New Testament in a Year

²⁸ One of the teachers of religion who was standing there listening to the discussion realized that Jesus had answered well. So he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The one that says, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only God. ³⁰ And you must love him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.’

³¹ “The second is: ‘You must love others as much as yourself.’ No other commandments are greater than these.”

³² The teacher of religion replied, “Sir, you have spoken a true word in saying that there is only one God and no other. ³³ And I know it is far more important to love him with all my heart and understanding and strength, and to love others as myself, than to offer all kinds of sacrifices on the altar of the Temple.”

³⁴ Realizing this man’s understanding, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.

³⁵ Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple area, he asked them this question:

“Why do your religious teachers claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David? ³⁶ For David himself said—and the Holy Spirit was speaking through him when he said it—‘God said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ³⁷ Since David called him his Lord, how can he be his son?”

(This sort of reasoning delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.)

³⁸ Here are some of the other things he taught them at this time:

“Beware of the teachers of religion! For they love to wear the robes of the rich and scholarly, and to have everyone bow to them as they walk through the markets. ³⁹ They love to sit in the best seats in the synagogues and at the places of honor at banquets— ⁴⁰ but they shamelessly cheat widows out of their homes and then, to cover up the kind of men they really are, they pretend to be pious by praying long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”

⁴¹ Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies.

^43-44 He called his disciples to him and remarked, “That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together! For they gave a little of their extra fat,^[a] while she gave up her last penny.”