Beginning
12 Jesus then began to speak to the disciples in stories. `A man planted a farm of vines for growing fruit called grapes. He put a fence of small trees around it. He dug a place to press the juice from the fruit. He built a high house from which men could watch over the farm. Then he let some men pay to use it and went to a country far away.
2 At harvest time the owner sent one his servants to get some of the fruit from the farm.
3 The men took the servant and beat him. They sent him away without any fruit.
4 He sent another servant. They hurt this one also, and cut his head. The things they did to him were very wrong.
5 So he sent another servant. The men killed him. He sent many others, and the men beat some and killed others.
6 There was one left. He was his own son. He sent him last. He said, "They will respect my son."
7 But the men said to each other, "This is the one who will have everything when his father dies. Let us kill him. Then everything will belong to us."
8 They killed him and threw his body outside the farm.
9 `What will the man who owned the farm do to them? He will come back and kill the men in the farm. And he will give the farm to other men to use.
10-11 ave you not read this writing: "The stone which the builders would not use is now the chief stone of the corner. The Lord did this. It looks wonderful to us."?'
12 They tried to catch Jesus but they feared the people. They knew that Jesus had spoken this against them. So they left him and went away.
13 They sent some Pharisees and some of Herod's people to Jesus. They planned how to make Jesus say something wrong.
14 They came and said to him, `Teacher, we know that you are true. You do not fear any person or care how great he is. But you teach the true way of God. Tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or is it not?
15 Should we pay taxes or not?' Jesus knew they were trying to get him into trouble. So he said to them, `Why are you trying to get me to do wrong? Bring me a piece of money. Let me look at it.'
16 They brought one to him. He asked, `Whose picture and name is this?' They answered, `Caesar's.'
17 So he said, `Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.' The Pharisees and Herod's people were much surprised at Jesus.
18 Some of the Sadducees came to Jesus. They say that people do not rise from death. They asked Jesus a question.
19 `Teacher,' they said, `Moses gave us this law: if a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother must marry the wife and raise a family for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers. The first one married. He died and left no child.
21 e second brother married the wife. He also died and left no child. It was the same with the third one.
22 All seven brothers married her. They all had no children. Last of all the woman died also.
23 Now then when people rise from death, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.'
24 Jesus said to them, `You are wrong! You do not know what the holy writings say. And you do not know what power God has.
25 When people rise from death, men and women do not marry. But they are like angels in heaven.
26 People do rise from death! Have you never read what Moses wrote? It is in the place where we read about the small tree which burned. Moses tells how God said to him, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
27 He is not the God of dead people, but of living people. The way you look at things is wrong altogether.'
28 One of the scribes heard them talking. He saw that Jesus gave them a good answer. Then he came and asked, `Which law is the greatest law of all?'
29 Jesus answered, `The greatest one is, "Hear, O Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love him with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. And love him with all your strength."
31 The second law is this: "Love your neighbour as you love yourself." No law is greater than these laws.'
32 Then the scribe answered Jesus, `Teacher, what you say is right. There is one God. There are no other gods.
33 Love God with all your heart. Love him with all your understanding. Love him with all your strength. That is much better than to burn offerings and make sacrifices. Love your neighbour as you love yourself. That is better than any of these offerings and sacrifices.'
34 Jesus saw that the scribe was wise. So he said to him, `You are not far from the kingdom of God.' After that everyone feared to ask him any more questions.
35 Jesus was teaching people in the temple. He said, `How can the scribes say that Christ is David's son?
36 The Holy Spirit spoke through David and he himself said: "The Lord said to my Lord, `Sit beside me until I make you master over your enemies.' "
37 `So David calls Christ his Lord. How can Christ be David's son?' Most of the people were glad to hear Jesus' teaching.
38 Jesus went on to teach them. He said, `Take care. Do not let the scribes fool you by the way they do things. They like to walk about with long gowns. They want people to greet them in the market.
39 They want to sit in the front seats in the meeting houses. They want to sit in the best places at feasts.
40 They take away the homes of women whose husbands are dead. They cover up the wrong things they do by talking to God a long time. They will be punished more!'
41 Jesus sat down in the temple near the place where people put in their money. He saw how the people put in money. Many rich people put in much money.
42 A poor woman, whose husband was dead, came. She put in two small pieces of money.
43 Jesus called his disciples. He said, `I tell you the truth. This poor woman has given more money than all the other people.
44 All these people had plenty of money and they gave only a part of it. She was poor and she gave everything she had. She has nothing left to live on.'
13 When Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said, `Look Master, see those big stones and the wonderful houses!'
2 Jesus said, `You see these big houses? I tell you, not one stone here will be left on top of another. They will all be thrown down! `
3 Afterwards, he was sitting on the hill called the Mount of Olives, near the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him alone.
4 They said, `Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign when these things are going to be done?'
5 Then Jesus began to talk to them. He said, `Take care. Do not let anyone fool you.
6 Many men will come in my name. They will say, "I am Christ." They will fool many people.
7 You will hear about wars. You will hear that war is coming. But do not fear. These things must happen, but that is not yet the end.
8 One tribe will fight against another tribe. And one country will fight against another country. The earth will shake in many different places. People will have no food to eat. These troubles are only the beginning of the troubles that will come.
9 `But you must take care. Men will take you to court. They will beat you in their meeting houses. They will take you to rulers and kings because you are true to me. You will talk to them about me.
10 The good news must first be told to all people.
11 When men take you to court, do not be troubled about what you will say. Say whatever comes to your mind at that time. It is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
12 A brother will take his brother to be killed. A father will take his child. The children will talk against their father and mother and have them killed.
13 All people will hate you because you are true to me. But the person who keeps on being true to me until the end will be saved.
14 `Daniel the Man of God said that people would put something very bad in the temple.' (Let the one who reads this understand it.) `When that happens, the people in Judea must go quickly to the hills.
15 A person who is on the top of a house must not go down into the house to get things.
16 Those who are working in the fields must not go back to get their coats.
17 In those days it will be very hard for women who are to have a child. It will be very hard for mothers who have babies.
18 Ask God that you may not have the trouble in the cold time of the year.
19 The trouble then will be bigger than any trouble since God made the world. And there never will be any trouble as big as that.
20 No person would be saved if the Lord did not make the time of trouble shorter. He will make it shorter for the sake of his chosen people.
21 `If anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ!" or, "There he is!" do not believe it.
22 People will come and say they are the Christ. People will come and say they are prophets of God. But they are not true to themselves. They will show big signs and do wonderful things that will fool people. They will fool God's chosen people if they can.
23 Watch! I have told you all these things before they happen.
24 `In that time of trouble, the sun will be dark. The moon will not shine.
25 The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers in the sky will be shaken.
26 Then people will see the sign of the Son of Man in the clouds. He will have much power and be very great.
27 He will send out the angels to gather his chosen people. They will gather them from everywhere all over the earth.
28 `Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its branches begin to grow and the leaves come, then you know it will soon be the warm time of the year.
29 `It is the same when you see all these things. You will know that the time is very near, right at the door.
30 I tell you the truth. The people who are living then will not die before all these things happen.
31 The sky and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 `But no one knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son do not know. Only the Father knows.
33 So watch! Stay awake and talk with God. You do not know when the time will be.
34 It is like a man who went to a country far away. He left his home and told each one of his servants what work he must do. Then he told the man who guards the door to watch.
35 So watch! You do not know when the master of the house will come. You do not know if he will come in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock calls, or in the morning.
36 Watch, so that you will not be sleeping if he comes quickly.
37 What I say to you I say to everybody, and this is "Watch".'
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