The Parable of the Tenants
1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’12:11 Psalm 118:22,23?”
12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Marriage at the Resurrection
18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23At the resurrection12:23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
24Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’12:26 Exodus 3:6? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
The Greatest Commandment
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’12:30 Deut. 6:4,5 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’12:31 Lev. 19:18 There is no commandment greater than these.”
32“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.” ’12:36 Psalm 110:1
37David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight.
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
38As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The Widow’s Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
የወይን ስፍራ የተከራዩ ገበሬዎች ምሳሌ
12፥1-12 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 21፥33-46፤ ሉቃ 20፥9-19
1ከዚያም እንዲህ እያለ በምሳሌ ይነግራቸው ጀመር፤ “አንድ ሰው ወይን ተከለ፤ ዙሪያውን ዐጠረ፤ ለመጭመቂያው ጕድጓድ ቈፈረ፤ የመጠበቂያም ማማ ሠራለት፤ ከዚያም ለገበሬዎች አከራይቶ ወደ ሌላ አገር ሄደ። 2በመከር ጊዜም ከወይኑ ፍሬ እንዲያመጣለት ከአገልጋዮቹ አንዱን ወደ ገበሬዎቹ ላከ። 3እነርሱ ግን ይዘው ደበደቡት፤ ባዶ እጁንም ሰደዱት። 4እንደ ገናም ሌላ አገልጋይ ላከ። እነርሱም ራሱን ፈንክተውና አዋርደው መለሱት። 5አሁንም እንደ ገና ሌላ ላከ፤ ይህኛውንም ገደሉት፤ ከሌሎች ከብዙዎቹ መካከል አንዳንዶቹን ደበደቡ፤ አንዳንዶቹንም ገደሉ።
6“አሁንም የሚላክ ሌላ ነበረው፤ እርሱም የሚወድደው ልጁ ነበረ፤ ‘ልጄንስ ያከብሩታል’ በማለት ከሁሉ በኋላ ላከው።
7“ገበሬዎቹ ግን እርስ በርሳቸው፣ ‘ይህማ ዋናው ወራሹ ነው፤ ኑ እንግደለው፤ ርስቱ የእኛ ይሆናል’ ተባባሉ፤ 8ከዚያም ይዘው ገደሉት፤ ከወይኑ ስፍራም አውጥተው ጣሉት።
9“እንግዲህ የወይኑ አትክልት ባለቤት ምን የሚያደርግ ይመስላችኋል? ይመጣል፤ ገበሬዎቹን ይገድላል፤ የወይኑንም አትክልት ለሌሎች ይሰጣል። 10እንዲህ የሚለውን የመጽሐፍ ቃል አላነበባችሁምን፤
“ ‘ግንበኞች የናቁት ድንጋይ፣
እርሱ የማእዘን ራስ12፥10 ወይም የማእዘን ድንጋይ ሆነ፤
11ጌታ ይህን አድርጓል፣
ይህም ለዐይናችን ድንቅ ነው’?”
12ምሳሌውን የተናገረው ስለ እነርሱ መሆኑን ስላወቁ፣ ሊይዙት ፈለጉ፤ ነገር ግን ሕዝቡን ስለ ፈሩ ትተውት ሄዱ።
ለቄሳር ግብር ስለ መክፈል
12፥13-17 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 22፥15-22፤ ሉቃ 20፥20-26
13ከዚያም በነገር እንዲያጠምዱት ከፈሪሳውያንና ከሄሮድስ ወገን ሰዎች ወደ እርሱ ላኩ። 14እነርሱም መጥተው እንዲህ አሉት፤ “መምህር ሆይ፤ አንተ ትክክለኛ ሰው መሆንህን እናውቃለን፤ የሰዎች ማንነት ስለማይገድህም አታዳላም፤ የእግዚአብሔርን መንገድ ብቻ በእውነት ታስተምራለህ፤ ለመሆኑ ለቄሳር ግብር መክፈል ይገባል ወይስ አይገባም? 15እኛስ እንክፈል ወይስ አንክፈል?”
