Beginning
Parable of the Wedding Feast
22 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to [b]a king who [c]gave a (B)wedding feast for his son. 3 And he (C)sent out his slaves to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he (D)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “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 [d]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 called were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to (E)the main highways, and as many as you find there, call to the wedding feast.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with [e]dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw (F)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘(G)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 (H)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are [f](I)called, but few are (J)chosen.”
Taxes to Caesar
15 (K)Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him [g]in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the (L)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and [h]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it [i]lawful to give a (M)tax to (N)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the (O)coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a [j]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, “(P)Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they marveled, and (Q)leaving Him, they went away.
The Sadducees and the Resurrection
23 (R)On that day some (S)Sadducees (who say (T)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and asked Him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(U)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up a seed for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no [k]seed, he left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 And 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, (V)not [l]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (W)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, saying, 32 ‘(X)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 And when the crowds heard this, (Y)they were astonished at His teaching.
The Foremost Commandment
34 (Z)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (AA)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, (AB)a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(AC)You shall love the [m]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [n]foremost commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘(AD)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (AE)On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
41 (AF)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about [o]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “(AG)The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David [p](AH)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘(AI)The [q]Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’?
45 Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 (AJ)And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him [r]another question.
The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced
23 (AK)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “(AL)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 (AM)And 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 (AN)to be noticed by men; for they (AO)broaden their [s]phylacteries and lengthen (AP)the tassels of their garments. 6 And they (AQ)love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called (AR)Rabbi by men. 8 But (AS)do not be called (AT)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for (AU)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. 11 (AV)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 (AW)And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees
13 “(AX)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, (AY)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven [t]from [u]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [v][Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because (AZ)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 [w](BA)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of [x](BB)hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, (BC)blind guides, who say, ‘(BD)Whoever swears by the [y]sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the [z]sanctuary is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! For (BE)which is [aa]more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the [ab]offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, (BF)which is [ac]more important, the [ad]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the [ae]offering? 20 Therefore, [af]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by [ag]the altar and by everything on it. 21 And [ah]whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the [ai]sanctuary and by Him who (BG)dwells within it. 22 And [aj]whoever swears by heaven, (BH)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “(BI)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [ak]cumin, 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 (BJ)blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For (BK)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full [al]of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first (BL)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “(BM)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 In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “(BN)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 bear witness against yourselves, that you (BO)are [am]sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, (BP)you brood of vipers, how [an]will you escape the [ao]sentence of [ap](BQ)hell?
34 “(BR)On account of this, behold, (BS)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will (BT)flog in your synagogues, and (BU)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 (BV)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the (BW)son of Berechiah, whom (BX)you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon (BY)this generation.
Lament over Jerusalem
37 “(BZ)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who (CA)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, (CB)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it. 38 Behold, (CC)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, ‘(CD)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the [aq]Lord!’”
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