The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Then i He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, j 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. 2 At harvest time he sent k a * slave l to the farmers to collect some of the fruit m of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 But they took him, beat n him, and sent him away empty-handed. o 4 Again he sent another slave to them, and they p hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. q 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

6 “He still had one to send, a beloved r son. Finally s he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “Therefore, what will the owner t u of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture: v

The w stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. x y

11 This came from the Lord z

and is wonderful in our eyes?” a

12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

God and Caesar

13 Then b they sent some of the * Pharisees c and the * Herodians d to Him to trap Him by what He said. e f 14 When they came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality g h but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes i to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?”

But knowing their hypocrisy, j He said to them, “Why are you testing k Me? Bring Me a * denarius l to look at.” 16 So they brought one. “Whose image m and inscription n is this?” He asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they said.

17 Then Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” o And they were amazed p at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

18 Some q * Sadducees, r who say there is no resurrection, s came to Him and questioned Him: 19 “Teacher, t Moses u wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, v his brother should take the wife w and produce * offspring for his brother. x y 20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 So the seven z left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise, a whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” b

24 Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures c or the power d of God? e 25 For when they rise f from the dead, g they neither marry nor are given in marriage h but are like angels i in heaven. 26 Now concerning the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I j am the God of Abraham k and the God of Isaac l and the God of Jacob? m n 27 He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”

The Primary Commands

28 One o of the * scribes p approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all?” q

29 “This is the most important,” r Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord s our God, the Lord t is One. u 30 Love v the Lord your God w with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, x and with all your strength. y z a

31 “The second is: Love your neighbor b as yourself. c d There is no other command e greater than these.”

32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one f else except Him. g 33 And to love h Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, i and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” j

34 When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” k And no one dared l to question Him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

35 So m Jesus asked this question as He taught in the * temple complex, n “How can the scribes o say that the * Messiah p is the Son of David? q 36 David r himself says by the Holy Spirit: s

The Lord t declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at My right hand u

until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’ v w

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.

Warning against the Scribes

38 He x also said in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, y and who want greetings in the marketplaces, z 39 the front seats a in the * synagogues, b and the places of honor c at banquets. d 40 They devour e widows’ f houses and say long prayers g just for show. These will receive harsher punishment.”

The Widow’s Gift

41 Sitting h across from the temple treasury, i He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich j people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor k widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. l 43 Summoning His disciples, m He said to them, “* I assure you: n This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. o 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, p but she out of her poverty q has put in everything she possessed r—all she had to live on.” s