ኢየሱስ ግን ግብዝነታቸውን ዐውቆ፣ “ለምን ልታጠምዱኝ ትፈልጋላችሁ? እስቲ አንድ ዲናር አምጡልኝና ልየው” አላቸው። 16እነርሱም አመጡለት፣ “ይህ የማን መልክ ነው? ጽሕፈቱስ የማን ነው?”
አላቸው፤ እነርሱም፣ “የቄሳር ነው” አሉት።
17ኢየሱስም፣ “የቄሳርን ለቄሳር፣ የእግዚአብሔርን ለእግዚአብሔር ስጡ” አላቸው። እነርሱም በእርሱ ተደነቁ።
ጋብቻና ትንሣኤ
12፥18-27 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 22፥23-33፤ ሉቃ 20፥27-38
18ከዚህ በኋላ የሙታን ትንሣኤ የለም የሚሉ ሰዱቃውያን ወደ እርሱ መጥተው እንዲህ ሲሉ ጠየቁት፤ 19“መምህር ሆይ፤ የአንድ ሰው ወንድም ሚስት አግብቶ ልጅ ሳይወልድ ቢሞት፣ ይህ ሰው ሴትየዋን አግብቶ ለወንድሙ ዘር እንዲተካ ሙሴ ጽፎልናል። 20ታዲያ ሰባት ወንድማማቾች ነበሩ፤ የመጀመሪያው አግብቷት ዘር ሳይተካ ሞተ፤ 21ሁለተኛውም ሴትየዋን አገባት፤ እርሱም ዘር ሳይተካ ሞተ፤ ሦስተኛውም እንዲሁ፤ 22ሰባቱም አገቧት፤ ዘር ግን አልተኩም፤ በመጨረሻም ሴትየዋ ሞተች። 23እንግዲህ፣ ሰባቱም አግብተዋታልና በትንሣኤ12፥23 አንዳንድ ቅጆች በትንሣኤ ሰዎች ከሙታን ሲነሡ የሚል አላቸው ለማናቸው ሚስት ልትሆን ነው?” አሉት።
24ኢየሱስም፣ እንዲህ ሲል መለሰላቸው፤ “የምትስቱት እኮ ቅዱሳት መጻሕፍትንና የእግዚአብሔርን ኀይል ስለማታውቁ ነው! 25ሙታን በሚነሡበት ጊዜ እንደ ሰማይ መላእክት ይሆናሉ እንጂ አያገቡም፤ አይጋቡም። 26ስለ ሙታን መነሣት ግን፣ በሙሴ መጽሐፍ ይኸውም ስለ ቍጥቋጦው በተነገረው ክፍል፣ እግዚአብሔር ‘እኔ የአብርሃም አምላክ፣ የይስሐቅ አምላክ፣ የያዕቆብ አምላክ ነኝ’ ያለውን አላነበባችሁምን? 27እግዚአብሔር የሕያዋን አምላክ እንጂ የሙታን አምላክ አይደለም፤ ስለዚህ እጅግ ተሳስታችኋል።”
ከሁሉ የሚበልጠው ትእዛዝ
12፥28-34 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 22፥34-40
28ከጸሐፍትም አንዱ መጥቶ ሲከራከሩ ሰማቸው፤ ኢየሱስ ለቀረበለት ጥያቄ ተገቢውን መልስ መስጠቱን አስተውሎ፣ “ለመሆኑ ከትእዛዞች ሁሉ የሚበልጠው የትኛው ነው?” ሲል ጠየቀው።
29ኢየሱስም እንዲህ ሲል መለሰለት፤ “ከሁሉ የሚበልጠው ይህ ነው፤ ‘እስራኤል ሆይ ስማ፤ ጌታ አምላካችን አንድ ጌታ ነው፤ 30አንተም ጌታ አምላክህን በፍጹም ልብህ፣ በፍጹም ነፍስህ፣ በፍጹም ሐሳብህና በፍጹም ኀይልህ ውደድ።’ 31ሁለተኛውም ይህ ነው፤ ‘ባልንጀራህን እንደ ራስህ ውደድ።’ ከእነዚህም የሚበልጥ ትእዛዝ የለም።”
32ጸሓፊውም እንዲህ አለው፤ “መምህር ሆይ፤ መልካም ብለሃል፤ እርሱ አንድ መሆኑን፣ ከእርሱም ሌላ አለመኖሩን መናገርህ ትክክል ነው፤ 33እርሱን በፍጹም ልብህ፣ በፍጹም አእምሮህ፣ በፍጹም ነፍስህ፣ በፍጹም ኀይልህ መውደድ፣ እንዲሁም ባልንጀራህን እንደ ራስህ መውደድ ከሚቃጠል መሥዋዕት ሁሉና ከሌሎችም መሥዋዕቶች ይበልጣል።”
34ኢየሱስም በማስተዋል እንደ መለሰለት አይቶ፣ “አንተ ከእግዚአብሔር መንግሥት የራቅህ አይደለህም” አለው። ከዚህ በኋላ ሊጠይቀው የደፈረ ማንም አልነበረም።
ክርስቶስ የማን ልጅ ነው?
