The Question of Authority
One day Jesus was teaching people in the temple courtyard and telling them the good news. The chief priests, teachers of the law, and community elders approached him together. They demanded, "Tell us what gives you the right to do these things. Who gave you this authority?" Jesus answered them, "I have a question for you too. Answer me this: When John baptized people, was his authority from God, or was it just from human beings?" The religious leaders talked quietly among themselves, trying to figure out how to respond. They said to each other, "If we say his authority came from God, then Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. But if we say it came from people, the crowd will stone us to death, because they're all convinced that John was a true prophet." Finally they told Jesus, "We don't know where John's authority came from." Jesus replied, "Then I won't tell you what gives me the authority to do these things either."
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
Then Jesus began telling the people this story: "A man planted a vineyard and rented it to farmers to work the land. After that, he went away for a long time. When it was time to harvest the grapes, the owner sent one of his servants to collect the owner's portion of the crop from the tenant farmers. But the farmers beat up the servant and sent him back with nothing. So the owner sent a second servant. The farmers beat this one too, treated him terribly, and sent him away empty-handed just like the first. Then the owner sent a third servant, but the farmers wounded him badly and threw him off the property. The vineyard owner wondered what to do next. Finally he decided, 'I'll send my beloved son. Surely they will show respect to him.' But when the tenant farmers saw the son coming, they talked among themselves and said, 'This is the one who will inherit everything when the owner dies. If we kill him, then the vineyard will belong to us.' So they dragged him outside the vineyard and murdered him. Now what do you think the owner of the vineyard will do to those farmers? He will come back and kill every one of those tenants, then give the vineyard to other people to work." When the people heard this ending, they said, "God forbid that such a terrible thing should ever happen!" But Jesus looked straight at them and asked, "Then what does this Scripture mean: 'The stone that the builders threw away as worthless has become the most important stone of all'? Anyone who falls against this stone will be shattered into pieces, and anyone it falls on will be completely crushed." The religious teachers and chief priests realized immediately that Jesus had told this story about them. They wanted to arrest him right then and there, but they were afraid of what the people might do.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
The religious leaders kept watching Jesus carefully and sent secret agents to spy on him. These spies pretended to be honest seekers of truth, but they were actually trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong so they could turn him over to the Roman governor and his authorities. The spies approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, we know that you always speak and teach what is right. You don't favor anyone over others, but you teach God's way according to the truth. So tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not?" Jesus could see right through their trickery. He said to them, "Show me a Roman coin." When they brought him one, he asked, "Whose picture and name are stamped on this coin?" "The Emperor's," they replied. Then Jesus said to them, "Well then, give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and give God what belongs to God." They had tried to trap Jesus with their question, but they couldn't catch him in anything he said in front of all the people. They were completely amazed by his answer and had nothing more to say.
The Question about the Resurrection
Some religious leaders called Sadducees came to question Jesus. These were men who didn't believe that people could come back to life after death. They approached Jesus with what they thought was a clever trap. "Teacher," they said, "Moses gave us a law that says this: If a married man dies without having any children, his brother must marry the widow and have children to carry on the dead brother's family name." Then they told Jesus a story. "There were seven brothers. The first brother got married, but he died before he and his wife had any children. So the second brother married the widow, just as the law required. But he also died without children. Then the third brother married her, and he died too. This kept happening until all seven brothers had married the same woman and died, each one leaving no children behind. Finally, the woman herself died." The Sadducees looked at Jesus with satisfaction, thinking they had stumped him. "So here's our question: When people rise from the dead, whose wife will this woman be? After all, she was married to all seven brothers." Jesus looked at them and replied, "In this world, people get married and are given in marriage. But in the world to come—when people rise from the dead—things will be completely different. Those who are worthy to share in that future life won't marry at all. They won't need to, because they can never die again. They'll be like the angels, immortal and eternal. Since they're part of the resurrection, they're children of God himself." Jesus continued, "Even Moses showed that the dead do rise again. Remember the story about the burning bush? Moses called God 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Now think about this: God isn't the God of dead people—he's the God of living people. To him, all these men are still alive." When Jesus finished speaking, some of the religious teachers were impressed. "Teacher, that was an excellent answer!" they said. After that, none of them dared to ask Jesus any more tricky questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
Then Jesus spoke up and said, "How can people say that the Christ is David's son? David himself writes in the book of Psalms: 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies like a footstool under your feet.' So David calls him 'Lord.' How then can the Christ be David's son?"
Warning Against the Scribes
While all the people were listening, Jesus spoke to his disciples about the religious teachers. "Watch out for the scribes," he warned them. "They love to walk around wearing long, impressive robes that make them look important. They enjoy being greeted with respect in the marketplaces where everyone can see them. In the synagogues, they always want to sit in the most important seats, and at dinner parties, they insist on the places of honor where the most respected guests sit. "But these same men steal houses from widows who have no one to protect them. Then they cover up their greed by praying long, showy prayers in public to make people think they are holy. Because of this, their punishment will be far worse than others."