See Verse / Commentary

Luke

One day when Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple and preaching the Gospel, the chief priests and religious teachers with the elders confronted him and asked, “Tell us — by what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me — was the baptism of John from heaven or from people?” They discussed this among themselves: “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘So why did you not believe John?’ And if we say ‘From people,’ then all the people will stone us to death because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they replied, “We do not know where it came from.” Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Then he told the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to get some of the fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat the servant and sent him away with nothing. So the owner sent another servant, but they beat him too and treated him badly, and sent him away with nothing. Then he sent a third servant, but they wounded him and threw him out. The owner of the vineyard wondered, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Maybe they will respect him.’ But when the farmers saw the son, they talked among themselves and decided, ‘This is the owner’s heir. Let us kill him so we can take his inheritance.’ They threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. So what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this they said, “That should never be!” But Jesus looked at them and said, “Why then is it written, ‘The stone the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but whoever it falls on will be ground to dust.’” At that very time the religious teachers and the chief priests tried to arrest Jesus. They realized that Jesus had directed this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched Jesus and sent spies who pretended to be sincere, to try to catch him in something he said, so that they could hand him over to the rule and the authority of the governor. They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and are not influenced by what others think, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us topay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But he saw through their trick question and said to them, “Show me a denarius coin. Whose image and inscription is on it?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” They were not able to catch him out in front of the people. They were amazed at his response and became silent. Then some Sadducees came to him. They say that there is no resurrection. They asked him this question: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a married man dies childless, then his brother should marry his widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there once were seven brothers. The first married and died without having children. The second brother and then the third married the widow. Likewise all seven married her without having children. Finally the woman died too. So in the resurrection whose wife will she be, because she was married to all seven brothers?” Jesus said to them, “People in this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that future age and the resurrection from the dead do not marry or are given in marriage. They cannot die any more, because they are like the angels, and they are sons of God by resurrection. As to whether the dead will be raised, even Moses proved this at the burning bush when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.” Some of the religious teachers said, “Teacher, you gave a good answer.” And no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions. He then asked them, “How is it that people say that the Messiah is the son of David? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ So David calls him ‘lord,’ and how is he his son?” While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples, “Watch out for the religious teachers, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by praying long prayers. They will receive more severe condemnation.”

Luke