1 THEN he began to speak to them in figures: "There was a man who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug for a wine-vat, and built a tower and let it out to grape-growers, and then went abroad.
2 At the proper season he sent a servant to the grape-growers to receive from them some of the fruits of the vineyard.
3 But they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent another servant to them, and him they beat over the head and insulted.
5 He sent another, and him they killed. He sent many others, some of whom were beaten and some killed.
6 He had still one, a beloved son. He sent him last to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
7 But those grape-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours.'
8 Then they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the grape-growers and will give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you never read this Scripture, 'The stone which the builders despised has become the chief stone of the corner;
11 this corner stone came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes'?"
12 They kept trying to seize him, but were afraid of the crowd. For they knew that he had meant the illustration for them. So they left him and went away.
13 Then they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to entrap him in his talk.
14 When they came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and are not afraid of any one; for you do not look at the social standing of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not?
15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?" But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin and let me see it."
16 They brought one. Then he said, "Whose head is this and whose inscription?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17 Jesus said to them, "Pay what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God." They were astonished at him.
18 Then there came to him some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him,
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote a law for us that if any man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but no child, the brother shall take the wife and raise up off-spring for his brother.
20 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died leaving no child,
21 then the second took her and died leaving no child, then the third likewise.
22 None of the seven left any child. Last of all the woman died also.
23 In the resurrection when they rise again whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
24 Jesus said to them, "Do you not err for the reason that you do not know either the Scriptures or the power of God?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.
26 And concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses in the passage about the Bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not a God of dead men, but of living men. You are much mistaken."
28 Then came one of the scribes, and, after listening to their discussion and knowing that he had answered them well, asked, "Which is the first commandment of all?"
29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength.'
31 This is the second, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
32 The scribe said to him, "Right, teacher; you have said truly that he is one and there is no other beside him,
33 and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as one's self is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 Jesus, seeing that he had answered with intelligence, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared question him further.
35 Then Jesus asked, while teaching in the Temple courts, "How do the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself, guided by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I put your enemies under your feet.'
37 David himself called him 'Lord'; how is he then his son?" A great crowd listened to him with delight.
38 In his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes and to have greetings in the market-places
39 and front seats in the synagogues and the best couches at banquets.
40 They eat up widows' houses and hypocritically make long prayers. These men will receive a severer condemnation."
41 Having seated himself across from the contribution box, he was watching how the crowd dropped money into the box. Many rich people were dropping in large gifts.
42 There came a poor widow and dropped in two mites, in value one penny.
43 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, "I tell you truly, this widow, poor as she is, has dropped in more than all the others who are dropping money into the contribution box.
44 For they all contributed out of their superfluity, but she out of her poverty dropped in all that she had \'97 the whole of what she had to live on."