Luke 20

CHAPTER 20

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^1aAnd it happened that on one of the days while ^bHe was teaching the people in the temple and ^cproclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^dcame up to Him,

²and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

³And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a ¹question, and you tell Me:

⁴“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

⁵And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶“But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a ^aprophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither ¹will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-Growers

^9aAnd He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to ¹vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

¹⁰“And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vine-growers sent him away empty-handed having beaten him.

¹¹“And he proceeded to send another slave; and when they beat him also and treated him shamefully, they sent him away empty-handed.

¹²“And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out.

¹³“Now the ¹owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^arespect him.’

¹⁴“But when the vine-growers saw him, they were reasoning with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵“So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ¹owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶“He will come and ^adestroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “^bMay it never be!”

¹⁷But when ¹Jesus looked at them, He said, “What then is this that is written:

‘^aThe stone which the builders rejected,

This has become ^bthe chief corner stone’?

¹⁸“^aEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹And the scribes and the chief priests ^atried to lay hands on Him that very hour, but they feared the people. For they understood that He spoke this parable against them.

^20aSo they watched Him, and sent spies who ¹pretended to be righteous, so ^bthat they might ²catch Him in some statement, in order to deliver Him to the rule and the authority of ^cthe governor.

²¹And they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ¹are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.

²²“Is it ¹lawful for us ^ato pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

²³But He perceived their craftiness and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me a ¹denarius. Whose ²likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵And He said to them, “Then ^arender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to ^1acatch Him in a word in the presence of the people; and marveling at His answer, they became silent.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

^27aNow some of the ^bSadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him,

²⁸and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^aif a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should ¹marry the wife and raise up ²seed for his brother.

²⁹“Now there were seven brothers; and the first married a wife and died childless,

³⁰and the second

³¹and the third ¹married her; and in the same way, ²all seven ³died, leaving no children.

³²“Finally the woman died also.

³³“Therefore, this woman—in the resurrection—whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as a wife.”

³⁴And Jesus said to them, “The sons of ^athis age marry and are given in marriage,

³⁵but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^athat age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.

³⁶“For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are ^asons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

³⁷“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in ^athe passage about the burning bush, where he calls the ¹Lord ^bthe God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

³⁸“^aNow He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for ^ball live to Him.”

³⁹And some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

⁴⁰For ^athey did not dare to question Him any longer about anything.

^41aThen He said to them, “How is it that they say the ¹Christ is ^bDavid’s son?

⁴²“For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

‘^aThe ¹Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

^43aUntil I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.” ’

⁴⁴“Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ so how is He his son?”

^45aAnd while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes, ^awho want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

⁴⁷who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”