The Story of the Renters
1Jesus began to speak to the people using stories. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he went to another place. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the renters. He told the servant to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they grabbed the servant and beat him up. Then they sent him away with nothing. 4So the man sent another servant to the renters. They hit this one on the head and treated him badly. 5The man sent still another servant. The renters killed him. The man sent many others. The renters beat up some of them. They killed the others.
6“The man had one person left to send. It was his son, and he loved him. He sent him last of all. He said, ‘They will respect my son.’
7“But the renters said to each other, ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday. Come, let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ 8So they took him and killed him. They threw him out of the vineyard.
9“What will the owner of the vineyard do then? He will come and kill those renters. He will give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read what this part of Scripture says,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
11The Lord has done it.
It is wonderful in our eyes’?” (Psalm 118:22,23)
12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest Jesus. They knew he had told the story against them. But they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and went away.
Is It Right to Pay the Royal Tax to Caesar?
13Later the religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with his own words. 14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of honor. You don’t let other people tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me look at it.” 16They brought the coin. He asked them, “Whose picture is this? And whose words?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”
They were amazed at him.
Marriage When the Dead Rise
18The Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. They do not believe that people rise from the dead. 19“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us about a man who died and didn’t have any children. But he did leave a wife behind. That man’s brother must get married to the widow. He must provide children to carry on his dead brother’s name. 20There were seven brothers. The first one got married. He died without leaving any children. 21The second one got married to the widow. He also died and left no child. It was the same with the third one. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23When the dead rise, whose wife will she be? All seven of them were married to her.”
24Jesus replied, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures. And you do not know the power of God. 25When the dead rise, they won’t get married. And their parents won’t give them to be married. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26What about the dead rising? Haven’t you read in the Book of Moses the story of the burning bush? God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) 27He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. You have made a big mistake!”
The Most Important Commandment
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard the Sadducees arguing. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?”
29Jesus answered, “Here is the most important one. Moses said, ‘Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Deuteronomy 6:4,5) 31And here is the second one. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) There is no commandment more important than these.”
32“You have spoken well, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one. There is no other God but him. 33To love God with all your heart and mind and strength is very important. So is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, “You are not far from God’s kingdom.” From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard. He asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36The Holy Spirit spoke through David himself. David said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.” ’ (Psalm 110:1)
37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
The large crowd listened to Jesus with delight.
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
38As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in long robes. They like to be greeted with respect in the market. 39They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. They also love to have the places of honor at dinners. 40They take over the houses of widows. They say long prayers to show off. God will punish these men very much.”
The Widow’s Offering
41Jesus sat down across from the place where people put their temple offerings. He watched the crowd putting their money into the offering boxes. Many rich people threw large amounts into them. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins. They were worth only a few pennies.
43Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. That poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44They all gave a lot because they are rich. But she gave even though she is poor. She put in everything she had. That was all she had to live on.”
Fanizo la Alimi
1Kenaka Iye anayamba kuyankhula nawo mʼmafanizo: “Munthu wina analima munda wamphesa. Anamanga mpanda mozungulira, nakumba dzenje lofinyiramo mphesa ndipo anamanga nsanja. Anawubwereketsa munda wamphesawo kwa alimi ena napita ku dziko lina. 2Pa nthawi yokolola anatumiza wantchito kwa alimiwo kuti akatenge kuchokera kwa iwo zina mwa zipatso za munda wamphesa. 3Koma iwo anamugwira, namumenya ndi kumupirikitsa wopanda kanthu. 4Kenaka anatumizanso wantchito wina kwa iwo. Iwo anamumenya munthuyo pamutu ndipo anamuzunza mochititsa manyazi. 5Anatumizanso wina, ndipo iwo anamupha. Anatumizanso ena ambiri; ena a iwo anawamenya, ena anawapha.
6“Munthu uja anatsala ndi mwana mmodzi, wamwamuna amene amamukonda. Pomaliza anamutumiza mwanayo nati, ‘Adzamuchitira ulemu mwana wanga.’
