The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
1He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, 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 sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them. 3But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘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. 9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this Scripture:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11This came about from the Lord
and is wonderful in our eyes?”
12They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.
God and Caesar
13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words. 14When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
15But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them.
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
The Sadducees and the Resurrection
18Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him: 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. 21The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”
24Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. 26And as for the dead being raised — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? 27He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”
The Primary Commands
28One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”
29Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command 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 one else except him. 33And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.
The Question about the Messiah
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself says by the Holy Spirit:
The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.’
37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
Warning against the Scribes
38He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces, 39the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”
The Widow’s Gift
41Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had — all she had to live on.”