Matthew 21:23-23:39

New American Standard Bible 1995

Authority Challenged

^23 (A)When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him ^(B)while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one ^[a]thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the ^[b]people; for they all regard John as ^(C)a prophet.” ²⁷ And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of Two Sons

²⁸ “But what do you think? A man had two ^[c]sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘^[d]Son, go work today in the ^(D)vineyard.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that ^(E)the tax collectors and prostitutes ^[e]will get into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but ^(F)the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Parable of the Landowner

³³ “Listen to another parable. ^(G)There was a ^[f]landowner who ^(H)planted a ^(I)vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to ^[g]vine-growers and ^(J)went on a journey. ³⁴ When the ^[h]harvest time approached, he ^(K)sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. ³⁵ The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he ^(L)sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the ^[i]owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and ^(M)will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

⁴² Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a ^[j]people, producing the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And ^(O)he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ When they sought to seize Him, they ^(P)feared the ^[k]people, because they considered Him to be a ^(Q)prophet.

Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “^(R)The kingdom of heaven ^[l]may be compared to ^[m]a king who ^[n]gave a ^(S)wedding feast for his son. ³ And he ^(T)sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. ⁴ Again he ^(U)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own ^[o]farm, another to his business, ⁶ and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. ⁸ Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to ^(V)the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with ^[p]dinner guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw ^(W)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, ¹² and he *said to him, ‘^(X)Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into ^(Y)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^[q](Z)called, but few are ^(AA)chosen.”

Tribute to Caesar

^15 (AB)Then the Pharisees went and ^[r]plotted together how they might trap Him ^[s]in what He said. ¹⁶ And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^(AC)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and ^[t]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do You think? Is it ^[u]lawful to give a ^(AD)poll-tax to ^(AE)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus perceived their ^[v]malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show Me the ^(AF)coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a ^[w]denarius. ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “^(AG)Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² And hearing this, they were amazed, and ^(AH)leaving Him, they went away.

Jesus Answers the Sadducees

^23 (AI)On that day some ^(AJ)Sadducees (who say ^(AK)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, ²⁴ asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘^(AL)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; ²⁶ so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, ^(AM)not ^[x]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither ^(AN)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ³² ‘^(AO)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, ^(AP)they were astonished at His teaching.

^34 (AQ)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced ^(AR)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. ³⁵ One of them, ^[y](AS)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘^(AT)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and ^[z]foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘^(AU)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ^40 (AV)On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

^41 (AW)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: ⁴² “What do you think about ^[aa]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “^(AX)The son of David.” ⁴³ He *said to them, “Then how does David ^[ab](AY)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” ^46 (BA)No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him ^[ac]another question.

Pharisaism Exposed

23 ^(BB)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(BC)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ^4 (BD)They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds ^(BE)to be noticed by men; for they ^(BF)broaden their ^[ad]phylacteries and lengthen ^(BG)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They ^(BH)love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called ^(BI)Rabbi by men. ⁸ But ^(BJ)do not be called ^(BK)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^(BL)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called ^[ae]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (BM)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (BN)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(BO)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(BP)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[af]from ^[ag]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [^[ah]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^(BQ)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[ai](BR)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[aj](BS)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(BT)blind guides, who say, ‘^(BU)Whoever swears by the ^[ak]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[al]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(BV)Which is ^[am]more important, the gold or the ^[an]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[ao]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(BW)which is ^[ap]more important, the ^[aq]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[ar]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[as]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[at]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[au]whoever swears by the ^[av]temple, swears both by ^[aw]the temple and by Him who ^(BX)dwells within it. ²² And ^[ax]whoever swears by heaven, ^(BY)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(BZ)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[ay]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(CA)blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(CB)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[az]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(CC)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “^(CD)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(CE)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(CF)are ^[ba]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(CG)you brood of vipers, how ^[bb]will you escape the ^[bc]sentence of ^[bd](CH)hell?

³⁴ “^(CI)Therefore, behold, ^(CJ)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(CK)scourge in your synagogues, and ^(CL)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(CM)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(CN)son of Berechiah, whom ^(CO)you murdered between the ^[be]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(CP)this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(CQ)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(CR)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(CS)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(CT)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(CU)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”