The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

1Thena He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,b put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2At harvest time he sentc a •slaved to the farmers to collect some of the fruite of the vineyard from the farmers. 3But they took him, beatf him, and sent him away empty-handed.g 4Again he sent another slave to them, and theyh hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.i 5Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

6“He still had one to send, a belovedj son. Finallyk he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7“But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours! ’ 8So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9“Therefore, what will the ownerl,m of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this Scripture:n

Theo stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.p,q

11This came from the Lordr

and is wonderful in our eyes? ”s

12Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

God and Caesar

13Thent they sent some of the •Phariseesu and the •Herodiansv to Him to trap Him by what He said.w, x 14When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partialityy, z but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxesaa to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay, or should we not pay? ”

But knowing their hypocrisy,ab He said to them, “Why are you testingac Me? Bring Me a •denariusad to look at.” 16So they brought one. “Whose imageae and inscriptionaf is this? ” He asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they said.

17Then Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”ag And they were amazedah at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

18Someai •Sadducees,aj who say there is no resurrection,ak came to Him and questioned Him: 19“Teacher,al Mosesam wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child,an his brother should take the wifeao and produce •offspring for his brother.ap, aq 20There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. 21The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22So the sevenar left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23In the resurrection, when they rise,as whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her? ”at

24Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scripturesau or the powerav of God?aw 25For when they riseax from the dead,ay they neither marry nor are given in marriageaz but are like angelsba in heaven. 26Now concerning the dead being raised — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: Ibb am the God of Abrahambc and the God of Isaacbd and the God of Jacob?be,bf 27He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”

The Primary Commands

28Onebg of the •scribesbh approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all? ”bi

29“This is the most important,”bj Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lordbk our God, the Lordbl is One.bm 30Lovebn the Lord your Godbo with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,bp and with all your strength.bq,br,bs

31“The second is: Love your neighborbt as yourself.bu,bv There is no other commandbw greater than these.”

32Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no onebx else except Him.by 33And to lovebz Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,ca and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”cb

34When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”cc And no one daredcd to question Him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

35Soce Jesus asked this question as He taught in the •temple complex,cf “How can the scribescg say that the •Messiahch is the Son of David?ci 36Davidcj himself says by the Holy Spirit:ck

The Lordcl declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at My right handcm

until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’cn,co

37David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son? ” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.

Warning against the Scribes

38Hecp also said in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes,cq and who want greetings in the marketplaces,cr 39the front seatscs in the •synagogues,ct and the places of honorcu at banquets.cv 40They devourcw widows’cx houses and say long prayerscy just for show. These will receive harsher punishment.”

The Widow’s Gift

41Sittingcz across from the temple treasury,da He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many richdb people were putting in large sums. 42And a poorde widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.df 43Summoning His disciples,dg He said to them, “•I assure you:dh This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury.di 44For they all gave out of their surplus,dj but she out of her povertydk has put in everything she possesseddl — all she had to live on.”dm