^aJesus began to speak to them the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him in parables: “^bA man ^cPLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A ¹WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A PIT FOR THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country. Is 5:1, 2; Matt 21:33-46; Luke 20:9-19 2 When the harvest season came he sent a ¹servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant, and they threw stones and wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. 6 He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him and destroy the evidence, and his inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:‘^aTHE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REGARDED AS UNWORTHY and REJECTED,THIS very stone HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE

12 ^aAnd they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to and as a charge against them. And so ^bthey left Him and went away.

13 ^aThen they sent some of the ¹Pharisees and ^bHerodians to Jesus in order to ^ctrap Him into making a statement that they could use against Him. Matt 22:15-22; Luke 20:20-26 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful according to Jewish law and tradition to pay the ¹poll-tax to ²Tiberius Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay the tax or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ¹coin (denarius) to look at.” 16 So they brought one. Then He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “^aPay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at Him.

18 ^aSome Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying, Matt 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-38 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us a law that ^aIF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and leaves a wife BUT LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER IS TO ¹MARRY THE WIDOW AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER. Deut 25:5 20 There were seven brothers; the first one took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven married her and died, and left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven brothers were married to her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures that teach the resurrection nor the power of God who is able to raise the dead? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^ain the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^bI AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? Ex 3:2-6 27 ^aHe is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!”

28 ^aThen one of the scribes an expert in Mosaic Law came up and listened to them arguing with one another, and ^bnoticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?” Matt 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-28 29 Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘^aHEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 ^aAND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL (life) , AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND (thought, understanding) , AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ Deut 6:4, 5 31 This is the second: ‘^aYOU SHALL unselfishly ¹LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Lev 19:18 32 The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that ^aHE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO OTHER BUT HIM; 33 ^aAND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO unselfishly LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS ONESELF, ^bis much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 1+@Sam 15:22; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8; Heb 10:8 34 When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^aAnd after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

35 ^aJesus began to say, as He ^btaught in a portico or court of the temple, “¹How can the scribes say that the Christ is the ^cson of David? Matt 22:41-46; Luke 20:41-44 36 David himself said when inspired by the Holy Spirit,‘^aTHE LORD (the Father) SAID TO MY LORD (the Son, the Messiah) ,“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET.”’ Ps 110:1 37 David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He is ¹David’s Son?” ^aThe large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

38 ^aIn the course of His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes displaying their prominence, and like to receive ^brespectful greetings in the market places, 39 and they love the ¹chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets, 40 ^athese scribes who devour (confiscate) widows’ houses, and offer long prayers for appearance’s sake to impress others. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

41 ^aAnd He sat down opposite ^bthe temple treasury, and began watching how the people were ^cputting money into the ¹treasury. And many rich people were putting in ²large sums. Luke 21:1-4 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a ¹mite. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in proportionally more than all the contributors to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had ^ato live on.”

^aAnd He began to speak to them in parables: “^bA man ^cPLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A ¹WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to ²vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the ¹owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:‘^aTHE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;

12 ^aAnd they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the ¹people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so ^bthey left Him and went away.

13 ^aThen they *sent some of the Pharisees and ^bHerodians to Him in order to ^ctrap Him in a statement. 14 They *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and ¹defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it ²lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ¹denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “^aRender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they ¹were amazed at Him.

18 ^aSome Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^aIF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and leaves behind a wife AND LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER SHOULD ¹MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one ¹married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so ¹all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, ¹when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For ²all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ¹understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But ¹regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^ain the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^bI AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? 27 ^aHe is not the God ¹of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

28 ^aOne of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and ^brecognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ¹foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘^aHEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 ^aAND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘^aYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^aHE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; 33 ^aAND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, ^bis much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^aAfter that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

35 ^aAnd Jesus began to say, as He ^btaught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that ¹the Christ is the ^cson of David? 36 David himself said ¹in the Holy Spirit,‘^aTHE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’ 37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^athe large crowd ¹enjoyed listening to Him.

38 ^aIn His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^brespectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 ^awho devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

41 ^aAnd He sat down opposite ^bthe treasury, and began observing how the people were ^cputting ¹money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two ¹small copper coins, which amount to a ²cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all ¹the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their ¹surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ²all she had ^ato live on.”