7“Koma alimi aja anati kwa wina ndi mnzake, ‘Uyu ndi mlowamʼmalo. Tiyeni timuphe, ndipo cholowacho chidzakhala chathu.’ 8Ndipo anamutenga ndi kumupha, ndipo anamuponya kunja kwa munda wamphesa.
9“Kodi nanga mwini munda wamphesa adzachita chiyani? Iye adzabwera ndi kupha alimiwo nadzapereka munda wamphesawo kwa ena. 10Kodi simunawerenge lemba lakuti:
“ ‘Mwala umene amisiri omanga nyumba anawukana
wakhala mwala wa pa ngodya.
11Ambuye achita zimenezi,
ndipo ndi zodabwitsa mʼmaso mwathu?’ ”
12Ndipo akulu a ansembe, aphunzitsi a malamulo ndi akuluakulu anafunafuna njira yoti amugwirire Iye chifukwa amadziwa kuti anayankhula fanizoli mowatsutsa iwo. Koma amaopa gulu la anthu; ndipo anamusiya napita.
Za Kupereka Msonkho kwa Kaisara
13Pambuyo pake anatuma ena a Afarisi ndi Aherode kwa Yesu kuti adzamukole mawu ake. 14Iwo anabwera kwa Iye nati, “Aphunzitsi, ife tikudziwa kuti Inu ndi munthu amene mumanena zoona. Inu simutengeka ndi anthu, chifukwa simusamala kuti ndi ndani; koma mumaphunzitsa njira ya Mulungu molingana ndi choonadi. Kodi ndi koyenera kupereka msonkho kwa Kaisara kapena ayi? 15Kodi ife tipereke msonkho kapena ayi?”
Koma Yesu anadziwa chinyengo chawo. Iye anafunsa kuti, “Bwanji mukufuna kundipeza chifukwa? Bweretsani ndalama kuti ndiyione.” 16Iwo anamubweretsera ndalama, ndipo anawafunsa kuti, “Kodi nkhope iyi ndi ya ndani? Nanga malembawa ndi a ndani?”
Iwo anayankha kuti, “Za Kaisara.”
17Ndipo Yesu anawawuza kuti, “Perekani kwa Kaisara zake za Kaisara ndi kwa Mulungu zake za Mulungu.”
Ndipo anazizwa naye.
Za Ukwati ndi Kuuka kwa Akufa
18Kenaka Asaduki, amene amati kulibe kuuka kwa akufa, anabwera kwa Iye ndi funso. 19Iwo anati, “Aphunzitsi, Mose anatilembera kuti munthu akamwalira ndi kusiya mkazi wopanda ana, mʼbale wa munthu womwalirayo akuyenera kukwatira mkaziyo kuti amuberekere ana mʼbale wakeyo. 20Tsopano panali abale asanu ndi awiri. Woyamba anakwatira namwalira wosabereka ana. 21Wachiwiri anakwatira mkazi wamasiyeyo, koma iye anamwalira wosabereka mwana. Zinali chimodzimodzi ndi wachitatu. 22Kunena zoona, palibe ndi mmodzi yemwe wa asanu ndi awiriwo anasiya ana. Pomaliza, mkaziyo anamwaliranso. 23Pa kuuka kwa akufa, adzakhala mkazi wa yani pakuti anakwatiwa ndi onse asanu ndi awiri?”
24Yesu anawafunsa kuti, “Kodi si pamenepa nanga pomwe mumalakwira chifukwa simukudziwa malemba kapena mphamvu za Mulungu? 25Pamene akufa auka, sadzakwatira kapena kukwatiwa; adzakhala ngati angelo kumwamba. 26Tsopano kunena zakuti akufa amauka, kodi simunawerenge mʼbuku la Mose, pa nkhani yachitsamba choyaka moto, mmene Mulungu anati kwa iye, ‘Ine ndine Mulungu wa Abrahamu, Mulungu wa Isake, ndi Mulungu wa Yakobo?’ 27Iye si Mulungu wa anthu akufa, koma wa amoyo. Inu mwalakwitsa kwambiri!”
