Parable of the Vineyard Owner
1 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables:“A manplanted a vineyard and put awall around it,and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.
2 When theharvestseason came he sent aservant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent them another servant, and they[threw stones and]wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully.
5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others–some they beat and some they killed.
6 He still had one man leftto send,a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenants said to each other, ‘Thismanis the heir! Come on, let us kill him[and destroy the evidence],and his inheritance will be ours!’
8 So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders regarded as unworthyandrejected,
This[very stone]has become the chiefCornerstone
11 This came about from theLord,
And it is marvelousandwonderful in our eyes’?”
12 And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes
13 Then they sent some of thePharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him intomakinga statement [that they could use against Him].
14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearancesorsocial status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay thepoll-tax to [Tiberius] Caesar, or not?
15 Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them,“Why are you testing Me? Bring Me acoin (denarius) to look at.”
16 So they brought one. Then He asked them,“Whose image and inscription is this?”They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17 Jesus said to them,“Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”And they were greatly amazed at Him.
18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, andbeganquestioning Him, saying,
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] thatif a man’s brother diesand leaves a wifebut leaves no child,his brother is tomarry the widow and raise upchildren for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children.
21 The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise;
22 and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her.”
24 Jesus said to them,“Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures[that teach the resurrection]nor the power of God[who is able to raise the dead]?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26 But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in thepassageabout theburningbush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘Iam theGod ofAbraham,and theGod ofIsaac,and theGod ofJacob’?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistakenandyou are deceiving yourselves!”
28 Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is firstandmost important of all?”
29 Jesus answered,“The firstandmost importantoneis: ‘Hear, O Israel,theLord ourGod is oneLord;
30 and you shall love theLord yourGod with all your heart,and with all your soul(life),and with all your mind(thought, understanding),and with all your strength.’
31 This is the second: ‘You shall[unselfishly]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He isOne,and there is no other butHim;
33 and to loveHim with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength,and to[unselfishly]love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfullyandintelligently, He said to him,“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.
35 Jesusbeganto say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple,“How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself said[when inspired]by the Holy Spirit,
‘TheLord(the Father)said to myLord(the Son, the Messiah),
“Sit atMy right hand,
UntilIputYour enemies underYour feet.”’
37 David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He isDavid’s Son?”The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesusandlistened to Him with delight.
38 In [the course of] His teaching He was saying,“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes[displaying their prominence],andlike to receiverespectful greetings in the market places,
39 and[they love]thechief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinctionandhonor at banquets,
40 [these scribes]who devour (confiscate) widows’ houses, and offer long prayers for appearance’s sake[to impress others].These men will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Mite
41 And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, andbeganwatching how the people were putting money into thetreasury. And many rich people were putting inlarge sums.
42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to amite.
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them,“I assure youandmost solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in[proportionally]more than all the contributors to the treasury.
44 For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”