guides of men! and you are guides, blind guides;
5) For you pay tithes of cummin, mint and dill, and leave undone the weightier matters of the law; of judgment, justice, faith.
6) You filter out the gnats before you drink; but then you swallow camels and the like.
7) Woe unto you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you clean and scour the outside of the cup, while it is full of filth, extortion and excess.
8) Go to and clean the inside of the cup, and then the poisonous fumes will not defile the outside of the cup.
9) Woe unto you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you are yourselves like whitewashed sepulchres; your outer garbs are beautiful, but you are full of dead men's bones.
10) You seem to men to be divine; but in your hearts you nourish lust, hypocrisies and vile iniquities.
11) Woe unto you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you build and then adorn the tombs of holy men of old and say,
12) If we had lived when these men lived, we would have guarded them, would not have acted as our fathers did, when they maltreated them and put them to the sword.
13) But you are sons of them who slew the holy men, and you are not a whit more just than they.
14) Go forth and fill the measure of your fathers who were steeped in crime.
15) You are offsprings of the vipers, and how can you be but serpents of the dust?
16) God now has sent again to you his prophets and his seers, his wise men and his holy men, and you will scourge them in your synagogues, and stone them in the streets, and nail them to the cross.
17) Woe unto you! for on your heads will come the blood of all the holy men who have been slain upon the earth.
18) From righteous Abel down to Zacharias, son of Barachias, who was slain within the Holy Place before the altar of the Lord.
19) Behold, I say that these things all shall come upon this nation and the people of Jerusalem.
20) And Jesus looked about and said,
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou cruel city of Jerusalem, that slays the prophets in the streets and kills the holy men whom God has sent to you!
21) Lo, I would oft have gathered you as children to the fold of God; but you would not.
22) You have rejected God, and now your house is desolate, and you shall see me not again till you can say,
23) Thrice blessed is the son of man who comes as son of God.

41: And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.

24) Then Jesus went and sat beside the treasury and watched the people as they paid their tithes.
25) The rich men came and gave of their abundance;

42: And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny.

and then he saw a poor but loyal widow come and put a farthing in the treasure box.

43: And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.

26) And then he said to his disciples who were standing by,
Behold, for this poor widow who has put a farthing in the treasury has done more than they all;

44: For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.

27) For she has given all she had; the rich have given just a little share of what they have.