Top of Page
Page Style
Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented out the vineyard to tenants and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent another servant to them, but they struck him in the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another, and that one they killed. He also sent many others; some of them they beat, and others they killed.
6 “He still had one other to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son’.
7 “But those tenants said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours’. 8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 The Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes’?”
12 When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this parable, they wanted to arrest Jesus, because they knew that He had spoken the parable against them, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.
13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap Him by what He said. 14 They came to Him and said, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and are not swayed by anyone; for You do not show partiality to anyone, but You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. It is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not pay?”
But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, “Why do you put Me to the test? Bring Me a denarius and let Me look at it.” 16 So they brought Him the coin.
“Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked.
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
And they were amazed at Him.
18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no children, the man must marry the widow and produce offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 The second brother married her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And likewise with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this the reason why you are wrong? It is because you know do not know the Scriptures or the power of God! 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them debating together. When he heard Jesus speaking and answering them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “This is the most important command: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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’. 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 Then the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth in saying that God is one, and there is no other but Him. 33 And to love Him with all your heart, and with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared asked Him any more questions.
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I put Your enemies under Your feet” ’.
37 “David himself calls Him, ‘Lord’; so how can He then be his son?”
And the large crowd was delighted as they listened to Him.
38 As He was teaching them, Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes, who love to walk around in long robes, and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and the most important seats in the synagogues, and the places of honour at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses, and make long prayers just for show. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
41 Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums of money. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins worth very little.
43 Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 While they have all given out of their abundance, she out of her poverty has put in everything she had—all she had to live on.”