(1) Analogy of Renters Killing their Landlord’s Son
Then Jesus started talking to them using analogies. He said,
“There was a man who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a nice vat under the wine press, and built a tower on the property. Then he rented it out to tenants and went on a trip.
When the harvest season came, the owner sent a worker to collect some of the produce from the tenants. But the tenants grabbed him, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.
So the owner sent another worker, but the tenants gave him a concussion and treated him shamefully. The owner sent another worker, but the tenants killed that one. This happened several times—with some workers being beaten up, and others killed—until the owner just had one more to send: a cherished son.
As the owner’s final attempt, he sent his son, saying,
‘Surely they’ll respect my son!’
But the tenants told each other,
‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him—then the inheritance will be ours!’
So the tennants grabbed the son, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.
What do you think the owner of the property will do at that point? He’ll come wipe out the tenants, then give the vineyard to someone else. There’s a passage that says:
‘The cinderblock that the builders rejected became the most important block in the entire structure. The Existing One caused it to be like that, and it’s such a beautiful sight to us.’ —Psalm 118:23
Have you guys read that one?”
When the priests, Bible scholars, and church leaders heard that anaology, they wanted to seize Jesus, because they realized it was directed at them. But they were too scared of the crowd, so they went away.
(13) Give God What is God’s
Then the priests, Bible scholars, and church leaders wanted to trap Jesus into saying something incriminating, so they sent Him some Pharisees and Herodians. [The Pharisees were sticklers for Jewish law, while the Herodians rejected Jewish law to embrace the Roman lifestyle.] So people from these two groups went up to Jesus and said,
“Teacher, we know that You’re always honest and aren’t a people-pleaser. When You teach God’s way, You tell the truth without favoring any one specific group. So we want to hear Your thoughts on this: Is it right for Jewish people to pay taxes to the Roman Caesar? Should we pay or not?”
But Jesus knew what they were up to and said,
“Why are you trying to trap Me? Hand Me a coin so I can look at it.”
They handed Him one, and He asked,
“Who is pictured on this coin? And who decided what would be written on it?”
They said,
“Ceasar.”
Jesus said,
“Give Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and give God the things that belong to God.”*
They were amazed by His response.
(18) God’s People Live After Death
Some Saducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man dies, leaving behind a widow with no children, his brother should marry the widow and raise up children for his brother (Deuteronomy 25:5).
Now let’s suppose that a family has 7 brothers, and the first gets married, but dies leaving behind no children. The second brother marries her, but also dies without leaving any children. Then the third, and so on. None of them leave her any children, but then the woman finally dies too.
So in the resurrection, when they all come back to life, whose wife will she be?”
Jesus replied,
“The reason this is tripping you up is because you don’t understand the ancient text or God’s power. Right?
When they all resurrect from the dead, none of them will be married any more—they’ll just be like the angels in heaven.
But regarding the fact that the dead will come back to life, haven’t you read Moses’s book? In the part about the burning bush, God tells Moses,
‘I am [presently] the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
He isn’t the God of the dead—but the living. You guys are greatly mistaken.”
(28) Love God & Love Others
A Bible scholar heard their conversation and saw how good Jesus’s argument was, so he came over and asked,
“Which one of God’s instructions is most important?”
Jesus answered,
“The most important one is this:
‘Listen, Israel! Our God, the Ruler, is one Ruler, and you should love Him with your entire heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ (Deuteronomy 6:4–5)
The second most important one is this:
‘You should love other people the same way you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18)
There aren’t any instructions more important than those two.”
Then the Bible scholar said,
“You’re right about that, Teacher.
You’re right to say that God is One* and that no one else exists besides Him (Deuteronomy 4:35). And You’re right to tell us to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). And You’re right to tell us to love those around us the same way we love ourselves.
All those things are much more important than presenting burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw how sensible the man responded, He told him,
“You aren’t far from God’s empire.”
After that, no one else dared to ask Him any more questions.
(35) The Chosen One Surpasses David
Then Jesus started talking about a topic He would bring up in churches:
“Why do Bible scholars say that the Chosen One is David’s son? After all, David was full of the Different Spirit when he said,
‘The Ruler [God] told my Ruler [the Chosen One] to sit at His right hand until He brought His enemies under His feet.’ —Psalm 110:1
“If David refers to the Chosen One as ‘Ruler,’ then how can He be his son?”
The large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.
(38) Watch Out for Prideful Church Leaders
While Jesus was teaching, He said,
“Watch out for the Bible scholars who enjoy walking around in their special outfits and receiving respectful greetings in public. They enjoy having the best seat in church and being honored at banquets. Yet they gobble up widows’ houses and say long prayers just look good. They’ll receive a heavier sentence at their trial.”
(41) Impoverished Widow Out-Gives the Rich
Then Jesus sat down in front of the church’s collection box, as lots of rich people were putting in large donations. But then a poor widow came and put in two tiny coins that amount to one cent. Jesus called His apprentices over and told them,
“I assure you that this poor widow put in more than all the other people who donated. They all put something in out of their wealth, but she she’s so poor that she put in everything she owned—everything she had to live on.”
*Give to Caesar whatever is made in his image (coins), and give to God whatever is made in His image (yourself).
