Open English Translation LUKE Chapter 20

20 One day when Yeshua was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the good message, the chief priests and religious teachers and the local elders came to him 2 and demanded, “Tell us what authority you have to do these things and who gave it to you!”

3 “Well, I’ll also ask you all a question,” he responded. 4 “When Yohan immersed people, was he instructed from heaven or was it just some human person’s idea?”

5 They discussed this among themselves, reasoning, “If we say ‘from heaven’, then he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe that God sent him. 6 But if we say ‘from humans’, then all the people will kill us with rocks, because they believe that Yohan was a prophet.” 7 So they answered, “We don’t know where his teaching was from.”

8 “Well, then,” Yeshua told them, “nor will I tell you where I get the authority to do these things.”

9 [ref]Then Yeshua started telling this parable to the people: “Once a man planted a vineyard and rented it out to tenant farmers before heading off on his trips. 10 At the appropriate time of the year, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect his percentage of the profits, but they beat up the slave and sent him off empty-handed. 11 So he sent another slave, but they also beat that one and dishonoured him, then sent him off empty-handed. 12 So the man sent a third slave, and they also wounded this one and threw him out the gate. 13 So the master of the vineyard asked himself, ‘What will I do now? Ah, I’ll send my dear son—perhaps they’ll be swayed by him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw the son, they reasoned among themselves, ‘This is the heir. If we kill him, then his inheritance will become ours.’ 15 So they threw him out the gate and killed him.

So then, what will the master of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will go to the vineyard and destroy those tenant farmers, and will lease the vineyard out to others.”

They people listening looked at Yeshua and said, “Surely that would never happen.”

17 [ref]But he looked them in the eyes and asked, “Then what is this statement that was written in the scriptures:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

that one became the most important stone.’

18 Everyone who falls onto that stone will be shattered, but whoever that stone falls on will be pulverised.”

19 Then because the religious teachers and the chief priests knew that Yeshua had used that parable to speak about them, they tried at the time to capture him, but couldn’t because they were afraid of the number of people around. 20 So after watching Yeshua closely, they sent agents who pretended to be genuine inquirers so that they could catch him out on some careless statement and then they could hand him over to the rule and authority of the Roman governor. 21 They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say what is right, and that you teach the truth about God’s way without being influenced by people. 22 So tell us, should we pay tax to the Roman emperor or not?”

23 But having observed their craftiness, he said to them, 24 “Show me a coin. Whose image and inscription is on it?”

“The emperor’s,” they replied. 25 “So then,” Yeshua continued, “Give the emperor what belongs to him, and what belongs to God, give to God.”

26 So they weren’t able to catch him out by making a treasonable statement in front of the people, in fact they were stunned by his answer and didn’t ask anything else.

27 [ref]Then some from the Sadducee sect came. They claim there’s no resurrection, and they asked Yeshua, 28 [ref]“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if anyone’s married brother should die childless, then the surviving brother should take in the widow so they can produce children in the deceased brother’s name. 29 Once there were seven brothers and the first one had a wife but died without having children. 30 Then the second brother 31 and the third took her, right through to the seventh, and without leaving any children, they all eventually died. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So when they’re resurrected, which brother will she be the wife of, because all seven had her as their wife?

34 Yeshua answered them, “This generation get engaged and married, 35 but in the next age, those who’re considered worthy to be brought back to life from the dead won’t marry or get engaged, 36 because they can’t die again, but rather are like the messengers and are God’s children, being children of the resurrection. 37 [ref]But about the dead being raised, Moses revealed it at the burning thorn bush when he called Yahweh the god of Abraham and of Isaac and of Yacob, 38 so God is not the god of the dead but of the living, because to him, everyone is living.”

39 “Teacher, you answered well,” some of the religious teachers affirmed, 40 and no one dared to ask him anything else after that.

41 Then Yeshua asked them, “How can the experts say that the messiah is a descendant of King David, 42 [ref]because David said in his songs:

‘The master said to my master,

Sit here on my right

43 until I cause your enemies to be defeated.’

44 So if David calls the messiah his master, how can he also be his descendant?”

45 While all the people were still listening, Yeshua told his followers, 46 “Watch out for the religious teachers who enjoy walking around in their robes and love the greetings they get in the marketplaces and the best seats in the meeting halls and the best places at the dinners 47 but they take advantage of widows’ homes and they make their prayers long to impress others. These people will receive a harsher judgement.”