Read the Bible

Jesus' Authority Questioned

^1 (C1)On one of the days while ^(C2)He was teaching the people in the temple and ^(C3)preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders ^(C4)confronted Him,² and they declared, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"³ But He replied to them, "I will also ask you a ^(F1)question, and you tell Me:⁴ "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"⁵ They discussed among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'⁶ "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a ^(C1)prophet."⁷ And so they answered that they did not know where it came from.⁸ And Jesus said to them, "Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things."

Parable of the Vine-growers

^9 (C1)But He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and leased it to ^(F1)vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.¹⁰ "At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.¹¹ "And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.¹² "And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.¹³ "Now the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will ^(C1)respect him.'¹⁴ "But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'¹⁵ "And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the ^(F1)owner of the vineyard do to them?¹⁶ "He will come and ^(C1)put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others." However, when they heard this, they said, "^(C2)May it never happen!"¹⁷ But ^(F1)Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what is this statement that has been written:

'^(C1)A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS HAS BECOME ^(C2)THE ^(F2)CHIEF CORNERSTONE'?

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests ^(C1)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.^20 (C1)And so they watched Him ^(F1)closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order ^(C2)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of ^(C3)the governor.²¹ And the spies questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You ^(F1)are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth.²² "Is it ^(F1)permissible for us ^(C1)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"²³ But He saw through their trickery and said to them,²⁴ "Show Me a ^(F1)denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."²⁵ And He said to them, "Then ^(C1)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."²⁶ And they were unable to ^(C1)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

Is There a Resurrection?

^27 (C1)Now some of the ^(C2)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him,²⁸ and they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(C1)if ^(F1)a man's brother dies, ^(F2)leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to ^(F3)marry the wife and raise up children ^(F4)for his brother.²⁹ "So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;³⁰ and the second³¹ and the third ^(F1)married her; and in the same way ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)died, leaving no children.³² "Finally the woman also died.³³ "Therefore, in the resurrection, ^(F1)which one's wife does the woman become? For ^(F2)all seven ^(F3)married her."

³⁴ Jesus said to them, "The sons of ^(C1)this age marry and the women are given in marriage,³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to ^(C1)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;³⁶ for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are ^(C1)sons of God, being ^(F1)sons of the resurrection.³⁷ "But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in ^(C1)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ^(C2)THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.³⁸ "^(C1)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for ^(C2)all live to Him."³⁹ Some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."⁴⁰ For ^(C1)they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

^41 (C1)But He said to them, "How is it that they say the ^(F1)Christ is ^(C2)David's son?⁴² "For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

'^(C1)THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
"SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

^43 (C1)UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'

^45 (C1)And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, ^(C1)who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,⁴⁷ who ^(F1)devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation."