Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 12

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

¹ Then^(a) He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard,^(b) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. ² At harvest time he sent^(c) a slave^(d) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit^(e) of the vineyard from the farmers. ³ But they took him, beat^(f) him, and sent him away empty-handed.^{(g) 4} Again he sent another slave to them, and they^[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.^{[b] 5} Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

⁶ "He still had one to send, a beloved^(h) son. Finally⁽ⁱ⁾ he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.'

⁷ "But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' ⁸ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ "Therefore, what will the owner ^[c](j) of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Haven't you read this Scripture: ^(k)

¹² Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

God and Caesar

¹³ Then^(o) they sent some of the Pharisees^(p) and the Herodians^(q) to Him to trap Him by what He said.^{[f](r) 14} When they came, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one, for You don't show partiality^[g](s) but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes^(t) to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay, or should we not pay?"

But knowing their hypocrisy,^(u) He said to them, "Why are you testing^(v) Me? Bring Me a denarius^(w) to look at." ¹⁶ So they brought one. "Whose image^(x) and inscription^(y) is this?" He asked them.

"Caesar's," they said.

¹⁷ Then Jesus told them, "Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." ^(z) And they were amazed^(aa) at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

¹⁸ Some^(ab) Sadducees,^(ac) who say there is no resurrection,^(ad) came to Him and questioned Him: ¹⁹ "Teacher,^(ae) Moses^(af) wrote for us that if a man's brother dies , leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, ^(ag) his brother should take the wife ^(ah) and produce offspring for his brother. ^{(ai)[h] 20} There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. ²¹ The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. ²² So the seven^[i] left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise,^[j] whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?"^[k]

²⁴ Jesus told them, "Are you not deceived because you don't know the Scriptures^(aj) or the power^(ak) of God?^{(al) 25} For when they rise^(am) from the dead,^(an) they neither marry nor are given in marriage^(ao) but are like angels^(ap) in heaven. ²⁶ Now concerning the dead being raised—haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I ^(aq) am the God of Abraham ^(ar) and the God of Isaac ^(as) and the God of Jacob ? ^{(at)[l] 27} He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived."

The Primary Commands

²⁸ One^(au) of the scribes^(av) approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which command is the most important of all?"^[m]

²⁹ "This is the most important," ^[n] Jesus answered:

³¹ "The second is: Love your neighbor ^(bc) as yourself. ^(bd)[r] There is no other command^(be) greater than these."

³² Then the scribe said to Him, "You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one^(bf) else except Him.^{(bg) 33} And to love^(bh) Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,^[s] and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."^(bi)

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." ^(bj) And no one dared^(bk) to question Him any longer.

The Question about the Messiah

³⁵ So^(bl) Jesus asked this question as He taught in the temple complex,^(bm) "How can the scribes^(bn) say that the Messiah^(bo) is the Son of David?^{(bp) 36} David^(bq) himself says by the Holy Spirit: ^(br)

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord'; how then can the Messiah be his Son?" And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.

Warning against the Scribes

³⁸ He^(bv) also said in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes,^(bw) and who want greetings in the marketplaces,^{(bx) 39} the front seats^(by) in the synagogues,^(bz) and the places of honor^(ca) at banquets.^{(cb) 40} They devour^(cc) widows'^(cd) houses and say long prayers^(ce) just for show. These will receive harsher punishment."

The Widow's Gift

⁴¹ Sitting^(cf) across from the temple treasury,^(cg) He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich^(ch) people were putting in large sums. ⁴² And a poor^(ci) widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.^{[u] 43} Summoning His disciples,^(cj) He said to them, "I assure you:^(ck) This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury.^{(cl) 44} For they all gave out of their surplus,^(cm) but she out of her poverty^(cn) has put in everything she possessed^(co)—all she had to live on." ^(cp)