Beginning

The Picture-Story of the Marriage Supper

22 Again Jesus spoke to them in picture-stories. He said, ² “The holy nation of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding supper for his son. ³ He sent his servants to tell the people, who had been asked, to come to the supper. But the people did not want to come.

⁴ “He sent other servants, saying to them, ‘Tell those who have been asked to come, “See! My supper is ready. My cows and fat calves are killed. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding supper!”’ ⁵ But they did not listen and went on working. One went to his farm. Another went to his store. ⁶ The others took hold of his servants, and hurt them and killed them.

⁷ “When the king heard this, he was very angry. He sent his soldiers to put those to death who had killed his servants. He burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding supper is ready. Those who were asked to come to the supper were not good enough. ⁹ Go out into the roads and as many people as you can find, ask them to come to the wedding supper.’

¹⁰ “The servants went out into the roads and brought all they could find, both bad and good. The wedding supper room was full of people. ¹¹ The king came in to see those who had come. He saw one man who did not have on wedding supper clothes. ¹² He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding supper clothes?’ The man could not speak! ¹³ Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him out into the darkness. In that place there will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called but few are chosen.”

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Try to Trap Jesus ^(A)

¹⁵ Then the proud religious law-keepers got together to think how they could trap Jesus in His talk. ¹⁶ They sent their followers to Jesus with some of King Herod’s men. They asked, “Teacher, we know that You are true. We know that You are teaching the truth about God. We know You are not afraid of what men think or say about You. ¹⁷ Tell us what You think of this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ Jesus knew their sinful thoughts and said, “You pretend to be someone you are not! Why do you try to trap Me? ¹⁹ Show Me a piece of money.” They brought Him a piece. ²⁰ Jesus said to them, “Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” ²¹ They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” ²² When they heard this, they were surprised and wondered about it. Then they went away from Him.

They Ask about Being Raised from the Dead ^(B)

²³ The same day some people from the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead came to Jesus. They asked, ²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man should die without having children, then his brother must marry his wife. He should have children for his brother.’ ^{(C) 25} There were seven brothers with us. The first was married but died before he had any children. The second brother then married the first brother’s wife. ²⁶ The second brother died and the same with the third and on to the seventh. ²⁷ Then the woman died also. ²⁸ When people are raised from the dead, whose wife will she be of the seven? They all had her for a wife.”

²⁹ Jesus said to them, “You are wrong because you do not know the Holy Writings or the power of God. ³⁰ After people are raised from the dead, they do not marry. They are like the angels in heaven. ³¹ Have you not read what God said to you about those who are raised from the dead? He said, 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 people heard this, they were surprised and wondered about His teaching.

The Great Law ^(E)

³⁴ The proud religious law-keepers got together when they heard that the religious group of people who believe no one will be raised from the dead were not able to talk anymore to Jesus. ³⁵ A proud religious law-keeper who knew the Law tried to trap Jesus. He said, ³⁶ “Teacher, which one is the greatest of the Laws?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest of the Laws. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Laws and the writings of the early preachers depend on these two most important Laws.”

⁴¹ The proud religious law-keepers were gathered together. Then Jesus asked, ⁴² “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” ⁴³ Jesus said to them, “Then how is it that David, being led by the Holy Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord’? He said, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right side until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.”’ ^{(F) 45} If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ then how can He be the Son of David?” ⁴⁶ No one could answer a word, and after that day no one asked Him anything.

The Teachers of the Law and the Proud Religious Law-Keepers ^(G)

23 Then Jesus talked to the many people and to His followers. ² He said, “The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers have put themselves in Moses’ place as teachers. ³ Do what they tell you to do and keep on doing it. But do not follow what they do. They preach but do not obey their own preaching. ⁴ They make heavy loads and put them on the shoulders of men. But they will not help lift them with a finger. ⁵ Everything they do, they do to be seen of men. They have words from the Holy Writings written in large letters on their left arm and forehead and they make wide trimming for their clothes. ⁶ They like to have the important places at big suppers and the best seats in the Jewish places of worship. ⁷ They like to have people show respect to them as they stand in the center of town where people gather. They like to be called teacher.

⁸ “But you are not to be called teacher. There is only one Teacher, and all of you are brothers. ⁹ Do not call any man here on earth your father. There is only one Father and He is in heaven. ¹⁰ You are not to be called leader. There is only one Leader and He is Christ.

¹¹ “He who is greatest among you will be the one to care for you. ¹² The person who thinks he is important will find out how little he is worth. The person who is not trying to honor himself will be made important.

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Proud Religious Law-Keepers

¹³ “It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You keep men from going into the holy nation of heaven. You are not going in yourselves, and you do not allow those to go in who are about to go in. ¹⁴ It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! (*You take houses from poor women whose husbands have died. Then you try to cover it up by making long prayers. You will be punished all the more because of this.) ¹⁵ It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You go over land and sea to win one follower. When you have him, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “It is bad for you, blind leaders! You say, ‘Whoever makes a promise by the house of God, his promise is worth nothing. But whoever makes a promise by the gold of the house of God, then his promise has to be kept.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is greater, the gold or the house of God that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ You say, ‘Whoever will promise by the altar, his promise does not have to be kept. But whoever makes a promise by the gift on the altar, then his promise has to be kept.’ ¹⁹ You fools and blind men! Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ Whoever makes a promise by the altar, promises by it and by everything on it. ²¹ Whoever makes a promise by the house of God, promises by it and by Him Who is in it. ²² Whoever makes a promise by heaven, promises by the throne of God and by Him Who sits there.

²³ “It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You give one-tenth part of your spices, and have not done the most important things of the Law, such as thinking what is right and wrong, and having pity and faith. These you should have done and still have done the other things also. ²⁴ You blind leaders, you take a small bug out of your cup but you swallow a camel!

²⁵ “It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but leave the inside full of strong bad desires and are not able to keep from doing sinful things. ²⁶ You blind proud religious law-keepers! Clean the inside of the cup and plate, then the outside will be clean also.

²⁷ “It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You are like graves that have been made white and look beautiful on the outside. But inside you are full of the bones of dead men and of every sinful thing. ²⁸ As men look at you, you seem to be good and right but inside you are full of sin. You pretend to be someone you are not.

²⁹ “It is bad for you, teachers of the Law and proud religious law-keepers, you who pretend to be someone you are not! You make buildings for the graves of the early preachers, and you make the graves beautiful of those who are right with God. ³⁰ You say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our early fathers, we would not have helped kill the early preachers.’ ³¹ In this way, you are showing that you are the sons of those who killed the early preachers. ³² You might as well finish what your early fathers did. ³³ You snakes! You family of snakes! How can you be kept from hell?

³⁴ “Because of this, I am going to keep on sending to you men who speak for God and wise men and teachers of the Law. Some of them you will kill and nail to a cross. Some of them you will beat in your places of worship. You will make it very hard for them as they go from city to city. ³⁵ Because of this, you will be guilty of the blood of all those right with God on the earth. It will be from the blood of Abel who was right with God to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachias. He was the one you killed between the house of God and the altar. ³⁶ For sure, I tell you, all these things will come on the people of this day.

Jesus Sorrows Over Jerusalem

³⁷ “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the men who speak for God and throw stones at those who were sent to you. How many times I wanted to gather your children around Me, as a chicken gathers her young ones under her wings. But you would not let Me. ³⁸ See! Your house is empty. ³⁹ I say to you, you will not see Me again until you will say, ‘Great is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!’”