Luke 20

¹And it came to pass, on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, there came upon him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders;

²and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

³And he answered and said unto them, I also will ask you a question; and tell me:

⁴The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?

⁵And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him?

⁶But if we shall say, From men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.

⁷And they answered, that they knew not whence it was.

⁸And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

⁹And he began to speak unto the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country for a long time.

¹⁰And at the season he sent unto the husbandmen a servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

¹¹And he sent yet another servant: and him also they beat, and handled him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

¹²And he sent yet a third: and him also they wounded, and cast him forth.

¹³And the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him.

¹⁴But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

¹⁵And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do unto them?

¹⁶He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

¹⁷But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner?

¹⁸Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.

¹⁹And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them.

²⁰And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor.

²¹And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God:

²²Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?

²³But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them,

²⁴Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Cæsar’s.

²⁵And he said unto them, Then render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.

²⁶And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

²⁷And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;

²⁸and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

²⁹There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;

³⁰and the second:

³¹and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died.

³²Afterward the woman also died.

³³In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.

³⁴And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

³⁵but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

³⁶for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

³⁷But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

³⁸Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

³⁹And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said.

⁴⁰For they durst not any more ask him any question.

⁴¹And he said unto them, How say they that the Christ is David’s son?

⁴²For David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

⁴³Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.

⁴⁴David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son?

⁴⁵And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his disciples,

⁴⁶Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts;

⁴⁷who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation.

Luke 20

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him.

²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me:

⁴John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people; and amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife, but died childless.

³⁰Then the second

³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²And last of all, the woman died.

³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”

⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

⁴¹Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

⁴³until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’

⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

⁴⁵In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”