Chronological
Chapter 23[a]
Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees. 1 (A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 [b]saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. 4 (B)They tie up heavy burdens[c] [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. 5 [d](C)All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 [e](D)They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, 7 greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ 8 [f]As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. 10 Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. 11 (E)The greatest among you must be your servant. 12 (F)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 [g](G)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven[h] before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. [14 ][i]
15 [j]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
16 [k](H)“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ 17 Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ 19 You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 (I)One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; 21 one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; 22 one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.
23 (J)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes[l] of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others. 24 [m](K)Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!
25 [n](L)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.
27 [o]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. 28 (M)Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
29 [p]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,[q] you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 30 (N)and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 (O)Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; 32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out! 33 (P)You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? 34 [r](Q)Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
The Lament over Jerusalem.[s] 37 (R)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!(S) 38 (T)Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. 39 (U)I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Chapter 20[a]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.(A) 1 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple area and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, approached him 2 and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Or who is the one who gave you this authority?”(B) 3 He said to them in reply, “I shall ask you a question. Tell me, 4 was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?”(C) 5 They discussed this among themselves, and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’(D) 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ then all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know from where it came. 8 Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers.[b] 9 (E)Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. “[A] man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.(F) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant(G) to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. 12 Then he proceeded to send a third, but this one too they wounded and threw out. 13 The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him.’(H) 14 But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.[c] What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so!” 17 But he looked at them and asked, “What then does this scripture passage mean:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?(I)
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 19 The scribes and chief priests sought to lay their hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, for they knew that he had addressed this parable to them.(J)
Paying Taxes to the Emperor.(K) 20 [d]They watched him closely and sent agents pretending to be righteous who were to trap him in speech,(L) in order to hand him over to the authority and power of the governor. 21 They posed this question to him, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is correct, and you show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.(M) 22 Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar or not?”[e] 23 Recognizing their craftiness he said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius;[f] whose image and name does it bear?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” 25 So he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”(N) 26 They were unable to trap him by something he might say before the people, and so amazed were they at his reply that they fell silent.
The Question About the Resurrection.(O) 27 Some Sadducees,[g] those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him,(P) 28 [h]saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’(Q) 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” 34 Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.[i] 37 That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;(R) 38 and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”(S) 39 Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” 40 And they no longer dared to ask him anything.(T)
The Question About David’s Son.[j] 41 (U)Then he said to them, “How do they claim that the Messiah is the Son of David? 42 For David himself in the Book of Psalms says:(V)
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
43 till I make your enemies your footstool.”’
44 Now if David calls him ‘lord,’ how can he be his son?”
Denunciation of the Scribes.(W) 45 Then, within the hearing of all the people, he said to [his] disciples, 46 “Be on guard against the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and love greetings in marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.(X) 47 They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
Chapter 21
The Poor Widow’s Contribution.[k] 1 (Y)When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury 2 and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3 He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; 4 for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.(Z) 5 [l]While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, 6 “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”(AA)
The Signs of the End. 7 (AB)Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” 8 He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’[m] Do not follow them!(AC) 9 When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(AD) 11 There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
The Coming Persecution. 12 (AE)“Before all this happens,[n] however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.(AF) 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 (AG)for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking[o] that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 (AH)You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.(AI) 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.(AJ) 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives.(AK)
The Great Tribulation.[p] 20 (AL)“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand.(AM) 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city,(AN) 22 for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled. 23 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people.(AO) 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles[q] are fulfilled.(AP)
The Coming of the Son of Man.(AQ) 25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.(AR) 26 People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens[r] will be shaken.(AS) 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.(AT) 28 But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”(AU)
The Lesson of the Fig Tree.(AV) 29 He taught them a lesson. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. 30 When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; 31 in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.(AW) 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.(AX)
Exhortation to Be Vigilant. 34 “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise(AY) 35 like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. 36 Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”(AZ)
Ministry in Jerusalem. 37 During the day, Jesus was teaching in the temple area, but at night he would leave and stay at the place called the Mount of Olives.(BA) 38 And all the people would get up early each morning to listen to him in the temple area.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.