The Word Am I

The Gospel According to St. Luke

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- Chapter 20 -

(Matthew 21:23–27; Mark 11:27–33)
1
One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts (a) 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:
4
John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”
5
They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
6
But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
7
So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
8
And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

(Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12)
9
Then 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.
10
At 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.
11
So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.
12
Then 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.’
14
But 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.’
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 will give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”
17
But 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’(b)?
18
Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

(Matthew 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17)
19
When 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.
20
So 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.
22
Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23
But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,
24
“Show Me a denarius.(c) Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.
25
So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26
And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people; and amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

(Matthew 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27)
27
Then 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.(d)
29
Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife, but died childless.
30
Then the second (e)
31
and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.
32
And last of all, the woman died.
33
So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
34
Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35
But 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.
36
In 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.
37
Even 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.’(f)
38
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
39
Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”
40
And they did not dare to question Him any further.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

(Matthew 22:41–46; Mark 12:35–37)
41
Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?
42
For David himself says 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.”’(g)
44
Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

Beware of the Scribes

(Mark 12:38–40)
45
In 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.
47
They defraud widows of their houses,(h) and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

Footnotes

(a)20:1 Literally the temple
(b)20:17 Psalms 118:22
(c)20:24 A denarius was customarily a day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.
(d)20:28 Deuteronomy 25:5
(e)20:30 BYZ and TR include married the widow, and he also died,
(f)20:37 Exodus 3:6
(g)20:43 Psalms 110:1
(h)20:47 Literally They devour widows’ houses
(Matthew 21:23–27; Mark 11:27–33)
1
On one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, the (a) priests and scribes came to him with the elders.
2
They asked him, “Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?”
3
He answered them, “I also will ask you one question. Tell me:
4
the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?”
5
They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’
6
But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
7
They answered that they didn’t know where it was from.
8
Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

(Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12)
9
He began to tell the people this parable: “A (b) man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.
10
At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty.
11
He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
12
He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him and threw him out.
13
The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
14
“But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
15
Then they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
16
He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard that, they said, “May that never be!”
17
But he looked at them and said, “Then what is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the chief cornerstone’? (c)
18
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

(Matthew 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17)
19
The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
20
They watched him and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
21
They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.
22
Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
23
But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test me?
24
Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.”
25
He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26
They weren’t able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer and were silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

(Matthew 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27)
27
Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.
28
They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife and raise up children for his brother.
29
There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless.
30
The second took her as wife, and he died childless.
31
The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.
32
Afterward the woman also died.
33
Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.”
34
Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35
But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
36
For they can’t die any more, for they are like the angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
37
But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ (d)
38
Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”
39
Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you speak well.”
40
They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

(Matthew 22:41–46; Mark 12:35–37)
41
He said to them, “Why do they say that the Christ is David’s son?
42
David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
43
until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’ (e)
44
“David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”

Beware of the Scribes

(Mark 12:38–40)
45
In the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples,
46
“Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts;
47
who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Footnotes

(a)20:1 TR adds “chief”
(b)20:9 NU (in brackets) and TR add “certain”
(c)20:17 ℘ Psalms 118:22
(d)20:37 ℘ Exodus 3:6
(e)20:43 ℘ Psalms 110:1
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