12፥35-37 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 24፥41-46፤ ሉቃ 20፥41-44
12፥38-40 ተጓ ምብ – ማቴ 23፥1-7፤ ሉቃ 20፥45-47
35ኢየሱስ በቤተ መቅደሱ አደባባይ በሚያስተምርበት ጊዜ እንዲህ ሲል ጥያቄ አቀረበ፤ “ጸሐፍት እንዴት ክርስቶስ የዳዊት ልጅ ነው ይላሉ? 36ዳዊት በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ሲናገር፣
“ ‘ጌታ ጌታዬን፣
“ጠላቶችህን ከእግርህ በታች
እስካደርጋቸው ድረስ
በቀኜ ተቀመጥ” ’ አለው። ይላል፤
37ታዲያ ዳዊት ራሱ ‘ጌታ’ ካለው፣ እንዴት ተመልሶ ልጁ ይሆናል?” ብዙ ሕዝብም በደስታ ይሰማው ነበር።
38በሚያስተምርበትም ጊዜ እንዲህ አለ፤ “ከጸሐፍት ተጠንቀቁ፤ የተንዘረፈፈ ቀሚስ ለብሰው መዞርን ይወድዳሉ፤ በየአደባባዩም የአክብሮት ሰላምታ ይሻሉ፤ 39በምኵራብ ከፍተኛውን ወንበር፣ በግብዣም ቦታ የከበሬታን ስፍራ ይፈልጋሉ፤ 40በረጅም ጸሎታቸው እያሳበቡ የመበለቶችን ቤት ያራቍታሉ፤ እነዚህ የባሰ ፍርድ ይቀበላሉ።”
የመበለቲቱ ስጦታ
12፥41-44 ተጓ ምብ – ሉቃ 21፥1-4
41ኢየሱስ በገንዘብ ማስቀመጫው አንጻር ተቀምጦ፣ ብዙ ሰዎች ስጦታቸውን ወደ ቤተ መቅደሱ ገንዘብ ማስቀመጫ ሣጥን ሲያስገቡ ይመለከት ነበር። ብዙ ሀብታሞች ብዙ ገንዘብ አስገቡ፤ 42አንዲት ምስኪን መበለት ግን ከአንድ ሳንቲም የማይበልጡ ሁለት የናስ ቤሳዎች አስገባች።
43ኢየሱስም ደቀ መዛሙርቱን ጠርቶ፣ እንዲህ አላቸው፤ “እውነት እላችኋለሁ፤ ይህች ድኻ መበለት ሣጥኑ ውስጥ ከጣሉት ከሌሎቹ የበለጠ አስገባች። 44እነዚህ ሁሉ ከተረፈው ሀብታቸው ሰጡ፤ እርሷ ግን በድኽነት ዐቅሟ ያላትን ሁሉ አውጥታ ለመኖሪያ የሚሆናትን እንዳለ ሰጠች።”
