Luke 20
New American Standard Bible
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
20 (A)On one of the days while (B)He was teaching the people in the temple and (C)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders (D)confronted Him, 2 and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 But He replied to them, “I will also ask you a [a]question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a (E)prophet.” 7 And so they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Vine-growers
9 (F)But He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to [b]vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out. 13 Now the [c]owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will (G)respect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the [d]owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and (H)put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “(I)May it never happen!” 17 But [e]Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written:
18 (L)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
19 The scribes and the chief priests (M)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them. 20 (N)And so they watched Him [g]closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order (O)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of (P)the governor. 21 And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You [h]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. 22 Is it [i]permissible for us (Q)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a [j]denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then (R)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to (S)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.
Is There a Resurrection?
27 (T)Now some of the (U)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him, 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (V)if [k]a man’s brother dies, [l]leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to [m]marry the wife and raise up children [n]for his brother. 29 So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third [o]married her; and in the same way [p]all seven [q]died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, [r]which one’s wife does the woman become? For [s]all seven [t]married her.”
34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of (W)this age marry and the women are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to (X)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are (Y)sons of God, being [u]sons of the resurrection. 37 But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in (Z)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord (AA)the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 (AB)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for (AC)all live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For (AD)they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.
41 (AE)But He said to them, “How is it that they say the [v]Christ is (AF)David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘(AG)The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
43 (AH)Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”
45 (AI)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, (AJ)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who [w]devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”
Footnotes
- Luke 20:3 Lit word
- Luke 20:9 Or tenant farmers, also vv 10, 14, 16
- Luke 20:13 Lit lord
- Luke 20:15 Lit lord
- Luke 20:17 Lit He
- Luke 20:17 Lit head of the corner
- Luke 20:20 Or maliciously
- Luke 20:21 Lit do not receive a face
- Luke 20:22 I.e., by Jewish law and tradition
- Luke 20:24 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
- Luke 20:28 Lit someone’s brother
- Luke 20:28 Lit having
- Luke 20:28 Lit take
- Luke 20:28 I.e., as his brother’s heir
- Luke 20:31 Lit took
- Luke 20:31 Lit the seven also
- Luke 20:31 Lit left no children, and died
- Luke 20:33 Lit of which of them
- Luke 20:33 Lit the seven
- Luke 20:33 Lit had her as wife
- Luke 20:36 I.e., participants in
- Luke 20:41 I.e., Messiah
- Luke 20:47 I.e., misappropriate their property
Luke 20
International Standard Version
Jesus’ Authority is Challenged(A)
20 One day, while Jesus[a] was teaching the people in the Temple and telling them the good news, the high priests and the scribes came with the elders 2 and asked him, “Tell us: By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
3 He answered them, “I, too, will ask you a question.[b] Tell me: 4 Was John’s authority to baptize[c] from heaven or from humans?”
5 They discussed this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From humans,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they didn’t know where it was from.
8 Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”
The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(B)
9 Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went abroad for a long time. 10 At the right time he sent a servant to the farmers in order to get his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him back empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, and they beat him, too, treated him shamefully, and sent him back empty-handed. 12 Then he sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out, too.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son whom I love. Maybe they’ll respect him.’ 14 But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
Those who heard him said, “That must never happen!”
17 But Jesus[d] looked at them and asked, “What does this text mean:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?[e]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
19 When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus[f] had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.
A Question about Paying Taxes(C)
20 So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction[g] of the governor, 21 so they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach, and that you don’t favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But he discerned their craftiness and responded to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose face and name does it have?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 So he told them, “Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26 So they couldn’t catch him before the people in what he said. Amazed at his answer, they became silent.
A Question about the Resurrection(D)
27 Now some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[h] 28 and asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man[i] should marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. 32 Finally, the woman died, too. 33 Now in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since the seven had married her?”
34 Jesus told them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are married, 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Nor can they die anymore, because they are like the angels and, since they share in the resurrection, are God’s children. 37 Even Moses demonstrated in the story about the bush that the dead are raised, when he calls the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[j] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him.”
39 Then some of the scribes replied, “Teacher, you have given a fine answer.” 40 Then they no longer dared to ask him another question.
A Question about David’s Son(E)
41 Then he asked them, “How can people[k] say that the Messiah[l] is David’s son? 42 Because David himself in the book of Psalms says,
‘The Lord[m] told my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[n]
44 So David calls him ‘Lord.’ Then how can he be his son?”
Jesus Denounces the Scribes(F)
45 While all the people were listening, he told his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses[o] and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”
Footnotes
- Luke 20:1 Lit. he
- Luke 20:3 Lit. word
- Luke 20:4 Lit. John’s baptism
- Luke 20:17 Lit. he
- Luke 20:17 Or capstone; cf. Ps 118:22
- Luke 20:19 Lit. he
- Luke 20:20 Lit. the power and authority
- Luke 20:27 Lit. him
- Luke 20:28 Lit. the brother
- Luke 20:37 Cf. Exod 3:6, 15, 16
- Luke 20:41 Lit. they
- Luke 20:41 Or Christ
- Luke 20:42 MT source citation reads Lord
- Luke 20:43 Cf. Ps 110:1
- Luke 20:47 I.e. rob widows by taking their houses
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