1Then Jesus[a] began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit
for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers
and went abroad. 2At the
right time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect from them a share of the
produce from the vineyard. 3But the farmers[b] grabbed the servant,c beat him, and sent him
back empty-handed. 4Again,
the man[c] sent another servant
to them. They beat the servant[d] over the head and
treated him shamefully. 5Then the man[e] sent another, and that
one they killed. So it was with many other servants.[f] Some of these they
beat, and others they killed. 6He still had one more person
to send,[g] a son whom he loved.
Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those farmers said to one
another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let's kill him, and the inheritance will
be ours!’ 8So they
grabbed him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.5
9“Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, execute the farmers, and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven't you ever read this Scripture:
‘The stone that
the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[h]
11 This was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”[i]
12They were trying to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. Realizing that he had spoken this parable against them, they left him alone and went away.
13Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians[j] to him, intending to trap him in what he said. 14They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don't favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not?”
15Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus[k] replied to them, “Why
are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
16So they brought one. Then he asked them, “Whose face and name are on this?”
They said to him, “Caesar's.”
17So Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
18Then some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[l] and asked him, 19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, he should marry the widow and have children for his brother.[m] 20There were seven brothers. The first one married and died without having children. 21Then the second married her and died without having children, and so did the third. 22None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had married her?”[n]21
24Jesus said to them, “Aren't you mistaken because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power? 25When people[o] rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 26As for the dead being raised, haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[p] 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
28Then one of the scribes came near and heard the Sadducees[q] arguing with one another. He saw how well Jesus[r] answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, 30and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[s] 31The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’[t] No other commandment is greater than these.”
32Then the scribe said to him, “Well said,[u] Teacher! You have told the truth that ‘God[v] is one, and there is no other besides him.’[w] 33To 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 the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw how wisely the man[x] answered, he told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is David's son? 36David himself said by the Holy Spirit,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’[y]
37David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd kept listening to him with delight.
38As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows’ houses[z] and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”
41As Jesus[aa] sat facing the offering box, he watched how the crowd was dropping their money into it.[bb] Many rich people were dropping in large amounts. 42Then a destitute widow came and dropped in two small copper coins, worth about a cent. 43He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you with certainty, this destitute widow has dropped in more than everyone who is contributing to the offering box, 44because all of them contributed out of their surplus, but out of her poverty she has given everything she had to live on.”
[a] 12:1 Lit. he
[b] 12:3 Lit. they
c 12:3 Lit. him
[c] 12:4 Lit. he
[d] 12:4 Lit. him
[e] 12:5 Lit. he
[f] 12:5 Lit. with many others
[g] 12:6 The Gk. lacks more person to send
[h] 12:10 Or capstone
[i] 12:11 Ps 118:22-23
[j] 12:13 I.e. Royal party sympathizers
[k] 12:15 Lit. he
[l] 12:18 Lit. him
[m] 12:19 Deut 25:5-6
[n] 12:23 Lit. had her as wife
[o] 12:25 Lit. they
[p] 12:26 Exod 3:6
[q] 12:28 Lit. heard
them
[r] 12:28 Lit. he
[s] 12:30 Deut 6:4-5
[t] 12:31 Lev 19:18
[u] 12:32 The Gk. lacks said
[v] 12:32 Lit. he
[w] 12:32
Deut 6:4
[x] 12:34 Lit. he
[y] 12:36 Ps 110:1; other mss read until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
[z] 12:40 I.e. rob widows by taking their houses
[aa] 12:41 Lit. he
[bb] 12:41 Lit. into the offering box