The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
1 ThenHe began to speak to them in parables:“A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge aroundit,duga place forthe wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it tovinedressers and went into a far country.
2 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.
3 And they tookhimand beat him and senthimaway empty-handed.
4 Again he sent them another servant,and at him they threw stones,woundedhimin the head, and senthimaway shamefully treated.
5 And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others,beating some and killing some.
6 Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But thosevinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 So they took him andkilledhimand casthimout of the vineyard.
9 “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
# ‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This was theLord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
13 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him inHiswords.
14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach theway of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
# But He, knowing theirhypocrisy, said to them,“Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may seeit.”
16 So they broughtit.
And He said to them,“Whose image and inscriptionisthis?”They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17 And Jesus answered and said to them,“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and toGod the things that are God’s.”
And they marveled at Him.
The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?
18 ThensomeSadducees,who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:
19 “Teacher,Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaveshiswife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
20 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.
21 And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise.
22 So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also.
23 Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
24 Jesus answered and said to them,“Are you not thereforemistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, butare like angels in heaven.
26 But concerning the dead, that theyrise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in theburningbushpassage,how God spoke to him, saying,‘Iamthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatlymistaken.”
The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him,“Thefirst of all the commandmentsis:‘Hear, O Israel, theLordour God, theLordis one.
30 And you shalllove theLordyour God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’Thisisthe first commandment.
31 And the second, likeit, isthis:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater thanthese.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Wellsaid,Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God,and there is no other but He.
33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself,is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him,“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
# But after that no one dared question Him.
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple,“Howis itthat the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself saidby the Holy Spirit:
# ‘TheLordsaid to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37 Therefore David himself calls Him‘Lord’; how is HethenhisSon?”
And the common people heard Him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 ThenHe said to them in His teaching,“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes,lovegreetings in the marketplaces,
39 thebest seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
40 who devour widows’ houses, andfor a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Two Mites
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put moneyinto the treasury. And manywhowererich put in much.
42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
43 So He called His disciples toHimselfand said to them,“Assuredly, I say to you thatthis poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had,her whole livelihood.”