Chapter 12

1Jesus began telling them a story with a deeper meaning: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to farmers and went away.

2At harvest time, he sent a servant to collect his share of the vineyard’s fruit from the farmers.

3But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

4The owner sent them another servant. They struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.

5Then he sent another servant, and they killed him. He sent many others as well; they beat some and killed others.

6He had one person left: his dearly loved son. He sent him last, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

7But the farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

8So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard.

9What will the vineyard’s owner do? He will come, kill those farmers, and give the vineyard to others.

10Haven’t you read these words in the Jewish Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, the stone given the most important place.

11God has done this, and it is wonderful to see’?”

12The leaders realized that Jesus had told this story against them, so they wanted to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

13Then the leaders sent Jesus some Pharisees, members of a Jewish religious movement, along with some supporters of Herod’s government. They wanted to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against him.

14They came and said, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not seek anyone’s approval. You do not favor people because of their status. Instead, you truthfully teach how God wants people to live. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, the Roman emperor, or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

15Jesus knew they were only pretending to be sincere, so he said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius, a Roman silver coin, so I can see it.”

16They brought him one. Jesus asked, “Whose portrait is this, and whose name is written on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.”

17Jesus told them, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.

18Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. They belonged to a Jewish religious group that taught that the dead would not rise to life. They asked him,

19“Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man should marry his brother’s widow and have a child to continue his dead brother’s family line.

20There were seven brothers. The first married a woman but died without leaving any children.

21The second brother married her and also died without leaving a child. The third did the same.

22None of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman also died.

23When the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven had been married to her.”

24Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you understand neither the Scriptures nor God’s power.

25When people rise from the dead, they do not marry, and no one is given to anyone else in marriage. Instead, they are like the angels in heaven.

26As for the dead rising to life, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the account about the bush, how God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

27God is not God of dead people but of living people. You are badly mistaken.”

28An expert in the Jewish Scriptures came near and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus had answered well, he asked, “Which command is the most important of all?”

29Jesus answered, “The most important is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one.

30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

31Jesus continued, “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other command is greater than these.”

32The Scripture expert replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth: God is one, and there is no other besides him.

33Loving God with all your heart, all your understanding, and all your strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself, is more important than every animal burned whole as an offering and every other sacrifice.”

34Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely and told him, “You are not far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

35While teaching in the temple, Jesus asked, “How can the Scripture experts say that the Messiah, God’s promised ruler, is David’s son?

36David himself, guided by the Holy Spirit, said, ‘God said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, in the place of honor, until I put your enemies beneath your feet.”’

37David himself calls the Messiah ‘lord,’ so how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus gladly.

38As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the Scripture experts who like to walk around in long robes and receive respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

39They want the most honored seats in the synagogues, the Jewish meeting places, and the places of honor at dinners.

40They exploit widows and take their homes, while putting on a show with long prayers. They will receive a more severe judgment.”

41Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury and watched the crowd put copper coins into it. Many rich people put in large amounts.

42Then a poor widow came and put in two tiny copper coins called lepta. Together they were worth one small Roman coin called a quadrans.

43Jesus called his followers over and said, “The truth is, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the other contributors.

44They all gave from what they had left over. But in her poverty, she gave everything she had—everything she had to live on.”