Luke 20
Jesus’ Authority Questioned
1
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the
people in the temple and preached the gospel, that
the chief priests and the scribes, together with the
elders, confronted Him
2 and
spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are
You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this
authority?” 3
But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you
one thing, and answer Me:
4 The
baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
5 And
they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say,
‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not
believe him?’ 6
But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us,
for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
7 So they
answered that they did not know where it was
from.
8 And
Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what
authority I do these things.”The Parable of
the Wicked Vinedressers
9 Then He
began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man
planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went
into a far country for a long time.
10 Now at
vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that
they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.
But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away
empty-handed.
11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat
him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him
away empty-handed.
12 And
again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and
cast him out.
13 “Then
the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will
send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him
when they see him.’
14 But
when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among
themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill
him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
15 So
they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to
them? 16
He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the
vineyard to others.”
And when they heard it they said, “Certainly
not!”
17 Then
He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is
written:
‘ The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’?
18
Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on
whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
19 And
the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought
to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they
knew He had spoken this parable against them.
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
20 So they watched Him,
and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they
might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the
power and the authority of the governor.
21 Then
they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say
and teach rightly, and You do not show personal
favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:
22 Is it
lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But He
perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do
you test Me? 24
Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it
have?”
They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”
25 And He
said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things
that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are
God’s.”
26 But
they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of
the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept
silent.The Sadducees: What About the
Resurrection?
27
Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a
resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,
28
saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a
man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without
children, his brother should take his wife and raise up
offspring for his brother.
29 Now
there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife,
and died without children.
30 And
the second took her as wife, and he died childless.
31 Then
the third took her, and in like manner the seven also;
and they left no children, and died.
32 Last
of all the woman died also.
33
Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she
become? For all seven had her as wife.”
34 Jesus
answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry
and are given in marriage.
35 But
those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the
resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given
in marriage; 36
nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the
angels and are sons of God, being sons of the
resurrection.
37 But even Moses showed in the burning
bush passage that the dead are raised, when he
called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
38 For He
is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all
live to Him.”
39 Then
some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You
have spoken well.”
40 But
after that they dared not question Him anymore.
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
41
And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ
is the Son of David?
42 Now
David himself said in the Book of Psalms:
‘ The LORD said to my Lord,
“ Sit at My right hand,
43
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’
44
Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then
his Son?”
Beware of the Scribes
45
Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His
disciples, 46
“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long
robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best
seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
47 who
devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
