Luke 20

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Jesus’ Authority Challenged

¹Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν διδάσκοντος αὐτοῦ τὸν λαὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ εὐαγγελιζομένου ἐπέστησαν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς σὺν τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts^a and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him.

²καὶ εἶπαν λέγοντες πρὸς αὐτόν Εἰπὸν ἡμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιεῖς ἢ τίς ἐστιν ὁ δούς σοι τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην

²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

³Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς Ἐρωτήσω ὑμᾶς κἀγὼ λόγον καὶ εἴπατέ μοι

³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me:

⁴Τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἦν ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

⁴John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

⁵Οἱ δὲ συνελογίσαντο πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἐὰν εἴπωμεν Ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐρεῖ Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπιστεύσατε αὐτῷ

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶ἐὰν δὲ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ λαὸς ἅπας καταλιθάσει ἡμᾶς πεπεισμένος γάρ ἐστιν Ἰωάννην προφήτην εἶναι

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷Καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν μὴ εἰδέναι πόθεν

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιῶ

⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

⁹Ἤρξατο δὲ πρὸς τὸν λαὸν λέγειν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην Ἄνθρωπος τις ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν χρόνους ἱκανούς

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰καὶ καιρῷ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς δοῦλον ἵνα ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος δώσουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν αὐτὸν δείραντες κενόν

¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹Καὶ προσέθετο ἕτερον πέμψαι δοῦλον οἱ δὲ κἀκεῖνον δείραντες καὶ ἀτιμάσαντες ἐξαπέστειλαν κενόν

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

¹²Καὶ προσέθετο τρίτον πέμψαι οἱ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον τραυματίσαντες ἐξέβαλον

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος Τί ποιήσω πέμψω τὸν υἱόν μου τὸν ἀγαπητόν ἴσως τοῦτον ἐντραπήσονται

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴Ἰδόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ γεωργοὶ διελογίζοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν ἵνα ἡμῶν γένηται ἡ κληρονομία

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵καὶ ἐκβαλόντες αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἀπέκτειναν Τί οὖν ποιήσει αὐτοῖς ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀπολέσει τοὺς γεωργοὺς τούτους καὶ δώσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἄλλοις Ἀκούσαντες δὲ εἶπαν Μὴ γένοιτο

¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

¹⁷Ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν Τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες Οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?^a

¹⁸Πᾶς ὁ πεσὼν ἐπ’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν λίθον συνθλασθήσεται ἐφ’ ὃν δ’ ἂν πέσῃ λικμήσει αὐτόν

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹Καὶ ἐζήτησαν οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν λαόν ἔγνωσαν γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπεν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁰Καὶ παρατηρήσαντες ἀπέστειλαν ἐνκαθέτους ὑποκρινομένους ἑαυτοὺς δικαίους εἶναι ἵνα ἐπιλάβωνται αὐτοῦ λόγου ὥστε παραδοῦναι αὐτὸν τῇ ἀρχῇ καὶ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

²¹καὶ ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν λέγοντες Διδάσκαλε οἴδαμεν ὅτι ὀρθῶς λέγεις καὶ διδάσκεις καὶ οὐ λαμβάνεις πρόσωπον ἀλλ’ ἐπ’ ἀληθείας τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ διδάσκεις

²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

²²ἔξεστιν ἡμᾶς Καίσαρι φόρον δοῦναι ἢ οὔ

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³Κατανοήσας δὲ αὐτῶν τὴν πανουργίαν εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς

²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,

²⁴Δείξατέ μοι δηνάριον τίνος ἔχει εἰκόνα καὶ ἐπιγραφήν Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν Καίσαρος

²⁴“Show Me a denarius.^a Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

²⁵Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς Τοίνυν ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶Καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἐπιλαβέσθαι αὐτοῦ ῥήματος ἐναντίον τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ θαυμάσαντες ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποκρίσει αὐτοῦ ἐσίγησαν

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

²⁷Προσελθόντες δέ τινες τῶν Σαδδουκαίων οἱ ἀντιλέγοντες ἀνάστασιν μὴ εἶναι ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

²⁸λέγοντες Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ ἔχων γυναῖκα καὶ οὗτος ἄτεκνος ᾖ ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ

²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.^a

²⁹ἑπτὰ οὖν ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν καὶ ὁ πρῶτος λαβὼν γυναῖκα ἀπέθανεν ἄτεκνος

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless.

³⁰καὶ ὁ δεύτερος

³⁰Then the second^a

³¹καὶ ὁ τρίτος ἔλαβεν αὐτήν ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἑπτὰ οὐ κατέλιπον τέκνα καὶ ἀπέθανον

³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²ὕστερον καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἀπέθανεν

³²And last of all, the woman died.

³³ἡ γυνὴ οὖν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τίνος αὐτῶν γίνεται γυνή οἱ γὰρ ἑπτὰ ἔσχον αὐτὴν γυναῖκα

³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

³⁴Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου γαμοῦσιν καὶ γαμίσκονται

³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵οἱ δὲ καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται

³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

³⁶οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποθανεῖν ἔτι δύνανται ἰσάγγελοι γάρ εἰσιν καὶ υἱοί εἰσιν Θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως υἱοὶ ὄντες

³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷Ὅτι δὲ ἐγείρονται οἱ νεκροὶ καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐμήνυσεν ἐπὶ τῆς Βάτου ὡς λέγει Κύριον Τὸν Θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Θεὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Θεὸν Ἰακώβ

³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^a

³⁸Θεὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων πάντες γὰρ αὐτῷ ζῶσιν

³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

³⁹Ἀποκριθέντες δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων εἶπαν Διδάσκαλε καλῶς εἶπας

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”

⁴⁰οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν

⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

⁴¹Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς Πῶς λέγουσιν τὸν Χριστὸν εἶναι Δαυὶδ υἱόν

⁴¹Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?

⁴²αὐτὸς γὰρ Δαυὶδ λέγει ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν Εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand

⁴³Ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου Ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου

⁴³until I make Your enemies

a footstool for Your feet.”’^a

⁴⁴Δαυὶδ οὖν αὐτὸν Κύριον καλεῖ καὶ πῶς αὐτοῦ υἱός ἐστιν

⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

Beware of the Scribes

⁴⁵Ἀκούοντος δὲ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ

⁴⁵In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,

⁴⁶Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν γραμματέων τῶν θελόντων περιπατεῖν ἐν στολαῖς καὶ φιλούντων ἀσπασμοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ πρωτοκλισίας ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷οἳ κατεσθίουσιν τὰς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν καὶ προφάσει μακρὰ προσεύχονται οὗτοι λήμψονται περισσότερον κρίμα

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses,^a and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”