5.7 KiB
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
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And it happened that on one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up to Him,
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and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?"
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And Jesus answered and said to them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me:
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Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"
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And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'
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But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."
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So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
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And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
Parable of the Vine-Growers
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And He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.
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And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vine-growers sent him away empty-handed having beaten him.
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And he proceeded to send another slave; and when they beat him also and treated him shamefully, they sent him away empty-handed.
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And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out.
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Now the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.'
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But when the vine-growers saw him, they were reasoning with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'
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So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
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He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "May it never be!"
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But when Jesus looked at them, He said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone'?
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Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."
Taxes to Caesar
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And the scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, but they feared the people. For they understood that He spoke this parable against them.
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So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so that they might catch Him in some statement, in order to deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.
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And they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.
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Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
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But He perceived their craftiness and said to them,
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"Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."
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And He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
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And they were unable to catch Him in a word in the presence of the people; and marveling at His answer, they became silent.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
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Now some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him,
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and they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should marry the wife and raise up seed for his brother.
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Now there were seven brothers; and the first married a wife and died childless,
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and the second
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and the third married her; and in the same way, all seven died, leaving no children.
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Finally the woman died also.
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Therefore, this woman--in the resurrection--whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as a wife."
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And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
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but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.
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For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
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But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
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Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him."
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And some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."
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For they did not dare to question Him any longer about anything.
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Then He said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is David's son?
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For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,
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Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet."'
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Therefore David calls Him 'Lord,' so how is He his son?"
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And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,
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"Beware of the scribes, who want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,
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who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."