Jesus again returns to Jerusalem where He is confronted by the Temple leadership who challenge His authority. Jesus uses the time to teach extensively, using parables and other forms. Jesus shares the parable of the vineyard and the parable of the wedding banquet and other moving teachings. Infuriated, the Pharisees—who opposed Rome and its intrusion on the Jewish way of life—and the Herodians, supporters of Herod the Great, joined forces. Even the Sadducees—religious liberals who denied a resurrection, angels, or spirits—attempted to discredit Jesus.

READING: For further study, read Matthew 21:23-46 and Mark 12 in your favorite translation or below.

Matthew 21:23-46
The Authority of Jesus
After this Jesus went into the temple courts and taught the people. The leading priests and Jewish elders approached him and interrupted him and asked, “By what power do you do these things, and who granted you the authority to teach here?”

Jesus answered them, “I too have a question to ask you. If you can answer this question, then I will tell you by what power I do these things. Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from people?”

They stepped away and debated among themselves, saying, “How should we answer this? If we say from heaven, he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you respond to John and believe what he said?’ But if we deny that God gave John his authority, we’ll be mobbed by the people, for they’re convinced that John was God’s prophet.”

So they finally answered, “We don’t know.”

“Then neither will I tell you from where my power comes to do these things!” he replied.

The Parable of Two Sons
Jesus said to his critics, “Tell me what you think of this parable:

“There once was a man with two sons. The father came to the first and said, ‘Son, I want you to go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son replied, ‘I’d rather not.’ But afterward, he deeply regretted what he said to his father, changed his mind, and decided to go to the vineyard. The father approached the second son and said the same thing to him. The son replied, ‘Father, I will go and do as you said.’ But he never did—he didn’t go to the vineyard. Tell me now, which of these two sons did the will of his father?”

They answered him, “The first one.”

Jesus said, “You’re right. For many sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom realm ahead of you! John came to show you the path of righteousness, yet the despised and outcasts believed in him, but you did not. When you saw them turn, you neither repented of your ways nor believed his words.”

The Parable of the Rejected Son
“Pay close attention to this parable,” Jesus said. “There once was an honorable man who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it, dug out a pit for pressing the grapes, and erected a watchtower. Afterward he leased the land to tenant farmers and then went a distance away. At harvest time he sent his servants to the tenants to collect the portion that was due him as the lord of the vineyard. But the tenants seized his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. So the landowner sent other servants, even more than at first, but they were mistreated the same way. Finally, he sent his own son to them, and he said to himself, ‘Perhaps with my own son standing before them they will be ashamed of what they’ve done.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and then we can have his inheritance!’ So they seized him, took him outside the vineyard, and murdered him.

“You tell me, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what do you think he will do to those tenants?”

They answered, “He will bring a horrible death to those who did this evil and he will completely destroy them. Then he’ll lease his vineyard to different tenants who will be faithful to give him the portion he deserves.”

Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read the Scripture that says:

The very stone the builder rejected as flawed
has now become the most important
cornerstone. This was the Lord’s plan—
isn’t it marvelous to behold?

“This is why I say to you that the kingdom realm of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will bear its fruit. The one who comes against this stone will be broken, but the one on whom it falls will be pulverized!”

When the leading priests and the Pharisees realized that the parable was referring to them, they were outraged and wanted to arrest him at once. But they were afraid of the reaction of the crowds, because the people considered him to be a prophet.

Mark 12
The Parable of the Tenants
Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “There once was a man who planted a vineyard and put a secure fence around it. He dug a pit for its winepress and erected a watch tower. Then he leased it to tenant-farmers and traveled abroad. When the time of harvest came, he sent one of his servants to the tenants to collect the landowners’ share of the harvest. But the tenants seized him and beat him and sent him back empty-handed. So the owner sent another servant to them. And that one they shamefully humiliated and beat over the head. So he sent another servant, and they brutally killed him. Many more servants were sent, and they were all severely beaten or killed. The owner had only one person left to send—his only son, whom he dearly loved. So he sent him to them, saying, ‘Surely they will restrain themselves and respect my son.’ But the tenants saw their chance and said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come! Let’s kill him, and then we’ll inherit it all!’ So they violently seized him, killed him, and threw his body over the fence! So what do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? He will come and put to death those tenants and give his vineyard to others. Haven’t you read what the psalmist said?

