The Parable of the Banquet
1 Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a wedding feast for his son 3 and sent his servants out to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
4 Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!” ’
5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise, 6 and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully and killed them.
7 When the king heard this, he was angry. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 The servants went out into the highways and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was filled with guests.
11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who did not have on wedding clothing, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ and the man was speechless.
13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went and schemed how they might entrap him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, “Master, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, without deference to any man, for you do not regard the appearance of men. 17 Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their malice and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the tax money.”
They brought a coin to him.
20 He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
21 They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard it, they marveled and left him and went away.
Sadducees Question the Resurrection
23 On that day Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to him and asked, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh. 27 After all of them, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ a God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ b 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” c
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Whose Son is the Christ?
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They said to him, “The son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David, in the Spirit, call him Lord, saying,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies a footstool
for your feet?’ “ d
45 “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
46 No one was able to answer him a word, nor did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
a Exodus 3:6
b Deuteronomy 6:5
c Leviticus 19:18
d Psalm 110:1