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Luke
20
:
1
One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard and telling them the Good News. The chief priests, scribes, and leaders came up to him.
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
2
They asked him, "Tell us, what gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?"
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Luke
20
:
3
Jesus answered them, "I, too, have a question for you. Tell me,
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Luke
20
:
4
did John's right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?"
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Luke
20
:
5
They talked about this among themselves. They said, "If we say, 'from heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'
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Luke
20
:
6
But if we say, 'from humans,' everyone will stone us to death. They're convinced that John was a prophet."
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Luke
20
:
7
So they answered that they didn't know who gave John the right to baptize.
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Luke
20
:
8
Jesus told them, "Then I won't tell you why I have the right to do these things."
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Luke
20
:
9
Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to the people: "A man planted a vineyard, leased it to vineyard workers, and went on a long trip.
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
10
"At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to obtain from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. But the workers beat the servant and sent him back with nothing.
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
11
So he sent a different servant. The workers beat him, treated him shamefully, and sent him back with nothing.
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Luke
20
:
12
Then he sent a third servant. But they injured this one and threw him out [of the vineyard].
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Luke
20
:
13
"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I'll send my son, whom I love. They'll probably respect him.'
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Luke
20
:
14
"When the workers saw him, they talked it over among themselves. They said, 'This is the heir. Let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.'
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Luke
20
:
15
So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
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Luke
20
:
16
He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That's unthinkable!"
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Luke
20
:
17
Then Jesus looked straight at them and asked, "What, then, does this Scripture verse mean: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'?
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Luke
20
:
18
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken. If that stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person."
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Luke
20
:
19
The scribes and the chief priests wanted to arrest him right there, but they were afraid of the people. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them.
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Luke
20
:
20
So they watched for an opportunity to send out some spies. The spies were to act like sincere religious people. They wanted to catch him saying the wrong thing so that they could hand him over to the governor.
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Luke
20
:
21
They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're right in what you say and teach. Besides, you don't play favorites. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully.
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Luke
20
:
22
Is it right for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?"
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Luke
20
:
23
He saw through their scheme, so he said to them,
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Luke
20
:
24
"Show me a coin. Whose face and name is this?" They answered, "The emperor's."
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Luke
20
:
25
He said to them, "Well, then give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God."
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Luke
20
:
26
They couldn't make him say anything wrong in front of the people. His answer surprised them, so they said no more.
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Luke
20
:
27
Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him,
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Luke
20
:
28
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.'
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Luke
20
:
29
There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children.
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Luke
20
:
30
Then the second brother married the widow,
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Luke
20
:
31
and so did the third. In the same way all seven brothers married the widow, died, and left no children.
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Luke
20
:
33
Now, when the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her."
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Luke
20
:
34
Jesus said to them, "In this world people get married.
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Luke
20
:
35
But people who are considered worthy to come back to life and live in the next world will neither marry
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Luke
20
:
36
nor die anymore. They are the same as the angels. They are God's children who have come back to life.
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Luke
20
:
37
"Even Moses showed in the passage about the bush that the dead come back to life. He says that the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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Luke
20
:
38
He's not the God of the dead but of the living. In God's sight all people are living."
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Luke
20
:
39
Some scribes responded, "Teacher, that was well said."
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Luke
20
:
40
From that time on, no one dared to ask him another question.
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Luke
20
:
41
Jesus said to them, "How can people say that the Messiah is David's son?
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Luke
20
:
42
David says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Take the highest position in heaven
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
43
until I make your enemies your footstool."'
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Luke
20
:
44
David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?"
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Luke
20
:
45
While all the people were listening, Jesus said to the disciples,
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
46
"Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, to have the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at dinners.
(GWT)
Luke
20
:
47
They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The scribes will receive the most severe punishment."