Luke 20

¹ One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came up to him together with the elders

² and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things, or who it is who gave you this authority."

³ He answered them, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me:

⁴ The baptism of John — was it from heaven, or from humans?"

⁵ They discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'

⁶ But if we say, 'From humans,' all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."

⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

⁸ Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

⁹ Then he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰ At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenant farmers so they would give him his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹ He sent yet another servant, and they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹² And he sent yet a third, and they wounded this one too and threw him out.

¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.'

¹⁴ But when the tenant farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so the inheritance will be ours.'

¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "May this never be!"

¹⁷ But he looked directly at them and said, "Then what is the meaning of what is written: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed."

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they knew he had told this parable against them. But they feared the people.

²⁰ So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order to catch him in something he said, so they could hand him over to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.

²¹ They questioned him, saying, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and that you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with truth.

²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

²³ But he saw through their craftiness and said to them,

²⁴ "Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."

²⁵ He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

²⁶ And they were unable to trap him in what he said before the people. Amazed by his answer, they became silent.

²⁷ Then some of the Sadducees — who say there is no resurrection — came to him and questioned him,

²⁸ saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies having a wife but is childless, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless.

³⁰ And the second

³¹ and the third took her, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³² Finally, the woman also died.

³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife."

³⁴ Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵ But those who are considered worthy to attain that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

³⁶ For they can no longer die, because they are like angels. They are children of God, being children of the resurrection.

³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.'

³⁸ He is not God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive."

³⁹ Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."

⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

⁴¹ Then he said to them, "How can they say that the Messiah is the son of David?

⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand

⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'

⁴⁴ David therefore calls him 'Lord.' So how can he be his son?"

⁴⁵ While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples,

⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷ They devour the houses of widows, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive a more severe judgment."