Luke 20:1-22:2

Easy-to-Read Version

Jewish Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority^(A)

20 One day Jesus was in the Temple area teaching the people. He was telling them the Good News. The leading priests, teachers of the law, and older Jewish leaders came to talk to Jesus. ² They said, “Tell us what authority you have to do these things. Who gave you this authority?”

³ Jesus answered, “I will ask you a question too. Tell me: ⁴ When John baptized people, did his authority come from God or was it only from other people?”

⁵ The priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish leaders all talked about this. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe John?’ ⁶ But if we say that John’s baptism was from someone else, the people will stone us to death. They all believe that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know the answer.”

⁸ So Jesus said to them, “Then I will not tell you who gave me the authority to do these things.”

God Sends His Son^(B)

⁹ Then Jesus told the people this story: “A man planted a vineyard. He leased the land to some farmers. Then he went away for a long time. ¹⁰ Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to those farmers so that they would give him his share of the grapes. But they beat the servant and sent him away with nothing. ¹¹ So the man sent another servant. They beat this servant too and showed no respect for him. They sent the servant away with nothing. ¹² So the man sent a third servant to the farmers. They hurt this servant badly and threw him out.

¹³ “The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What will I do now? I will send my son. I love my son very much. Maybe the farmers will respect my son.’ ¹⁴ When the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son. This vineyard will be his. If we kill him, it will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So the farmers threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What will the owner of the vineyard do? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those farmers. Then he will lease the land to some other farmers.”

When the people heard this story, they said, “This should never happen!” ¹⁷ But Jesus looked into their eyes and said, “Then what does this verse mean:

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone falls on you, it will crush you!”

¹⁹ When the teachers of the law and the leading priests heard this story, they knew it was about them. So they wanted to arrest Jesus right then, but they were afraid of what the people would do.

The Jewish Leaders Try to Trick Jesus^(D)

²⁰ So the Jewish leaders waited for the right time to get Jesus. They sent some men to him, who pretended to be sincere. They wanted to find something wrong with what Jesus said. (If they found something wrong, then they could hand him over to the governor, who had the authority to arrest him.) ²¹ So the men said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is true. It doesn’t matter who is listening—you teach the same to all people. You always teach the truth about God’s way. ²² Tell us, is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. He said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a silver coin. Whose name and picture are on it?”

They said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵ He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

²⁶ The men were amazed at his wise answer. They could say nothing. They were not able to trick Jesus there in front of the people. He said nothing they could use against him.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus^(E)

²⁷ Some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that people will not rise from death.) They asked him, ²⁸ “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and had no children, his brother must marry his widow. Then they will have children for the dead brother.^{[a] 29} One time there were seven brothers. The first brother married a woman but died. He had no children. ³⁰ Then the second brother married the woman, and he died. ³¹ And the third brother married the woman, and he died. The same thing happened with all the other brothers. They all died and had no children. ³² The woman was the last to die. ³³ But all seven brothers married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will this woman be?”

³⁴ Jesus said to the Sadducees, “On earth, people marry each other. ³⁵ Some people will be worthy to be raised from death and live again after this life. In that life they will not marry. ³⁶ In that life people are like angels and cannot die. They are children of God, because they have been raised from death. ³⁷ Moses clearly showed that people are raised from death. When Moses wrote about the burning bush,^[b] he said that the Lord is ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[c] 38} So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people. Yes, to God they are all still living.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law said, “Teacher, your answer was very good.” ⁴⁰ No one was brave enough to ask him another question.

Is the Messiah David’s Son or David’s Lord?^(F)

⁴¹ Then Jesus said, “Why do people say that the Messiah is the Son of David? ⁴² In the book of Psalms, David himself says,

⁴⁴ David calls the Messiah ‘Lord.’ So how can the Messiah also be David’s son?”

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law^(H)

⁴⁵ While all the people were listening to Jesus, he said to his followers, ⁴⁶ “Be careful of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing clothes that look important. And they love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ But they cheat widows and take their homes. Then they try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. God will punish them very much.”

True Giving^(I)

21 Jesus looked up and saw some rich people putting their gifts to God into the Temple collection box. ² Then he saw a poor widow put two small copper coins into the box. ³ He said, “This poor widow gave only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. ⁴ They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on.”

Jesus Warns About the Future^(J)

⁵ Some of the followers were talking about the Temple. They said, “This is a beautiful Temple, built with the best stones. Look at the many good gifts that have been offered to God.”

⁶ But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone of these buildings will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”

⁷ Some followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will show us that it is time for these things to happen?”

⁸ Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah^[e]’ and ‘The right time has come!’ But don’t follow them. ⁹ When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things must happen first. Then the end will come later.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other bad things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Terrible things will happen, and amazing things will come from heaven to warn people.

¹² “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and do bad things to you. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. They will do all these things to you because you follow me. ¹³ But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. ¹⁴ Decide now not to worry about what you will say. ¹⁵ I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies can answer. ¹⁶ Even your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn against you. They will have some of you killed. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because you follow me. ¹⁸ But none of these things can really harm you. ¹⁹ You will save yourselves by continuing strong in your faith through all these things.

The Destruction of Jerusalem^(K)

²⁰ “You will see armies all around Jerusalem. Then you will know that the time for its destruction has come. ²¹ The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must leave quickly. If you are near the city, don’t go in! ²² The prophets wrote many things about the time when God will punish his people. The time I am talking about is when all these things must happen. ²³ During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies, because very bad times will come to this land. God will be angry with these people. ²⁴ Some of the people will be killed by soldiers. Others will be made prisoners and taken to all the different countries. The holy city of Jerusalem will be under the control of foreigners until their time is completed.

Don’t Fear^(L)

²⁵ “Amazing things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. And people all over the earth will be upset and confused by the noise of the sea and its crashing waves. ²⁶ They will be afraid and worried about what will happen to the world. Everything in the sky will be changed. ²⁷ Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to happen, stand up tall and don’t be afraid. Know that it is almost time for God to free you!”

My Words Will Live Forever^(M)

²⁹ Then Jesus told this story: “Look at all the trees. The fig tree is a good example. ³⁰ When it turns green, you know that summer is very near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is very near.

³² “I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. ³³ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.

Be Ready All the Time

³⁴ “Be careful not to spend your time having parties and getting drunk or worrying about this life. If you do that, you won’t be able to think straight, and the end might come when you are not ready. ³⁵ It will come as a surprise to everyone on earth. ³⁶ So be ready all the time. Pray that you will be able to get through all these things that will happen and stand safe before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ During the day Jesus taught the people in the Temple area. At night he went out of the city and stayed all night on the Mount of Olives. ³⁸ Every morning all the people got up early to go listen to Jesus at the Temple.

The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus^(N)

22 It was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover. ² The leading priests and teachers of the law wanted to kill Jesus. But they were trying to find a quiet way to do it, because they were afraid of what the people would do.