1Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A certain man planted a vineyard, built a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine press, and built a watchtower; and then he leased it to farmer tenants, and went to a distant country. 2And at harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants, to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard from them.3And the tenants seized and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4And he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounding him in the head, and sent him away shamefully mistreated. 5And they killed the next one that he sent; and of the others he sent, they beat some, and killed others. 6He had one left to send - his well-beloved son. He sent him to them last, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’ 7But those tenant farmers said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours’. 8And so they killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. 9What, then, do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do? I will tell you - he will come and kill those evil tenants, and will lease the vineyard to others. 10Have you never read this scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11This is the Lords doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’” 12Then the chief priests, scribes, and elders looked for a way to arrest Him, because they knew that He had spoken this parable, depicting them as the evil tenants; but they feared the people, so they left Him, and went away.

13Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him, trying to trap Him in His words. 14And when they came, they said to Him, “Master, we know that You are true, and are not partial to any man; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you try to trap Me? Bring Me a denarius, that I may see it.” 16And they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and superscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar's.” 17And Jesus, answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at Him.

18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and asked Him, 19“Master, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind him, but leaves no children, that his brother should marry his widow, and raise up offspring to his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21And the second took her, and died, and leaving no children; and the third likewise. 22And all seven had her, but left no children; last of all the woman also died. 23In the resurrection, therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be? For all seven had her for a wife.” 24And Jesus answered, “Are you not in error, because you do not know the scriptures, nor the power of God? 25For when the dead rise, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are like the angels in heaven. 26And as for whether the dead rise; have you never read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him out of the bush, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living; you are very badly mistaken.”

28And one of the scribes, having heard them debating, and perceiving that He had answered them well, came and asked Him, “Which is the most important commandment of all?” 29And Jesus answered, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord; 30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’; this is the most important commandment.31And the second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32And the scribe said to Him, “Well, Master (Teacher), You have said the truth; for there is one God; and there is none other than He. 33And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more than all those burnt offerings and sacrifices.”34And when Jesus saw that the scribe understood, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no man dared to question Him further.

35And while He was teaching in the Temple, Jesus asked, “How (or why) do the scribes say that Christ (the Messiah) is the Son of David? 36Because David, himself, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit on My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ 37Since David, himself, called Him (the Messiah) Lord; how, then, is He his (David’s) son?” And the large crowd of (common) people listened to Him with delight.

38And as He taught them, He said, “Beware of the scribes (teachers of the Law), who love to walk around in long robes, and be recognized and greeted in the market places, 39And to have the prominent seats in the synagogues, and the most honored places at feasts; 40They defraud widows of their houses, and for a pretense of piety, make long prayers; these men shall receive severe punishment.”

41And Jesus sat down near the treasury (collection box), and watched the people putting money in the treasury box; and many wealthy put in large amounts. 42And a certain poor widow came and threw in two mites (small copper coins), which make a farthing (worth only a few cents). 43And He called His disciples to Him, and said to them, “Truly I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all those others who have given to the treasury; 44For they all gave of their abundance; but she gave of her poverty all that she had - all she had to live on.”