20 4 From whence John’s Baptism was. 9 The wickedness of the Priests is noted by the parable of the vineyard and the husbandmen. 21 To give tribute to Caesar. 27 He convinceth the Sadducees denying the resurrection. 41 How Christ is the son of David.

And (A)[a]it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the Temple, and preached the Gospel, the high Priests and the Scribes came upon him, with the Elders,

And spake unto him, saying, Tell us by what authority thou doest these things, or who is he that hath given thee this authority?

And he answered, and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing: tell me therefore:

The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

And they reasoned within themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then believed ye him not?

But if we shall say, Of men, all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a Prophet.

Therefore they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.

Then Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you, by what authority I do these things.

(B)[b]Then began he to speak to the people this parable, A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen: and went into a strange country, for a great time.

10 And at the time convenient he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen did beat him, and sent him away empty.

11 Again he sent yet another servant: and they did beat him, and foul entreated him, and sent him away empty.

12 Moreover he sent the third, and him they wounded, and cast out.

13 Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be that they will do reverence when they see him.

14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned with 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. What shall the Lord of the vineyard therefore do unto them?

16 He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give out his vineyard to others. But when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

17 ¶ And he beheld them, and said, What meaneth this then that is written, (C)The stone that the builders refused, that is made the head of the corner?

18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone, shall be broken: and on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

19 Then the high Priests, and the Scribes the same hour went about to lay hands on him (but they feared the people) for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

20 (D)[c]And they [d]watched him, and sent forth [e]spies, which should feign themselves just men [f]to take him in his talk, and to deliver him unto the power and [g]authority of the governor.

21 And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest, and teachest right, neither dost thou accept [h]any man’s person, but teachest the way of God truly.

22 Is it lawful for us to give Caesar tribute or no?

23 But he perceived their [i]craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?

24 Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered, and said, Caesars.

25 Then he said unto them, (E)Give then unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and to God those which are God’s.

26 And they could not reprove his saying before the people: but they marveled at his answer, and held their peace.

27 (F)[j]Then came to him certain of the Sadducees (which deny that there is any resurrection) and they asked him,

28 Saying, Master, (G)Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

29 Now there were seven brethren, and the first took a wife, and he died without children.

30 And the second took the wife, and he died childless.

31 Then the third took her: and so likewise the seven died, and left no children.

32 And last of all, the woman died also.

33 Therefore at the resurrection, whose wife of them shall she be? for seven had her to wife.

34 Then Jesus answered, and said unto them, The [k]children of this world marry wives, and are married.

35 But they which shall be counted worthy to enjoy that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry wives, neither are married.

36 For they can die no more, forasmuch as they are equal unto the Angels, and are the sons of God, since they are the [l]children of the resurrection.

37 And that the dead shall rise again, even (H)Moses showed it besides the bush, when he said, The Lord is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

38 For he is not the God of the dead, but of them which live: for all [m]live unto him.

39 Then certain of the Scribes answered, and said, Master, thou hast well said.

40 And after that, durst they not ask him anything at all.

41 (I)[n]Then said he unto them, How say they that Christ is David’s son?

42 And David himself saith in the book of the Psalms, (J)The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand,

43 Till I shall make thine enemies thy footstool.

44 Seeing David called him Lord, how is he then his son?

45 ¶ Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,

46 (K)[o]Beware of the Scribes, which willingly go in long robes, and love salutations in the markets, and the highest seats in the assemblies, and the chief rooms at feasts:

47 Which devour widow’s [p]houses, and in show make long prayers: These shall receive greater damnation.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:1 The Pharisees being overcome with the truth of Christ’s doctrine, move a question about his outward calling, and are overcome by the witness of their own conscience.
  2. Luke 20:9 It is no new thing to have them the chiefest enemies of Christ and his servants, which are conversant in the very Sanctuary of God’s holy place: but at length they shall not escape unpunished.
  3. Luke 20:20 The last refuge that false prophets have to destroy the true Prophets, is to lay sedition, and treason to their charge.
  4. Luke 20:20 A fit time to take him in.
  5. Luke 20:20 Whom they had deceitfully hired.
  6. Luke 20:20 That they might take some hold in his talk and thereby forge some false accusation against him.
  7. Luke 20:20 To put him to death.
  8. Luke 20:21 Thou are not moved by favor of any: and by person he meaneth outward circumstances, which if a man have respect unto, he will not judge alike of them that are indeed alike.
  9. Luke 20:23 Craftiness is a certain diligence and witness to do evil, gotten by much use and great practice in matters.
  10. Luke 20:27 The resurrection of the flesh is avouched against the Sadducees.
  11. Luke 20:34 They are called here in this place, the children of this world, which live in this world: and not they, that wholly are given to the world, as before Luke 16:8, which are contrary to the children of light.
  12. Luke 20:36 That is, men partakers of the resurrection, for as we say truly, that they shall live indeed, which shall enjoy everlasting bliss, so do they rise indeed, which rise to life, though if this word resurrection, be taken generally, it belongeth also to the wicked which shall rise to condemnation, which is not properly life, but death.
  13. Luke 20:38 That is, before him: a notable saying, the godly do not die, though they die here on earth.
  14. Luke 20:41 Christ is so the son of David according to the flesh, that he is also his Lord (because he is the everlasting son of God) according to the spirit.
  15. Luke 20:46 We must avoid the example of the ambitious and covetous pastors.
  16. Luke 20:47 This is spoken by the figure Metonymy, houses, for the goods and substance.

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts(B) and proclaiming the good news,(C) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”(D)

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism(E)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people(F) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”(G)

So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants(H)

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,(I) rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.(J) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;(K) perhaps they will respect him.’

14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants(L) and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’[a]?(M)

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”(N)

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him(O) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.(P)

Paying Taxes to Caesar(Q)

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said,(R) so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.(S) 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.(T) 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,(U) and to God what is God’s.”

26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

The Resurrection and Marriage(V)

27 Some of the Sadducees,(W) who say there is no resurrection,(X) came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.(Y) 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come(Z) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,(AA) since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[b](AB) 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.(AC)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?(AD)

41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?(AE) 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’[c](AF)

44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.(AG) 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:17 Psalm 118:22
  2. Luke 20:37 Exodus 3:6
  3. Luke 20:43 Psalm 110:1