The Parable of the Tenants
1 For ver. 1-12, see Matt. 21:33-46;Luke 20:9-19And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted Ps. 80:8;Isa. 5:1;Matt. 21:28a vineyard Isa. 5:2and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and Song 8:11,12leased it to tenants and ch. 13:34;Matt. 25:14,15went into another country.2 When the season came, he sent a servant12:2 Or bondservant; also verse 4to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.3 Matt. 5:12;22:6;23:34,37;[2 Chr. 24:19;36:15,16;Neh. 9:26;Jer. 37:15;38:6;Acts 7:52;2 Cor. 11:24-26;1 Thess. 2:15;Heb. 11:36,37]And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.4 [See ver. 3above] Again Matt. 22:4he sent to them another servant, and [Acts 14:19] they struck him on the head and Acts 5:41(Gk.)treated him shamefully.5 [See ver. 3above]And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.6 He had still one other, See Matt. 3:17a beloved son. [Heb. 1:1]Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’7 But those tenants said to one another, Heb. 1:2;[John 1:11;Rom. 8:17] ‘This is the heir. Come, [1 Kgs. 21:19]let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’8 And they took him and killed him and Heb. 13:12threw him out of the vineyard.9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? [Luke 19:27] He will [Matt. 24:50;25:19] come and destroy the tenants and Matt. 21:43;Acts 13:46;18:6;28:28;[Matt. 8:11,12]give the vineyard to others.10 See Matt. 21:16Have you not read Luke 4:21;Acts 8:35this Scripture:
Acts 4:11;1 Pet. 2:7;Cited from Ps. 118:22,23"‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; 12:10 Greek the head of the corner
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
12 And ch. 11:18;Luke 19:47,48;John 7:25,30,44;[Matt. 26:4] they were seeking to arrest him ch. 11:32but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they Matt. 22:22left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 For ver. 13-27, see Matt. 22:15-32;Luke 20:20-38And they sent to him some of ch. 3:6;[ch. 8:15] the Pharisees and some of ch. 3:6;[ch. 8:15] the Herodians, to Luke 11:54trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, [John 3:2] we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For See Acts 10:34you are not swayed by appearances,12:14 Greek you do not look at people’s faces but truly teach Acts 18:25,26;[Acts 13:10] the way of God. Is it lawful to pay Matt. 17:25taxes to Luke 2:1;3:1Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" 15 But, knowing Matt. 23:28;Luke 12:1their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why See John 8:6put me to the test? Bring me See Matt. 18:28a denarius12:15 A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborerand let me look at it."16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar’s." 17 Jesus said to them, Rom. 13:7"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." And they marveled at him.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
18 And Matt. 3:7;16:1;22:34;Acts 4:1;5:17;23:6Sadducees came to him, Acts 23:8;[Acts 4:2]who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that [Deut. 25:5]if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man12:19 Greek his brother must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 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, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because John 20:9you know neither the Scriptures nor 1 Cor. 6:14the power of God?25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither Matt. 24:38;Luke 17:27marry nor Matt. 24:38;Luke 17:27are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.26 And as for the dead being raised, See Matt. 21:16have you not read in [Luke 3:4;20:42;Acts 1:20;7:42] the book of Moses, in Ex. 3:1-4,17the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, Acts 7:32;Cited from Ex. 3:6‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong."
The Great Commandment
28 For ver. 28-34, see Matt. 22:34-40,46;[Luke 10:25-28]And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, Luke 10:27;Cited from Deut. 6:4,5‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, Rom. 3:30;1 Cor. 8:4,6;Gal. 3:20;Eph. 4:6;1 Tim. 1:17;2:5;James 2:19;4:12;Jude 25;[Matt. 19:17;23:9]the Lord is one.30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’31 [1 John 4:21] The second is this: Cited from Lev. 19:18;See Matt. 19:19‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment [Matt. 23:23]greater than these."32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that [See ver. 29above] he is one, and Cited from Deut. 4:35(Gk.)there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all Deut. 4:6;Luke 2:47;Col. 1:9;2:2the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, 1 Sam. 15:22;Hos. 6:6;Mic. 6:6-8;Matt. 9:13;12:7is much more than all Ps. 40:6;Heb. 10:6,8whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."Luke 20:40And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
35 For ver. 35-37, see Matt. 22:41-45;Luke 20:41-44And as See Matt. 26:55Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that See Matt. 1:1,17the Christ is the son of David?36 David himself, [Luke 10:21;1 Cor. 12:3] in the Holy Spirit, declared,
Acts 2:34,35;Heb. 1:13;Cited from Ps. 110:1;[1 Cor. 15:25;Heb. 10:13] "‘The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies [Acts 7:49]under your feet."’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So [Rom. 1:3,4] how is he his son?" And the great throng ch. 6:20heard him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 For ver. 38, 39, see Matt. 23:1,2,5-7;Luke 20:45,46;[Luke 11:43]And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and Luke 14:7,8the places of honor at feasts,40 [Luke 11:39;16:14] who devour widows’ houses and [Matt. 6:5,7]for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
The Widow’s Offering
41 For ver. 41-44, see Luke 21:1-4And he sat down opposite Matt. 27:6;John 8:20the treasury and watched the people 2 Kgs. 12:9putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two Luke 12:59small copper coins, which make a penny.12:42 Greek two lepta, which make a kodrantes; a kodrantes (Latin quadrans) was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, [2 Cor. 8:2,12]this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her Phil. 4:11poverty has put in everything she had, all Luke 8:43she had to live on."