The Parable of the
Tenants
1 Jesus then began to speak
to them in
parables:
“A man
planted a
vineyard.
He put a
wall
around it,
dug a pit
for the
winepress
and built
a
watchtower.
Then he
rented the
vineyard
to some
farmers
and moved
to another
place.
2 At
harvest
time he
sent a
servant to
the
tenants to
collect
from them
some of
the fruit
of the
vineyard.
3 But they
seized
him, beat
him and
sent him
away
empty-handed.
4 Then he
sent
another
servant to
them; they
struck
this man
on the
head and
treated
him
shamefully.
5 He sent
still
another,
and that
one they
killed. He
sent many
others;
some of
them they
beat,
others
they
killed.
6 “He had one left to
send, a
son, whom
he loved.
He sent
him last
of all,
saying,
‘They will
respect my
son.’
7 “But the tenants said to
one
another,
‘This is
the heir.
Come,
let’s kill
him, and
the
inheritance
will be
ours.’
8 So
they took
him and
killed
him, and
threw him
out of the
vineyard.
9 “What then will the
owner of
the
vineyard
do? He
will come
and kill
those
tenants
and give
the
vineyard
to others.
10 Haven’t
you read
this
passage of
Scripture:
“‘The stone the builders
rejected
has
become the
cornerstone;
11 the
Lord has
done this,
and it
is
marvelous
in our
eyes’?”
12 Then the chief priests,
the
teachers
of the law
and the
elders
looked for
a way to
arrest him
because
they knew
he had
spoken the
parable
against
them. But
they were
afraid of
the crowd;
so they
left him
and went
away.
Paying the
Imperial
Tax to
Caesar
13 Later they sent some of
the
Pharisees
and
Herodians
to Jesus
to catch
him in his
words.
14 They
came to
him and
said,
“Teacher,
we know
that you
are a man
of
integrity.
You aren’t
swayed by
others,
because
you pay no
attention
to who
they are;
but you
teach the
way of God
in
accordance
with the
truth. Is
it right
to pay the
imperial
tax
to Caesar
or not?
15 Should
we pay or
shouldn’t
we?”
But Jesus knew their
hypocrisy.
“Why are
you trying
to trap
me?” he
asked.
“Bring me
a denarius
and let me
look at
it.”
16 They
brought
the coin,
and he
asked
them,
“Whose
image is
this? And
whose
inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to
them,
“Give back
to Caesar
what is
Caesar’s
and to God
what is
God’s.”
And they were amazed at
him.
Marriage at the
Resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who
say there
is no
resurrection,
came to
him with a
question.
19 “Teacher,”
they said,
“Moses
wrote for
us that if
a man’s
brother
dies and
leaves a
wife but
no
children,
the man
must marry
the widow
and raise
up
offspring
for his
brother.
20 Now
there were
seven
brothers.
The first
one
married
and died
without
leaving
any
children.
21 The
second one
married
the widow,
but he
also died,
leaving no
child. It
was the
same with
the third.
22 In
fact, none
of the
seven left
any
children.
Last of
all, the
woman died
too.
23 At
the
resurrection
whose wife
will she
be, since
the seven
were
married to
her?”
24 Jesus replied, “Are you
not in
error
because
you do not
know the
Scriptures
or the
power of
God?
25 When
the dead
rise, they
will
neither
marry nor
be given
in
marriage;
they will
be like
the angels
in heaven.
26 Now
about the
dead
rising—have
you not
read in
the Book
of Moses,
in the
account of
the
burning
bush, how
God said
to him, ‘I
am the God
of
Abraham,
the God of
Isaac, and
the God of
Jacob’?
27 He is
not the
God of the
dead, but
of the
living.
You are
badly
mistaken!”
The Greatest
Commandment
28 One of the teachers of
the law
came and
heard them
debating.
Noticing
that Jesus
had given
them a
good
answer, he
asked him,
“Of all
the
commandments,
which is
the most
important?”
29 “The most important
one,”
answered
Jesus, “is
this:
‘Hear, O
Israel:
The Lord
our God,
the Lord
is one.
30 Love
the Lord
your God
with all
your heart
and with
all your
soul and
with all
your mind
and with
all your
strength.’
31 The
second is
this:
‘Love your
neighbor
as
yourself.’
There is
no
commandment
greater
than
these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,”
the man
replied.
“You are
right in
saying
that God
is one and
there is
no other
but him.
33 To love
him with
all your
heart,
with all
your
understanding
and with
all your
strength,
and to
love your
neighbor
as
yourself
is more
important
than all
burnt
offerings
and
sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he
had
answered
wisely, he
said to
him, “You
are not
far from
the
kingdom of
God.” And
from then
on no one
dared ask
him any
more
questions.
Whose Son Is the
Messiah?
35 While Jesus was
teaching
in the
temple
courts, he
asked,
“Why do
the
teachers
of the law
say that
the
Messiah is
the son of
David?
36 David
himself,
speaking
by the
Holy
Spirit,
declared:
“‘The Lord said to my
Lord:
“Sit
at my
right hand
until I
put your
enemies
under
your
feet.”’
37 David himself calls him
‘Lord.’
How then
can he be
his son?”
The large crowd listened
to him
with
delight.
Warning Against the
Teachers
of the Law
38 As he taught, Jesus
said,
“Watch out
for the
teachers
of the
law. They
like to
walk
around in
flowing
robes and
be greeted
with
respect in
the
marketplaces,
39 and
have the
most
important
seats in
the
synagogues
and the
places of
honor at
banquets.
40 They
devour
widows’
houses and
for a show
make
lengthy
prayers.
These men
will be
punished
most
severely.”
The Widow’s
Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite
the place
where the
offerings
were put
and
watched
the crowd
putting
their
money into
the temple
treasury.
Many rich
people
threw in
large
amounts.
42 But a
poor widow
came and
put in two
very small
copper
coins,
worth only
a few
cents.
43 Calling his disciples
to him,
Jesus
said,
“Truly I
tell you,
this poor
widow has
put more
into the
treasury
than all
the
others.
44 They
all gave
out of
their
wealth;
but she,
out of her
poverty,
put in
everything—all
she had to
live on.”