1 One day while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the good news, the high priests and the scribes, together with the elders, took a stand against Him,
2 and said to Him, "Tell us what sort of authority you have for doing as you do, or who is it that gave you such authority?"
3 Then He answered them, "I will ask you a question too. Tell me,
4 was John's baptism from heaven or from men?"
5 And they argued with one another, and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'
6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."
8 Then Jesus said to them, "Nor am I going to tell you what sort of authority I have for doing as I do."
9 Then He went on to tell the people the following story: "Once upon a time a man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers, and then went abroad for a long stay.
10 So at the proper time He sent a slave to the tenants, that they might pay him his part of the grape-crop, but the tenants beat him and sent him back empty-handed.
11 Then again he sent another slave, and they beat him and insulted him, and sent him back empty-handed.
12 And again he sent a third slave, and they wounded him and threw him out of the vineyard.
13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my dearly loved son. They will, I should think, respect him.'
14 But when the tenants saw him, they argued among themselves, 'This is the heir; let us kill him, so that what he inherits may be ours.'
15 So they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 He will come and put those tenants to death and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "May it never be so!"
17 But He glanced at them and said, "Then what does this Scripture mean: 'That stone which the builders threw away has now become the cornerstone'?
18 Everyone who falls upon that stone will be shattered, and he on whom it falls will be crushed to dust."
19 Then the scribes and the high priests tried to arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people, for they knew that He meant this story for them.
20 So they closely watched and sent spies who pretended to be upright men, to catch Him in His conversation, so as to turn Him over to the power and authority of the governor.
21 They asked Him, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and show no favors to anyone, but teach the way of God honestly.
22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
23 But He detected their cunning, and said to them,
24 "Show me a twenty-cent coin. Whose picture and title does it bear?" They answered, "Caesar's."
25 He said to them, "Then pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and pay God what belongs to God!"
26 So they could not use what he said before the people, and in astonishment at His answer they said no more.
27 Then some of the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came up and asked Him,
28 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us a law that, if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man should take the widow and raise up a family for his brother.
29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first brother married a wife and died childless.
30 Then the second,
31 and the third, married her; as also the seven did who died but left no child.
32 Last of all, the woman died.
33 Now at the resurrection which one's wife will the woman be? For the seven married her."
34 Jesus said to them, "The people of this world marry and are married,
35 but those who are considered worthy to attain that other world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are married.
36 For they cannot die again. They are like the angels, and since they are reborn in the resurrection, are children of God.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses at the bush has demonstrated, when he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
38 He is not the God of dead but of living people, for all live to Him."
39 Then some of the scribes answered Him, "Teacher, you have given a fine answer."
40 For they did not dare to ask Him any more questions.
41 Then He said to them, "How do people say that the Christ is David's Son?
42 For David himself in the Book of Psalms says: 'The Lord has said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'
45 While all the people were listening, He said to His disciples,
46 "Beware of the scribes who like to go about in long robes and love to be saluted with honor in public places, to be seated in the front seats in the synagogues, and to occupy the places of honor at banquets --
47 men who eat up widows' houses and to cover it up make long prayers! They will receive a much heavier sentence."