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The Authority of Jesus Questioned
1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the
temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief
priests and the teachers of the law, together with the
elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are
doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this
authority?”
3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell
me. 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human
origin?”
5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we
say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe
him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people
will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a
prophet.”
7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”
8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what
authority I am doing these things.”
The Parable of the Tenants
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man
planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away
for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the
tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the
vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away
empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also
they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him
out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I
do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will
respect him.’
14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the
matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him,
and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out
of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of
the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those
tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people
heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what
is the meaning of that which is written:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone?’
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to
pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests
looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they
knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were
afraid of the people.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who
pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in
something he said, so that they might hand him over to the
power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies
questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach
what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach
the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right
for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them,
24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription
are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is
Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said
there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became
silent.
The Resurrection and Marriage
27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no
resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,”
they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies
and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the
widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there
were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died
childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her,
and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32
Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the
resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were
married to her?”
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and
are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered
worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the
resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given
in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are
like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are
children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the
burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he
calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but
of the living, for to him all are alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well
said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more
questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the
Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in
the Book of Psalms:
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet.” ’
44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his
son?”
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to
his disciples,
46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to
walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with
respect in the marketplaces and have the most important
seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy
prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
