Luke 20

¹On one of those days, while he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, came and stood before him. ²They spoke to him, saying, "Tell us—by what authority are you doing these things? Or who is the one who gave you this authority?"

³He answered them, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴The baptism of John—was it from heaven, or from human beings?"

⁵They deliberated among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' ⁶But if we say, 'From human beings,' 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 said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

⁹Then he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. ¹⁰At the proper season, he sent a slave to the tenant farmers so that they would give him his share of the vineyard's fruit. But the tenant farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹He proceeded to send another slave, and they beat that one also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. ¹²He proceeded to send a third, and this one too they wounded and threw out.

¹³"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will show him respect.' ¹⁴But when the tenant farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance may become ours.' ¹⁵And 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 destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "May it never be!"

¹⁷But he looked directly at them and said, "Then what is this that has been written: 'The stone that the builders rejected— this has become the cornerstone'?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be shattered, but on whomever it falls, it will crush him to dust."

¹⁹The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour, but they feared the people, for they recognized that he had told this parable against them.

²⁰So, watching for an opportunity, they sent agents who pretended to be righteous, in order to catch him in something he said, so as to hand him over to the rule and authority of the governor. ²¹They questioned him, saying, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you do not show partiality to anyone, but teach the way of God in truth. ²²Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?"

²³But perceiving their craftiness, he said to them, ²⁴"Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered, "Caesar's."

²⁵He said to them, "Then give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God."

²⁶They were unable to catch him in his words before the people, and marveling at his answer, they fell silent.

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees—those who deny that there is a resurrection—approached and questioned him, ²⁸saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, the brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless. ³⁰And the second ³¹and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³²Finally, the woman also died. ³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."

³⁴Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶For they can no longer die, since they are equal to angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷But that the dead are raised—even Moses revealed this at the bush, when he speaks of the Lord as 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' ³⁸Now he is not God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive."

³⁹Some of the scribes responded, "Teacher, you have spoken well." ⁴⁰For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

⁴¹Then he said to them, "How can they say that the Messiah is David's son? 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."'

⁴⁴David therefore calls him 'Lord'—so how is he his son?"

⁴⁵While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶"Beware of the scribes who desire to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets— ⁴⁷who devour the houses of widows and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."