Parable of the Vine-Growers

1And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A [†]WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to [†]vine-growers and went on a journey. 2And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3And they took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6He had one more, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8And they took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What will the [†]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,

THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;

11THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE [†]LORD,

AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?”

12And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the crowd, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Taxes to Caesar

13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14And they came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [†]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it [†]lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not? 15Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [†]denarius to look at.” 16And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they [†]were amazed at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

18Then some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and leaves behind a wife AND LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER SHOULD [†]MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP A SEED FOR HIS BROTHER. 20There were seven brothers; and the first [†]married a wife, and died leaving no [†]seed. 21And the second one [†]married her, and died leaving behind no seed; and the third likewise; 22and so [†]all seven left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. 23In the resurrection, [†]when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For [†]all seven [†]had married her.” 24Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [†]understand the Scriptures nor 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. 26But [†]regarding the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘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 greatly mistaken.”

The Foremost Commandment

28And when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, he recognized that He had answered them well and asked Him, “What commandment is the [†]foremost of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE [†]LORD OUR GOD IS ONE [†]LORD; 30AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE [†]LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; 33AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34And when Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

35And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the [†]Christ is the son of David? 36David himself said [†]in the Holy Spirit,

‘THE [†]LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’

37David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd [†]enjoyed listening to Him.

38And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want respectful greetings in the marketplaces, 39and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

41And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was putting [†]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42And a poor widow came and put in two [†]lepta, which amount to a [†]quadrans. 43And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; 44for they all put in out of their [†]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [†]all she had to live on.”