Chronological
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come.
4 “Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’
5 “But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. 17 So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius.
20 He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied to him.
Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.
The God of the Living
23 That same day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him a question: 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother should marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.’[a] 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one died after he married her, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 It was the same with the second brother, the third, and all the way to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since they all married her?”
29 “You are mistaken,” Jesus replied, “since you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 In fact, in the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage. Instead they are like the angels of God in heaven. 31 And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you never read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’?[b] He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard his answer, they were amazed at his teaching.
Love God and Your Neighbor
34 When they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees met together. 35 One of them who was an expert in the law asked him a question, trying to trap him. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend[e] on these two commandments.”
David’s Son and David’s Lord
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
They said to him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “Then how can David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
44 The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies
under your feet’?”[f]
45 “So if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
46 No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 When it was time, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the vineyard’s produce. 3 They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again, he sent another servant to them. But they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another servant, but they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one left, a dearly loved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 They seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 So what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
11 The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”[a]
12 They were looking for a way to arrest him, because they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 The Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to Jesus to try to trap him in what he said. 14 They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest and do not play favorites, since you are not partial to anyone,[b] but you teach the way of God on the basis of the truth. Is it lawful to pay a tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay it or not?”
Since Jesus knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why do you keep testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it.”
16 So they brought one.
He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s,” they answered him.
17 Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
The God of the Living
18 Next some Sadducees (who say that there will be no resurrection) came to him. They asked him a question: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife but no child, then his brother should take his wife and raise up children for his brother.’[c]
20 “Now there were seven brothers. The first one took a wife and died without leaving children. 21 The second one married her and died, leaving no children. The third one did the same. 22 The seven left no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So when they rise in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her as a wife?”
24 Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are mistaken: that you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 In fact, when people rise from the dead, they do not marry, and they are not given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven. 26 But about the dead—that they are raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[d] 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”
Love God and Your Neighbor
28 One of the experts in the law approached after he heard their discussion. When he saw that Jesus had answered them well, he asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one. 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[e] 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[f] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The expert in the law said to him, “Well said, teacher. You have spoken correctly on the basis of the truth that he is one, and there is no other besides him.[g] 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”[h]
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
David’s Son and David’s Lord
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he responded by saying, “How is it that the experts in the law say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet.’[i]
37 “David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Do Not Do What They Do
38 He also said to them in his teaching, “Beware of the experts in the law who like to walk around in long robes and receive greetings in the marketplaces. 39 They love the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and offer long prayers to look good. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
The Poor Widow’s Offering
41 Jesus sat down opposite the offering box and was watching how the crowd put money into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 One poor widow came and put in two small bronze coins,[j] worth less than a penny.[k] 43 He called his disciples together and said to them, “Amen I tell you: This poor widow put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all that she had to live on.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.