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LU KE 2 0
38
“Blessings on the King who comes in the
name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest
heaven!”*
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd
said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying
things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones
along the road would burst into cheers!”
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw
the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish
today that you of all people would understand
the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace
is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and
encircle you and close in on you from every side.
44 They will crush you into the ground, and your
children with you. Your enemies will not leave a
single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.*”
Jesus Clears the Temple
45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to
drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’
but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”*
47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple,
but the leading priests, the teachers of religious
law, and the other leaders of the people began
planning how to kill him. 48 But they could
think of nothing, because all the people hung
on every word he said.
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
One day as Jesus was teaching the
people and preaching the Good News
in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers
of religious law, and the elders came up to him.
2 They demanded, “By what authority are you
doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”
3 “Let me ask you a question first,” he replied.
4 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from
heaven, or was it merely human?”
5 They talked it over among themselves. “If
we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we
didn’t believe John. 6 But if we say it was merely
human, the people will stone us because they
are convinced John was a prophet.” 7 So they
finally replied that they didn’t know.
8 And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you
by what authority I do these things.”
20
Parable of the Evil Farmers
9 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told
them this story: “A man planted a vineyard,
leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At the
time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his
servants to collect his share of the crop. But the
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farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and
sent him back empty-handed. 11 So the owner
sent another servant, but they also insulted
him, beat him up, and sent him away emptyhanded. 12 A third man was sent, and they
wounded him and chased him away.
13 “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself.
‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they
will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son,
they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir
to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate
for ourselves!’ 15 So they dragged him out of the
vineyard and murdered him.
“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. 16 “I’ll tell
you—he will come and kill those farmers and
lease the vineyard to others.”
“How terrible that such a thing should ever
happen,” his listeners protested.
17 Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what
does this Scripture mean?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’*
18 Everyone who stumbles over that stone will
be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone
it falls on.”
19 The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately
because they realized he was telling the story
against them—they were the wicked farmers.
But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.
Taxes for Caesar
20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders
sent spies pretending to be honest men. They
tried to get Jesus to say something that could
be reported to the Roman governor so he would
arrest Jesus. 21 “Teacher,” they said, “we know
that you speak and teach what is right and are
not influenced by what others think. You teach
the way of God truthfully. 22 Now tell us—is it
right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their trickery and said,
24 “Show me a Roman coin.* Whose picture and
title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what
belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs
to God.”
26 So they failed to trap him by what he said in
front of the people. Instead, they were amazed
by his answer, and they became silent.
Discussion about Resurrection
27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no
19:38 Pss 118:26; 148:1. 19:44 Greek did not recognize the
time of your visitation, a reference to the Messiah’s coming.
19:46 Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. 20:17 Ps 118:22. 20:24 Greek a
denarius.