1 And he began to speake vnto them in parables, A certaine man planted a vineyard, and copassed it with an hedge, and digged a pit for the winepresse, and built a tower in it, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a strange countrey. 2 And at the time, he sent to the husbandmen a seruant, that he might receiue of the husbandmen of the fruite of the vineyard. 3 But they tooke him, and beat him, and sent him away emptie. 4 And againe he sent vnto them another seruant, and at him they cast stones, and brake his head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 5 And againe he sent another, and him they slew, and many other, beating some, and killing some. 6 Yet had he one sonne, his deare beloued: him also he sent the last vnto them, saying, They will reuerence my sonne. 7 But ye husbandmen said among themselues, This is the heire: come, let vs kill him, and the inheritance shalbe ours. 8 So they tooke him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What shall then the Lord of the vineyard doe? He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and giue the vineyard to others. 10 Haue ye not read so much as this Scripture? The stone which the builders did refuse, is made the head of the corner. 11 This was done of the Lord, and it is marueilous in our eyes. 12 Then they went about to take him, but they feared the people: for they perceiued that he spake that parable against them: therefore they left him, and went their way. 13 And they sent vnto him certaine of the Pharises, and of ye Herodians that they might take him in his talke. 14 And when they came, they saide vnto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou considerest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God truely, Is it lawfull to giue tribute to Cesar, or not? 15 Should we giue it, or should we not giue it? but he knew their hypocrisie, and said vnto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a peny, that I may see it. 16 So they brought it, and he said vnto them, Whose is this image and superscription? and they said vnto him, Cesars. 17 Then Iesus answered, and saide vnto them, Giue to Cesar the things that are Cesars, and to God, those that are Gods: and they marueiled at him. 18 Then came the Sadduces vnto him, (which say, there is no resurrection) and they asked him, saying, 19 Master, Moses wrote vnto vs, If any mans brother die, and leaue his wife, and leaue no children, that his brother should take his wife, and rayse vp seede vnto his brother. 20 There were seuen brethren, and the first tooke a wife, and when he died, left no issue. 21 Then the seconde tooke her, and he died, neither did he yet leaue issue, and the third likewise: 22 So those seuen had her, and left no yssue: last of all the wife died also. 23 In the resurrection then, when they shall rise againe, whose wife shall she be of them? for seuen had her to wife. 24 Then Iesus answered, and saide vnto them, Are ye not therefore deceiued, because ye knowe not the Scriptures, neither the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise againe from the dead, neither men marry, nor wiues are married, but are as the Angels which are in heauen. 26 And as touching the dead, that they shall rise againe, haue ye not read in the booke of Moses, howe in the bush God spake vnto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Iacob? 27 God is not ye God of the dead, but the God of the liuing. Ye are therefore greatly deceiued. 28 Then came one of the Scribes that had heard them disputing together, and perceiuing that he had answered them well, he asked him, Which is the first commandement of all? 29 Iesus answered him, The first of all the commandements is, Heare, Israel, The Lord our God is the onely Lord. 30 Thou shalt therefore loue the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soule, and with all thy minde, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandement. 31 And the second is like, that is, Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe. There is none other commandement greater then these. 32 Then that Scribe said vnto him, Well, Master, thou hast saide the trueth, that there is one God, and that there is none but he, 33 And to loue him with all the heart, and with all the vnderstanding, and with all the soule, and with all the strength, and to loue his neighbour as himselfe, is more then all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 Then when Iesus saw that he answered discreetely, he saide vnto him, Thou art not farre from the kingdome of God. And no man after that durst aske him any question. 35 And Iesus answered and said teaching in the Temple, Howe say the Scribes that Christ is the sonne of Dauid? 36 For Dauid himselfe said by ye holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footestoole. 37 Then Dauid himselfe calleth him Lord: by what meanes is he then his sonne? and much people heard him gladly. 38 Moreouer he saide vnto them in his doctrine, Beware of the Scribes which loue to goe in long robes, and loue salutations in the markets, 39 And the chiefe seates in the Synagogues, and the first roumes at feastes, 40 Which deuoure widowes houses, euen vnder a colour of long prayers. These shall receiue the greater damnation. 41 And as Iesus sate ouer against the treasurie, he beheld how the people cast money into the treasurie, and many rich men cast in much. 42 And there came a certaine poore widowe, and she threw in two mites, which make a quadrin. 43 Then he called vnto him his disciples, and said vnto them, Verely I say vnto you, that this poore widowe hath cast more in, then all they which haue cast into the treasurie. 44 For they all did cast in of their superfluitie: but she of her pouertie did cast in all that she had, euen all her liuing.
The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard
(Matthew 21.33-46Luke 20.9-19)1 Then Jesus spoke to them in parables: “Once there was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip. 2 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. 3 The tenants grabbed the slave, beat him, and sent him back without a thing. 4 Then the owner sent another slave; the tenants beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. 5 The owner sent another slave, and they killed him; and they treated many others the same way, beating some and killing others. 6 The only one left to send was the man's own dear son. Last of all, then, he sent his son to the tenants. ‘I am sure they will respect my son,’ he said. 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and his property will be ours!’ 8 So they grabbed the son and killed him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do?” asked Jesus. “He will come and kill those tenants and turn the vineyard over to others. 10 Surely you have read this scripture?
‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.
11 This was done by the Lord;
what a wonderful sight it is!’”
12 The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus, because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
The Question about Paying Taxes
(Matthew 22.15-22Luke 20.20-26)13 Some Pharisees and some members of Herod's party were sent to Jesus to trap him with questions. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?”
15 But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it.”
16 They brought him one, and he asked, “Whose face and name are these?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.
17 So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”
And they were amazed at Jesus.
The Question about Rising from Death
(Matthew 22.23-33Luke 20.27-40)18 Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.’ 20 Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children. 21 Then the second one married the woman, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22 and then to the rest: all seven brothers married the woman and died without having children. Last of all, the woman died. 23 Now, when all the dead rise to life on the day of resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.”
24 Jesus answered them, “How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power. 25 For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry. 26 Now, as for the dead being raised: haven't you ever read in the Book of Moses the passage about the burning bush? There it is written that God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 27 He is the God of the living, not of the dead. You are completely wrong!”
The Great Commandment
(Matthew 22.34-40Luke 10.25-28)28 A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two.”
32 The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, “Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. 33 And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God.”
34 Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Question about the Messiah
(Matthew 22.41-46Luke 20.41-44)35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he asked the question, “How can the teachers of the Law say that the Messiah will be the descendant of David? 36 The Holy Spirit inspired David to say:
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit here at my right side
until I put your enemies under your feet.’
37 David himself called him ‘Lord’; so how can the Messiah be David's descendant?”
Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law
(Matthew 23.1-36Luke 20.45-47)A large crowd was listening to Jesus gladly. 38 As he taught them, he said, “Watch out for the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplace, 39 who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts. 40 They take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers. Their punishment will be all the worse!”
The Widow's Offering
(Luke 21.1-4)41 As Jesus sat near the Temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money; 42 then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny. 43 He called his disciples together and said to them, “I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others. 44 For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had—she gave all she had to live on.”