Beginning
Taking the Kingdom by Force
12 Yeshua began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 And at the season, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants part of the vineyard’s fruit. 3 But grabbing him, they beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again the man sent another servant to them, and they wounded his head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed; and so on with many others, beating some and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a well-loved son. He sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So grabbing the son, they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture?
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This came from Adonai,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.’”[a]
12 They were trying to seize Yeshua, because they realized that He spoke the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
A Test of Loyalty
13 Then they send some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Yeshua in order to trap Him with a word. 14 They come and say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are honest, and what others think doesn’t concern You. You don’t look at men’s appearance, but teach the way of God according to the truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay, or shouldn’t we?”
But Yeshua saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius so I may see it.”
16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they said to Him.
17 Then Yeshua said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were completely amazed at Him.
The Challenge of the Sadducees
18 Then Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came and began questioning Yeshua, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother should take the widow and father children for his brother.’ [b] 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and, when he died, left no offspring. 21 And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring, and the third likewise. 22 Now the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise up, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you’ve gone astray, because you don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise up from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the burning bush? How God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [c] 27 He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living. You have gone far astray!”
Love Ends the Argument
28 One of the Torah scholars came and heard them debating. Seeing that Yeshua had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is first of all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [d] 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” the Torah scholar said to Him. “You have spoken the truth, that He is echad, and besides Him there is no other! [f] 33 And ‘to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’[g] and ‘to love the neighbor as oneself,’[h] is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question Him.
Who Is King David’s Lord?
35 While Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, He said, “How is it that the Torah scholars say that the Messiah is Ben-David? 36 David himself, through the Ruach ha-Kodesh, said,
‘Adonai said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’[i]
37 If David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ in what way is He his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
38 In His teaching He said, “Watch out for the Torah scholars, who like to walk around in long robes. They like greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at feasts. 40 They devour widows’ houses and make long prayers as a show. These men will receive greater condemnation!”
41 He sat down opposite the treasury and began watching how the people were putting money into the offering box. Many rich people were putting in a lot. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 Calling His disciples over, He said to them, “Amen, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those contributing to the box! 44 For they all put in from their surplus; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, her whole living.”
Signs of the End
13 As Yeshua was going out of the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look! What stones and what buildings!”
2 Yeshua said to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, Jacob, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Yeshua began to tell them, “Watch out that no one leads you astray! 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to the courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them. 10 The Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11 When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks but the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Birth Pangs Before Deliverance
14 “But when you see ‘the abomination of desolation’[j] standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one on the roof must not go down, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 Pray that it will not happen in winter.
19 “For in those days there will be trouble such as has never happened,[k] not since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. 20 And unless Adonai had cut short those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He cut short the days.
21 “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there He is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up[l] and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the chosen. 23 So be careful! See, I have told you everything beforehand.”
Messianic Victory
24 “But in those days, after that trouble,
‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’[m]
26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’[n] with great power and glory. 27 Then He will send out the angels and will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from the end of the earth, to the end of heaven.”
Keep Watch
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see all these things happening, know that it is near, at the door. 30 Amen, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 32 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, except the Father.
33 “Keep on the lookout! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man away on a journey. After leaving his house and putting his servants in charge and giving each his task, he also commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Therefore stay alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the early morning. 36 So watch in case, coming suddenly, he finds you asleep. 37 What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.