Luke 20

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the good news, the chief priests, scribes, and elders stepped up.

2 They said, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things, Who gave You this authority?”

3 He answered them, “I will ask you a question too, answer Me this:

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

5 They started reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘from heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him,’

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

7 So they answered, “We do not know where it came from.”

8 Jesus said, “Then I am not telling you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

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

10 At harvest time, he sent a servant to collect some fruit, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

11 He sent another servant, they beat him too, treated him badly, and sent him away empty-handed.

12 He sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do, I will send my son, the one I love. Maybe they will respect him.’

14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so 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, destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “No way!”

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

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, but the one it falls on will be crushed.”

19 The scribes and chief priests wanted to lay hands on Him right then, because they knew He spoke this parable against them, but they were afraid of the people.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

20 So they watched Him closely and sent spies pretending to be sincere. They were trying to catch Him in something He said, so they could hand Him over to the authority of the governor.

21 They asked Him, “Teacher, we know You speak and teach what is right and do not show favoritism, you teach the way of God truthfully.

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

23 But He saw right through their setup and said to them,

24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription is on it,” They said, “Caesar’s.”

25 He said, “Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”

26 They could not trap Him in what He said in front of the people. Amazed by His answer, they fell silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

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

28 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, the brother should marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.

29 Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died without children.

30 Then the second,

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

32 Finally, the woman died too.

33 So in the resurrection, whose wife will she be, All seven had her as wife.”

34 Jesus said, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.

35 But those considered worthy to take part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

36 They cannot die anymore, they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.

37 But even Moses showed that the dead rise, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

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

39 Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You spoke well.”

40 And they did not dare ask Him anything else.

Whose Son Is the Christ,

41 Then He said to them, “How is it that they say 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 a footstool for Your feet.’

44 So David calls Him ‘Lord’, how then is He his son?”

Beware of the Teachers of the Law

45 While all the people were listening, He said to His disciples,

46 “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, love being greeted in the marketplaces, and having the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.

47 They take advantage of widows’ houses and make long prayers just to look good. These will receive a heavier judgment.”