Luke 19:45-48
Jesus Clears Out the Temple
Then Jesus entered the temple courtyard. He began to drive out those who were selling there. He told them, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be a house where people can pray.’ (Isaiah 56:7) But you have made it a ‘den for robbers.’ ” (Jeremiah 7:11)
Every day Jesus was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests and the teachers of the law were trying to kill him. So were the leaders among the people. But they couldn’t find any way to do it. All the people were paying close attention to his words.
Luke 20:1-26
The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned
One day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courtyard. He was announcing the good news to them. The chief priests and the teachers of the law came up to him. The elders came with them. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they all said. “Who gave you this authority?”
Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, was John’s baptism from heaven? Or did it come from people?”
They talked to one another about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will throw stones at us and kill us. They believe that John was a prophet.”
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know where John’s baptism came from.”
Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.”
The Story of the Renters
Jesus went on to tell the people a story. “A man planted a vineyard,” he said. “He rented it out to some farmers. Then he went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a slave to the renters. They were supposed to give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the renters beat the slave. Then they sent him away with nothing. So the man sent another slave. They beat that one and treated him badly. They also sent him away with nothing. The man sent a third slave. The renters wounded him and threw him out.
“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I have a son, and I love him. I will send him. Maybe they will respect him.’
“But when the renters saw the son, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard. And they killed him.
“What will the owner of the vineyard do to the renters? He will come and kill them. He will give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “We hope this never happens!”
Jesus looked right at them and said, “Here is something I want you to explain the meaning of. It is written,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.’ (Psalm 118:22)
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Jesus at once. They knew he had told that story against them. But they were afraid of the people.
Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?
The religious leaders sent spies to keep a close watch on Jesus. The spies pretended to be sincere. They hoped they could trap Jesus with something he would say. Then they could hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right. We know you don’t favor one person over another. You teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Jesus saw they were trying to trick him. So he said to them, “Show me a silver coin. Whose picture and words are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”
They were not able to trap him with what he had said there in front of all the people. Amazed by his answer, they became silent.
