Luke 20

1 One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and bringing the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came up to him with the elders, [a] 2 and they spoke, saying to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is who gave you this authority.” 3 And he answered and said to them, “I will ask you a word too; and tell me: 4 The immersion of John — was it from heaven or from men?”

5 And they reasoned it out among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not trust him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ the whole people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 And they answered that they did not know where it was from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to farmers, and went away for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent a slave to the farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard; but the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he went on to send another slave; but that one too they beat and dishonored and sent away empty-handed. 12 And he went on to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.

13 And the lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, the beloved. Perhaps they will respect him.’ † 14 But when the farmers saw him they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may become ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the lord of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “May it never be!”

17 But he looked straight at them and said, “What then is this that is written: [b]

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him.” [c] 19 And the scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on him at that very hour, and they were afraid of the people; for they knew that he had told this parable against them.

20 And they watched him and sent in men planted for the purpose, who acted the part of righteous men, so that they might catch him in something he said, and so hand him over to the rule and the authority of the governor. [d] 21 And they questioned him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and that you show no partiality, but teach the way of God in truth. [e] 22 Is it permitted for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” [f] 23 But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” And they answered, “Caesar’s.” [g] 25 And he said to them, “Then give back the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God.” † 26 And they were not able to catch him in a word in front of the people; and marveling at his answer they fell silent.

27 And some of the Sadducees came up, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they questioned him, 28 saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother is to take the wife and raise up seed for his brother. [h] 29 Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second, 31 and the third took her; and in the same way the seven also left no children behind and died. 32 Later the woman died too. 33 The woman, then — in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For the seven had her as wife.”

34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those counted worthy to obtain that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 For they can no longer die, for they are equal to the messengers, and they are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. [i] † 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses made it known at the bush, when he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ [j] 38 He is not God of the dead but of the living; for to him all are alive.” 39 And some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

41 And he said to them, “How do they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms:

44 David therefore calls him lord; so how is he his son?”

45 And while all the people were listening he said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who want to walk about in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces and the first seats in the synagogues and the first places at dinners, 47 who eat up the houses of the widows and for a pretense pray at length. These will receive a greater judgment.”