Lamulo Lalikulu Koposa
28Mmodzi wa aphunzitsi amalamulo anabwera namva iwo akukambirana motsutsana. Poona kuti Yesu anawapatsa yankho labwino, anamufunsa Iye kuti, “Mwa malamulo onse, kodi lopambana koposa ndi liti?”
29Yesu anayankha kuti, “Lamulo loposa onse ndi ili: ‘Tamvani inu Aisraeli! Yehova Mulungu wathu, Yehova ndi mmodzi! 30Uzikonda Yehova Mulungu wako ndi mtima wako wonse, ndi moyo wako wonse, ndi nzeru zako zonse ndi mphamvu zako zonse.’ 31Lachiwiri ndi ili: ‘Konda mnansi wako monga iwe mwini.’ Palibe lamulo lina loposa amenewa.”
32Munthuyo anayankha kuti, “Mwanena bwino Aphunzitsi. Mwalondola ponena kuti Mulungu ndi mmodzi ndipo palibe wina wofanana naye koma Iye yekha. 33Kumukonda Iye; ndi mtima wako wonse, ndi nzeru zako zonse, ndi mphamvu zako zonse, ndi kukonda mnansi wako monga iwe mwini, ndi zopambana kuposa zopereka ndi nsembe zopsereza.”
34Yesu ataona kuti wayankha mwanzeru, anati kwa iye, “Iwe suli kutali ndi ufumu wa Mulungu.” Ndipo kuyambira pamenepo panalibe ndi mmodzi yemwe anayesa kumufunsanso.
Khristu ndi Mwana wa Yani?
35Yesu akuphunzitsa mʼmabwalo a Nyumba ya Mulungu, anafunsa kuti, “Nʼchifukwa chiyani aphunzitsi amalamulo amanena kuti, ‘Khristu ndi Mwana wa Davide?’ 36Pajatu Davide mwini wake, poyankhula mwa Mzimu Woyera, ananena kuti,
“Ambuye anati kwa Ambuye anga:
‘Khalani pa dzanja langa lamanja
kufikira nditayika adani anu
pansi pa mapazi anu.’
37Davide mwini wake amutchula Iye, ‘Ambuye.’ Nanga angakhale bwanji mwana wake?”
Gulu lalikulu la anthu linamvetsera ndi chisangalalo.
Yesu Achenjeza Anthu za Aphunzitsi a Malamulo
38Pamene ankaphunzitsa, Yesu anati, “Samalani ndi aphunzitsi a malamulo. Amakonda kuyendayenda atavala mikanjo ikuluikulu ndi kumalonjeredwa mʼmisika. 39Ndipo amakhala pa mipando yofunika kwambiri mʼmasunagoge ndi malo aulemu pa maphwando. 40Amawononga chuma cha akazi amasiye ndiponso amapemphera mapemphero aatali odzionetsera. Anthu oterewa adzalangidwa kwambiri.”
Chopereka cha Mayi Wamasiye
41Yesu anakhala pansi moyangʼanana ndi pamene amaperekera zopereka ndipo amaona anthu akupereka ndalama zawo mʼthumba la Nyumba ya Mulungu. Anthu ambiri olemera anaponya ndalama zambiri. 42Koma mkazi wamasiye, wosauka anabwera ndi kuyikamo tindalama tiwiri ta kopala, tongokwanira theka la ndalama.
43Yesu anayitana ophunzira ake nati, “Zoonadi, ndikuwuzani kuti mayi wosauka wamasiyeyu waponya zambiri mʼthumbali kuposa ena onsewa. 44Iwo apereka molingana ndi chuma chawo; koma iye, mwaumphawi wake, wapereka zonse anali nazo ngakhale zoti akanagulira chakudya.”
