Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “^aThe kingdom of heaven ¹may be compared to ²a king who ³gave a ^bwedding feast for his son. 3 And he ^asent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he ^asent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own ¹farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to ^athe main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with ¹dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw ^aa man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘^aFriend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into ^athe outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are ^1acalled, but few are ^bchosen.”

15 ^aThen the Pharisees went and ¹plotted together how they might trap Him ²in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^aHerodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and ¹defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it ¹lawful to give a ^apoll-tax to ^bCaesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their ¹malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the ^acoin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a ¹denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “^aThen render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and ^aleaving Him, they went away.

23 ^aOn that day some ^bSadducees (who say ^cthere is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘^aIF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, ^anot ¹understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither ^amarry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘^aI AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, ^athey were astonished at His teaching.

34 ^aBut when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced ^bthe Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, ^1aa lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘^aYOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the great and ¹foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘^aYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 ^aOn these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41 ^aNow while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about ¹the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “^aThe son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David ^1ain the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 ^aNo one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him ¹another question.

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “^aThe kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a ^bwedding feast for his son. 3 And he ^asent his servants to call those who had previously been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. 4 Then he ^asent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest of the invited guests seized his servants and mistreated them insulting and humiliating them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged when he heard this, and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to ^athe main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests sitting at the banquet table.

11 “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw ^aa man there who was not dressed appropriately in wedding clothes, 12 and he said, ‘^aFriend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes that were provided for you?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into ^athe darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping over sorrow and pain and grinding of teeth over distress and anger.’ 14 For many are ^acalled (invited, summoned) , but few are ^bchosen.”

15 ^aThen the Pharisees went and conspired together plotting how to trap Him by distorting what He said. Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26 16 They sent their disciples to Him, along with the ^1aHerodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about what anyone thinks or says of Your teachings; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor and You treat all people alike, regardless of status. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible according to Jewish law and tradition to pay a ^1apoll-tax to ^bCaesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, asked, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the ^acoin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius a day’s wage. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “ ¹The Emperor Tiberius Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “^aThen pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and ^athey left Him and went away.

23 ^aOn that day some ^bSadducees, who say that ^cthere is no resurrection of the dead, came to Him and asked Him a question, Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘^aIF A MAN DIES, LEAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL ¹MARRY HIS WIDOW, AND RAISE CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.’ Deut 25:5 25 Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. 26 The second also died childless, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 So in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

29 But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you ^aknow neither the Scriptures which teach the resurrection nor the power of God for He is able to raise the dead. 30 For in the resurrection neither do men ^amarry nor are women given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven who do not marry nor produce children. 31 But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you not read in the Scripture what God said to you: 32 ‘^aI AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Ex 3:6 33 When the crowds heard this, ^athey were astonished at His teaching.

34 ^aNow when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced (muzzled) ^bthe Sadducees, they gathered together. Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28 35 One of them, ^aa lawyer an expert in Mosaic Law, asked Jesus a question, to test Him: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Mark 12:28 37 And Jesus replied to him, “‘^aYOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ Deut 6:5 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘^aYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others.’ Lev 19:18; Matt 19:19 40 The whole Law and the writings of the Prophets depend ^aon these two commandments.”

41 ^aNow while the Pharisees were still gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44 42 “What do you Pharisees think of the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “^1aThe son of David.” 43 Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David ^aby the inspiration of the Spirit, calls Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

45 So then, if David calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord,’ ¹how is He David’s son?” 46 ^aNo one was able to say a word to Him in answer, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him again.