Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. ³ And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, ¹² and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ ¹⁴ For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”

Tribute to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and conspired together plotting how to trap Him by [distorting] what He said.^{(A) 16} They sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^[a]Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about [what] anyone [thinks or says of Your teachings]; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor [and You treat all people alike, regardless of status]. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay a ^[b]poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, asked, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage]. ²⁰ And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “[^[c]The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Sadducees

²³ On that day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and asked Him a question,^{(B) 24} saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother as next of kin shall ^[d]marry his widow, and raise children for his brother.’^{(C) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The second also [died childless], and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

²⁹ But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead]. ³⁰ For in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven [who do not marry nor produce children]. ³¹ But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read [in the Scripture] what God said to you: ³² ‘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.”^{(D) 33} When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

³⁴ Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.^{(E) 35} One of them, a lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law], asked Jesus a question, to test Him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”^{(F) 37} And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’^{(G) 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’^{(H) 40} The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were [still] gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:^{(I) 42} “What do you [Pharisees] think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “^[e]The son of David.” ⁴³ Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David by the inspiration of the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ So then, if David calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord,’ ^[f]how is He David’s son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to say a word to Him in answer, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him again.

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a ^[a]wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country.^{(A) 2} When the harvest season came he sent a ^[b]servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. ⁶ He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not even read this Scripture:

¹² And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes

¹³ Then they sent some of the ^[c]Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him].^{(C) 14} They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the ^[d]poll-tax to [^[e]Tiberius] Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[f]coin (denarius) to look at.” ¹⁶ So they brought one. Then He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at Him.

¹⁸ Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying,^{(D) 19} “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is to ^[g]marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^{(E) 20} There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹ The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise; ²² and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?^{(F) 27} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!”

²⁸ Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?”^{(G) 29} Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; ³⁰ and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’^{(H) 31} This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] ^[h]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”^{(I) 32} The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him; ³³ and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^{(J) 34} When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵ Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, “^[i]How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?^{(K) 36} David himself said [when inspired] by the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He is ^[j]David’s Son?” The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

³⁸ In [the course of] His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and like to receive respectful greetings in the market places, ³⁹ and [they love] the ^[k]chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ [these scribes] who devour (confiscate) widows’ houses, and offer long prayers for appearance’s sake [to impress others]. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Mite

⁴¹ And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the ^[l]treasury. And many rich people were putting in ^[m]large sums.^{(M) 42} A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a ^[n]mite. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”