The stone the builders examined and rejected
has become the cornerstone,
the most important stone of all?
This was the Lord’s plan—
and he is wonderful for our eyes to behold!”

Now, the chief priests, religious scholars, and leaders realized that Jesus’ parable was aimed at them. They had hoped to arrest him then and there, but they feared the reaction of the crowd, so they left him alone and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar
Then they sent a delegation of Pharisees, together with some staunch supporters of Herod, to entrap Jesus with his own words. So they approached him and said, “Teacher, we know that you’re an honest man of integrity and you teach us the truth of God’s ways. We can clearly see that you’re not one who speaks only to win the people’s favor, because you speak the truth without regard to the consequences. So tell us, then, what you think. Is it proper for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me? Show me one of the Roman coins.” They brought him a silver coin used to pay the tax.

“Now, tell me,” Jesus said, “whose head is on this coin and whose inscription is stamped on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Jesus said, “Precisely. The coin bears the image of the emperor Caesar, so you should pay the emperor his portion. But because you bear the image of God, you must give to God all that belongs to him.” And they were utterly stunned by Jesus’ words.

A Question about Marriage
Some of the Sadducees, a religious group that denied there was a resurrection of the dead, came to ask Jesus this question: “Teacher, the law of Moses teaches that if a man dies before he has children, his brother should marry the widow and raise up children for his brother’s family line. Now, there was a family with seven brothers. The oldest got married but soon died, and he had no children. The second brother married his oldest brother’s widow, and he also died without any children, and the third also. This repeated down to the seventh brother, none of whom had children. Finally, the woman died. So here’s our dilemma: Which of the seven brothers will be the woman’s husband when she’s resurrected from the dead, since they all were once married to her?”

Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken because your hearts are not filled with the revelation of the Scriptures or the power of God. For when they rise from the dead, men and women will not marry, just like the angels of heaven don’t marry. Now, concerning the resurrection, haven’t you read in the Torah what God said to Moses at the burning bush? ‘I AM the living God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not God of the dead, but of the living, and you are all badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment
Now a certain religious scholar overheard them debating. When he saw how beautifully Jesus answered all their questions, he posed one of his own, and asked him, “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest of all?”

Jesus answered him, “The most important of all the commandments is this: ‘The Lord Yahweh, our God, is one!’ You are to love the Lord Yahweh, your God, with a passionate heart, from the depths of your soul, with your every thought, and with all your strength. This is the great and supreme commandment. And the second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself.’ You will never find a greater commandment than these.”

The religious scholar replied, “Yes, that’s true, Teacher. You spoke beautifully when you said that God is one, and there is no one else besides him. And there is something more important to God than all the sacrifices and burnt offerings: it’s the commandment to constantly love God with every passion of your heart, with your every thought, and with all your strength—and to love your neighbor in the same way as you love yourself.”

When Jesus noticed how thoughtfully and sincerely the man answered, he said to him, “You’re not far from the reality of God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to question him again.

Jesus, Son of David—Lord of David
While Jesus was teaching in the courts of the temple, he posed a question to those listening: “Why do the religious scholars say that the Messiah is David’s son? Yet it was David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who sang:

Yahweh said to my Lord,
‘Sit near me in the place of authority
until I subdue all your enemies under Your feet.’
Since David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Jesus Warns Against the Religious Scholars
Jesus also taught the people, “Beware of the religious scholars. They love to parade around in their clergy robes and be greeted with respect on the street. They crave to be made the leaders of synagogue councils, and they push their way to the head table at banquets. For appearance’s sake, they will pray long religious prayers at the homes of widows for an offering, cheating them out of their very livelihood. Beware of them all, for they will one day be stripped of honor, and the judgment they receive will be severe.”

The Widow’s Offering
Then he sat down near the offering box, watching all the people dropping in their coins. Many of the rich would put in very large sums, but a destitute widow walked up and dropped in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. Jesus called his disciples to gather around and then said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on, which was everything she had.”