Luke 20

20 ¹ On one of those days, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came up with the elders ² and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who gave you this authority."

³ He answered them, "I also will ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from man?"

⁵ They discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' ⁶ But if we say, 'From man,' all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

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

The Father Sends His Beloved Son

⁹ Then he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants, and went away to another country for a long time. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And he sent yet a third, but 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 tenants saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may 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 tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Surely not!"

¹⁷ But he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? ^a a v17 A quotation from Psalm 118:22. ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."

Give to Caesar, Give to the Father

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they knew he had told this parable against them, but they were afraid of the people. ²⁰ So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere, hoping to catch him in something he said, so as to hand him over to the rule and authority of the governor. ²¹ So they questioned him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of our Father. ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

²³ But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, ²⁴ "Show me a coin worth a day's wages. Whose image and inscription is on it?" They said, "Caesar's."

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

²⁶ And they were not able to catch him in anything he said in front of the people, and amazed at his answer, they fell silent.

The Father Is God of the Living

²⁷ Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to him and asked him, ²⁸ "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and father children for his brother. ^b b v28 This describes the levirate marriage law recorded in Deuteronomy 25:5–6. 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 likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, then, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had been married to her."

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶ For they can no longer die, because they are like the angels and are children of our Father, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But even Moses showed that the dead are raised, in the passage about the bush, where he calls our Father the Father of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. ^c c v37 The burning bush account is in Exodus 3:2–6. ³⁸ Now he is not our Father of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well." ⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

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

⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, 'Our Father said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, ^d d v42 A quotation from Psalm 110:1. ⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'

⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he 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 being greeted in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁷ who rob widows of their homes and say long prayers just for show. They will be condemned all the more severely."