Luke 20
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
It happened on one of
those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the
Good News, that the priests and scribes came to him with the
elders. They asked him,
"Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving
you this authority?"
He answered them,
"I also will ask you one question. Tell me: the baptism of John, was it from
heaven, or from men?"
They reasoned with
themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why
didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' all
the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a
prophet." They
answered that they didn't know where it was from.
Jesus said to them,
"Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these
things."
The Parable of the Tenants
He began to tell the
people this parable. "A man planted a vineyard, and
rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long
time. At the proper
season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit
of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
He sent yet another
servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him
away empty. He sent yet
a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out. The lord of the vineyard said,
'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him,
they will respect him.'
"But when the farmers saw
him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come,
let's kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' They threw him out of the
vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do
to them? He will come
and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to
others."
When they heard it, they said, "May it never be!"
But he looked at
them, and said, "Then what is this that is written,
'The stone which the builders rejected,
the same was made the chief cornerstone?'
Everyone who falls
on that stone will be broken to pieces,
but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust."
The chief priests and
the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the
people--for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
They watched him, and sent out
spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in
something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of
the governor. They asked
him, "Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and
aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes
to Caesar, or not?"
But he perceived
their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test
me? Show me a denarius.
Whose image and inscription are on it?"
They answered, "Caesar's."
He said to them,
"Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's."
They weren't able to
trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and
were silent.
The Resurrection and Marriage
Some of the
Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.
They asked him,
"Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a
wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up
children for his brother. There were therefore seven
brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless. The second took her as wife, and
he died childless. The
third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.
Afterward the woman also
died. Therefore in the
resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a
wife."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry, and are given in
marriage. But those who
are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the
dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. For they can't die any more, for
they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the
resurrection. But that
the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the
Lord 'The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Now he is not the God of the
dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him."
Some of the scribes
answered, "Teacher, you speak well." They didn't dare to ask him any
more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
He said to them,
"Why do they say that the Christ is David's son?
David himself says in
the book of Psalms,
'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I make your
enemies the footstool of your feet."'
"David therefore calls him
Lord, so how is he his son?"
In the hearing of all
the people, he said to his disciples, "Beware of
the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the
marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at
feasts; who devour
widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive
greater condemnation."
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