Chapter 20

O¹ne day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him. ²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me: ⁴John’s baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?” ⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from. ⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

T⁹hen He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. ¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed. ¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out. ¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ¹⁶What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

W¹⁹hen the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people. ²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. ²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” ²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

T²⁷hen some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him. ²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless. ³⁰Then the second ³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. ³²And last of all, the woman died. ³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.” ³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. ³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God. ³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.” ³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!” ⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

T⁴¹hen Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David? ⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ⁴³until I make Your enemies ⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

I⁴⁵n the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples, ⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”