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Jesus Is Challenged

¹ One day Jesus was teaching in the main church and telling folks about the good news. Many church leaders and preachers came up to him and asked, ² "Who said you could teach in here?"

³ Jesus said, "Well, let me ask you this first, ⁴ did John baptize because the Boss told him to or was it just something he came up with on his own?"

⁵ They talked it over for a second. "If we say the Boss told him to, he'll ask us why we didn't believe John. ⁶ But if we say he came up with it on his own, everyone will get mad because they all believe John was sent from the Boss." ⁷ Finally, they told Jesus they didn't know the answer.

⁸ So Jesus said, "If you won't answer, then neither will I."

Story about the Murderous Cowboys

⁹ Jesus told the people listening, "A man leased his ranch and cattle to some cowboys and went on a long journey.

¹⁰ "When calving season was done, he sent one of his own cowboys to collect his share of the calves, but the cowboys who leased the ranch beat him up and sent him back with nothing. ¹¹ So the owner sent another cowboy to try and collect what was due. The sorry thieves did the same thing and sent him back with nothing. ¹² Then the owner sent a third cowboy, but they beat this one nearly to death and sent him back with nothing.

¹³ "The owner wondered what he could do. He said, 'Maybe if I send my son, my only son, with a stern warning, they will listen to him.'

¹⁴ "But when the outlaw cowboys saw the ranch owner's son coming up, they said to each other, 'Alright boys! Here's the chance we've been waiting on. We'll kill the rancher's only son and then there will be no one to inherit the ranch, and it will be ours!' ¹⁵ So they grabbed the son when he rode through the gate and strung him up and killed him.

"What do you think the ranch owner will do to those boys who killed his son?" Jesus asked. ¹⁶ "Let me tell you. He will come with a terrible vengeance and wipe them off the face of the earth. Then he will give his ranch to cowboys who will take care of it and appreciate it."

Everyone who was listening cried out, "Let's hope nothing like that ever happens around here!"

¹⁷ So Jesus asked them, "Then what do y'all think these words from the Good Book mean? 'The calf the cowboys rejected has now become the sire bull.'

¹⁸ "Everyone who does not recognize the bull will be trampled by it. It will crush those who oppose it."

¹⁹ Now the religious leaders and preachers wanted Jesus arrested immediately because they knew he was comparing them to the sorry cowboys who killed the rancher's son. They knew what Jesus was saying, but they were afraid of the crowds who seemed to love him.

Tax Questions

²⁰ So they conspired against Jesus and sent some of them in regular clothes to try and trap Jesus. They wanted him to say something against Rome so he could be arrested. ²¹ They said, "Hey boss, we can tell that you ain't afraid to tell it like it is. ²² So tell us truthfully, should God's people pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

²³ But Jesus saw through their treachery and said, ²⁴ "Show me a coin and tell me whose picture is on it."

"Caesar's picture is on it," they said.

²⁵ "Well then, if his picture is on it then he must own it. Give to Caesar what is his and give God what belongs to God."

²⁶ They stood there with stupid looks on their faces. They were amazed by his wisdom and his answers. They shut their mouths and left.

A Discussion about the Dead

²⁷ Then a group of people called the Sadducees came to talk to Jesus. They were religious leaders who did not believe in life after death. ²⁸ They asked Jesus this question, "Boss, Moses said in his Code that if a man dies, leaving his wife behind without a child, then the man's brother should marry her and give her a child to carry on his brother's name. ²⁹ Suppose this happens every time, and the woman goes through seven brothers, all of them dying before she has a child. ^30 31 32 Finally, the woman dies too. ³³ Tell us, whose wife will she be if there is life after death? All of the brothers were married to her at some point."

³⁴ Jesus said, "Marriage is just for down here. ³⁵ In heaven, people will not be married to each other. ³⁶ Not only will they not be married, but they will live forever—just like the angels. They are God's children, and they will be brought back to life."

³⁷ Jesus continued, "But this isn't a question about marriage, but one about life after death. Even Moses proved this when he wrote about his experience with the burning bush. Way after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, Moses referred to God as 'the Boss of Abraham, the Boss of Isaac, and the Boss of Jacob.' ³⁸ If death was the end, and there was no more, then dead people don't need a God. The Boss is God over the living, not the dead. These three great cowboys are alive with God today, not dead."

³⁹ "Very well said, cowboy," said some of the people standing around. ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more stupid questions meant to trap him.

Whose Son Is the Top Hand?

⁴¹ Then Jesus posed his own question, "Why does everyone think the Top Hand who will save everyone is David's son? ⁴² Think about it. David himself wrote in the book of Psalms, 'God said to the Top Hand, Son, ride here in the place of honor to my right. ⁴³ I will destroy your enemies and make them nothing more than a heap of dirt to rest your feet on at night.'"

⁴⁴ "If the Top Hand is God's Son, how can he be David's?"

⁴⁵ While everyone was watching and listening, Jesus turned to his twelve cowboys nearby and said, ⁴⁶ "Beware of these preachers and teachers of Moses's code. They like the honor their positions bring, ⁴⁷ but they steal from widows with the same hands they fold for their long public prayers. They will get what's coming to them. I will see to that."