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Story about a Leased Ranch

¹ Then Jesus gathered everyone who wanted to learn around him. He taught them with stories they could understand and relate to, "A man started a ranch and strung all the wire and set every post. He even built a big nice entrance with a gate. After that, he leased the ranch on shares to some cowboys who wanted to get started in the business. The rancher moved away to another part of the country, but at the time of shipping calves, ² he sent one of his cowboys back to get the share of his calves for the lease. ³ But the cowboys on the ranch grabbed the cowboy and beat the crap out of him and sent him back without a single calf.

⁴ "The rancher sent another hand over there to get his share of the calves and they beat that fellow also and sent him back empty-handed. ⁵ The next cowboy the rancher sent was even killed. Still, the rancher sent hand after hand to get what was owed and right. They beat or killed every single one.

⁶ "Finally, the rancher was all out of hands and the only one left to send was his only son—the son he loved more than anything else. The rancher finally sent him, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.'

⁹ Jesus continued the story, "So what do y'all think the rancher will do? He will come back himself and kill those no-account rustlers and give the ranch to other cowboys who will be thankful for the opportunity to ride for him. ¹⁰ Have you not read God's words that say, 'The calf the cowboys culled has now become the sire bull. ¹¹ This is from God and everyone who sees it is amazed?'"

¹² Now this really got them bigwig preacher's feathers ruffled. They wanted to arrest him, but the crowds loved what Jesus was teaching. The bigwigs knew he had just told this story about them, but they just skulked away to scheme against him.

Those Durn Taxes

¹³ Then the bigwigs sent some slick willy politicians, along with some silver-tongued preachers, in an attempt to trap Jesus and make him look bad. ¹⁴ They strolled up to Jesus like they were all friends and said, "Hey there professor, we know you are a straight shooter and don't say things just so people will like you. We know you teach the truth straight from God, but we've got a question for ya. ¹⁵ Should those of us who follow God really be paying taxes to Caesar?"

But Jesus saw right through their underhanded scheme and said, "Do you think I'm going to fall for your silly games? Bring me one of these coins you use to pay your taxes and let me see it."

¹⁶ One of them pulled a coin out of his pocket and flipped it to Jesus. He held the coin up and asked, "Who's picture is on this coin?"

"Caesar's," they answered.

¹⁷ Jesus nodded his head in agreement and said, "Give Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and give God the things that belong to God." And he tossed the coin back.

Everyone who heard him was amazed.

The Dead Will Ride Again

¹⁸ Some Sadducees (religious politicians who didn't believe in life after death—meaning they tried to get as much out of this life as they could) took their turn trying to trap Jesus. ¹⁹ They asked him, "Sir, Moses told us that God said, 'If a man's brother is married and dies, then the brother is to marry his former sister-in-law and have some kids in memory of his dead brother.' But what about this scenario? ²⁰ Say there were seven brothers and the oldest brother marries a woman, but dies before they have any kids. ²¹ Then the next brother marries her and he dies before they have any kids. ²² This goes on until every brother has married her and died without a single kid being born. Finally, the woman dies too. ²³ If there is life after death, whose wife will she be in heaven?"

²⁴ Jesus said to them, "Y'all ain't got a clue what you're talking about. Y'all don't know God's words from a cow turd. And you certainly don't know anything about the power of God. ²⁵ When people are raised from the dead and enter heaven, none of them will be married to anyone, but rather, they will be like the angels. ²⁶ But, let's cut to the chase here. Y'all are asking me about life after death and you don't even believe in that. Have you not read in Moses's book, in the section about the burning bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He didn't say he had been the God of those great guys, but that he is the God of them. ²⁷ Those guys are alive with him because he is the God of the living, not the dead. You boys couldn't find a forty-pound truth if it was hanging off the end of your nose."

²⁸ A religious lawyer had walked up during this debate and was impressed with Jesus's answer. He asked Jesus a question of his own. "Which commandment is the most important one of 'em all?"

²⁹ Jesus turned to him and said, "I'll tell you which one is most important. It's from one of Moses's books, 'Listen up, Israel. Our God is the only God there is. ³⁰ You must ride for God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You've got to ride for him with every ounce of strength you've got.' ³¹ But there is another commandment that is just as important as this one. 'Care about the well-being of others as much as you care about the well-being of yourself.' These two things are more important than all the offerings and sacrifices a person could ever make."

³² "Well said, sir," the lawyer replied. "You speak the truth in that there is one, and only one, God. ³³ To ride for him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself is more important than all the sacrifices in the world."

³⁴ Jesus saw that the light was starting to come on for this fellow, so he told him, "You are not far from God's outfit right now." After that, no one dared ask any more questions trying to trap him.

³⁵ Later on, Jesus was giving a clinic at the main church in town about how to ride for God. He asked them, "Why do those that stress religious rules claim God's Top Hand will be a son of the great King David? ³⁶ I ask this because even David, in his book, said, 'God told my Boss, "Ride to my right and watch as I trample over all of your enemies and you ride right over them."'

³⁷ "Since David himself called God's Top Hand his Boss, how then can the Chosen One be his son?"

People shook their heads in wonderful amazement at the things Jesus taught.

³⁸ He also taught them, "Keep a sharp lookout for those who teach religious rules! They like to ride around with their fancy tack and hand tooled saddles. ³⁹ They like it when people look up to them like they are all high and mighty. ⁴⁰ But these fellows would cheat a widow out of her last piece of bread and then go and make a long, eloquent prayer at a public gathering. Because they act like this, they will be punished severely."

The Widow's Donation

⁴¹ Jesus rested between his clinics and sat near the offering box in church. He watched as people gave their offering. Many rich people put in a big wad of cash, ⁴² but then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

⁴³ Jesus immediately got all his cowboy's attention and said, "Did y'all see that? I tell you the truth, that poor lady right there has given more than all the others combined. ⁴⁴ They gave a little bit of their riches, but she gave everything she had to live on."