The parable of the tenants
1 Then Jesus began to talk to them in parables: “Someone planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a vat, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went traveling abroad. 2 When it was time to harvest he sent a slave to them to collect it. 3 But the tenants beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 So he sent another slave, and they hit him on the head and humiliated him. 5 He sent yet another slave, whom they killed, and so on. The tenants beat some and killed others.
6 “Now the owner still had one dear son, and he sent him last to them and thought, ‘They will respect my son!’ 7 But the tenants said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will go to us!’ 8 So they took him and killed him, then threw him out of the vineyard. 9 So what will the owner do? He will come and wipe out the tenants, and lease the vineyard to others.
10 “Have you not read this scripture? ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 this is the Master’s doing, and wonderful to see!’ ” 12 Then they intended to arrest him since they knew the parable was about them, but because of the crowd they left him alone and went away.
Paying taxes to the government
13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to entrap him by something he might say: 14 “Teacher, we know that you are genuine and don’t care what others think about you. You don’t judge by appearances but truly teach the way of God. So are we permitted to pay the poll tax to Caesar, or not? 14 15 Should we pay or not pay?”
But Jesus, knowing they were pretenders, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so I can examine it.” 16 So they brought him one and he asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 So Jesus said to them, “Repay Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and repay God what belongs to God!” And they were stumped.
Marriage and the afterlife
18 Now the Sadducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection, came to him and asked, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies and leaves a widow behind but no children, that he should marry the widow and produce children for his brother. 20 Suppose there were seven brothers; the first marries and then dies childless. 21 So the second brother marries her, and he too dies childless. Likewise with the third, 22 and so on through all seven brothers. Finally the woman dies too. 23 When they rise up at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all of them?”
24 And Jesus said to them, “You are mistaken; don’t you know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead they do not marry; they are like the angels in heaven. 26 And regarding the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the burning bush and how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living; you are badly mistaken!”
The greatest commandment
28 One of the scribes came along and heard them debating, and he saw that Jesus had answered them well. So he asked him, “What is the greatest commandment of all?”
29 And Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Listen, Israel! The Master our God is the only one. 30 You must love the Master your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ 31 The second is very similar: ‘You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There are no greater commandments than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher!” the scribe replied. “You are correct in saying that there is one God and no other. 33 To love him with one’s whole heart, understanding, and strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is far better than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw how astutely he had answered, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Who is Christ?
35 Jesus went on teaching in the temple compound: “How is it that the scribes say that Christ is the descendant of David? 36 For David himself said through the Holy Spirit, ‘The Master said to my Master, “Sit here at my right until I place your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 Since David himself calls him ‘master’, how can he be his descendant?” Many in the crowd were delighted with what Jesus said.
Jesus rebukes hypocrisy and conceit
38 In another teaching he said, “Observe the scribes; they like to walk around in their robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 to have the best seats in the synagogues, and to have the most prominent places at banquets. 40 Yet they prey upon widows to take their property, and they like to show off with their lengthy prayers. They will endure extreme judgment!”
True giving
41 Then Jesus sat down facing the treasury, and he watched how the crowd threw money into it. Many rich people threw in a lot, 42 but one destitute widow threw in two tiny coins worth only a fraction of a day’s wages. 43 He called his disciples to himself and said, “I tell you truly that this destitute widow has thrown a greater sum into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they gave out of their excess, but she gave out of what she needed— everything she had to live on.”
- 14 The purpose of the poll tax was to remind the Jews of their subservience to Rome.