The Parable of the Tenants
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1And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted 2a vineyard 3and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and 4leased it to tenants and 5went into another country.
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When the season came, he sent a servanta to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
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6And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
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7Again 8he sent to them another servant, and 9they struck him on the head and 10treated him shamefully.
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11And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
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He had still one other, 12a beloved son. 13Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
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But those tenants said to one another, 14'This is the heir. Come, 15let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
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And they took him and killed him and 16threw him out of the vineyard.
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What will the owner of the vineyard do? 17He will 18come and destroy the tenants and 19give the vineyard to others.
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20Have you not read 21this Scripture: 22"'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;b
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this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
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And 23they were seeking to arrest him 24but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they 25left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
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26And they sent to him some of 27the Pharisees and some of 28the Herodians, to 29trap him in his talk.
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And they came and said to him, "Teacher, 30we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For 31you are not swayed by appearances,c but truly teach 32the way of God. Is it lawful to pay 33taxes to 34Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"
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But, knowing 35their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why 36put me to the test? Bring me 37a denariusd and let me look at it."
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And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
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Jesus said to them, 38"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
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And 39Sadducees came to him, 40who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
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"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that 41if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the mane must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
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There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
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And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
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And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
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In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
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Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because 42you know neither the Scriptures nor 43the power of God?
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For when they rise from the dead, they neither 44marry nor 45are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
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And as for the dead being raised, 46have you not read in 47the book of Moses, in 48the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 49'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
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He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong."
The Great Commandment
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50And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
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And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
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53The second is this: 54'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment 55greater than these."
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And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that 56he is one, and 57there is no other besides him.
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And to love him with all the heart and with all 58the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, 59is much more than all 60whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
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And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." 61And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
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62And as 63Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that 64the Christ is the son of David?
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David himself, 65in the Holy Spirit, declared, 66"'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies 67under your feet.'
Beware of the Scribes
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70And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
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and have the best seats in the synagogues and 71the places of honor at feasts,
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72who devour widows' houses and 73for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
The Widow's Offering
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74And he sat down opposite 75the treasury and watched the people 76putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
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And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, 78this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)