Luke 20

Religious Leaders Question Christs Authority

1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him 2 and spoke to Him, saying, Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?3 But He answered and said to them, I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4 The baptism of Johnwas it from heaven or from men?5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not 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 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.8 And Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him. 14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it they said, Certainly not!17 Then He looked at them and said, What then is this that is written: The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone ?18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

Herodians Question Tribute Money

19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the peoplefor they knew He had spoken this parable against them.20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.21 Then they asked Him, saying, Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: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 does it have? They answered and said, Caesars.25 And He said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods.26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

Sadducees Question Resurrection

27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,28 saying: Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a mans brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children.30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.32 Last of all the woman died also.33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.34 Jesus answered and said to them, The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.

Christ Questions the Scribes

39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, Teacher, You have spoken well.40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.41 And He said to them, How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand,43  Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.44 Therefore David calls Him Lord; how is He then his Son?45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,46 Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, 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.

LUKE 20

A Question //about Jesus' Authority

(Matthew 21.23-27; Mark 11.27-33)

1 One day, Jesus was teaching in the temple and telling the good news. So the chief priests, the teachers, and the nation's leaders

2 asked him, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
3 Jesus replied, “I want to ask you a question.

4 Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
5 They talked this over and said to each other, “We can't say God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John.

6 And we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize. The crowd will stone us to death, because they think John was a prophet.”

7 So they told Jesus, “We don't know who gave John the right to baptize.”

8 Jesus replied, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

Renters of a Vineyard

(Matthew 21.33-46; Mark 12.1-12)

9  t Jesus told the people this story:
A man once planted a vineyard and rented it out. Then he left the country for a long time. 10 When it was time to harvest the crop, he sent a servant to ask the renters for his share of the grapes. But they beat up the servant and sent him away without anything. 11 So the owner sent another servant. The renters also beat him up. They insulted him terribly and sent him away without a thing.

12 The owner sent a third servant. He was also beaten terribly and thrown out of the vineyard.

13 The owner then said to himself, “What am I going to do? I know what. I'll send my son, the one I love so much. They will surely respect him!”
14 When the renters saw the owner's son, they said to one another, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.”

15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Jesus asked, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do?

16 I'll tell you what. He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard.”
When the people heard this, they said, “This must never happen!”
17  t But Jesus looked straight at them and said, “Then what do the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘The stone the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all’?

18 Anyone who stumbles over this stone will get hurt, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”

19 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses knew that Jesus was talking about them when he was telling this story. They wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the people.

Paying Taxes

(Matthew 22.15-22; Mark 12.13-17)

22 Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
23 Jesus knew they were trying to trick him. So he told them,

24 “Show me a coin.” Then he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.
25 Then he told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.”

26 Jesus' enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer and kept quiet.

Life in the Future World

(Matthew 22.23-33; Mark 12.18-27)

28 t and said:
Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.
29 There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. 30 The second one married his brother's widow, and he also died without having any children. 31 The same thing happened to the third one. Finally, all seven brothers married this woman and died without having any children. 32 At last the woman died.

33 When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? All seven brothers had married her.

34 Jesus answered:
The people in this world get married. 35 But in the future world no one who is worthy to rise from death will either marry

36 or die. They will be like the angels and will be God's children, because they have been raised to life.
37  t In the story about the burning bush, Moses clearly shows that people will live again. He said, “The Lord is the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”t

38 So the Lord isn't the God of the dead, but of the living. This means that everyone is alive as far as God is concerned.
39 Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses said, “Teacher, you have given a good answer!”

40 From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any questions.

About David's Son

(Matthew 22.41-46; Mark 12.35-37)

42 t In the book of Psalms, David himself says,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right sidet

43 until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’

44 David spoke of the Messiah as his Lord, so how can the Messiah be his son?”

Jesus and the Teachers //of the Law of Moses

(Matthew 23.1-36; Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-54)

45 While everyone was listening to Jesus, he said to his disciples:
46 Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes, and they like to be greeted in the market. They want the front seats in the synagogues and the best seats at banquets. 47 But they cheat widows out of their homes and then pray long prayers just to show off. These teachers will be punished most of all.