God Sends His Son

12   ¹Jesus used stories to teach the people. Jesus said, "A man planted a field with grapes. The man put a wall around the field and dug a hole for a wine press.* Then the man built a tower. The man leased the field to some farmers. Then the man left for a trip. ²Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. ³But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him. They sent the servant away with nothing. ⁴Then the man sent another servant to the farmers. The farmers hit this servant on the head. They showed no respect for him. ⁵So the man sent another servant. The farmers killed this servant. The man sent many other servants to the farmers. The farmers beat some of the servants and killed the others. ⁶"The man had one person left to send to the farmers. This person was the man's son. The man loved his son. But the man decided to send the son to the farmers. The son was the last person he could send. The man said, 'The farmers will respect my son.' ⁷"But the farmers said to each other, 'This is the owner's son. This field will be his. If we kill him, then his field will be ours.' ⁸So the farmers took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the field. ⁹"So what will the man that owns the field do? He will go to the field and kill those farmers. Then he will give the field to other farmers. ¹⁰Surely you have read this Scripture* : 'The stone that the builders did not want became the cornerstone.* ¹¹The Lord did this, and it is wonderful to us.'"

¹²These Jewish leaders heard this story that Jesus told. They knew that this story was about them. So they wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid of the people. So the Jewish leaders left Jesus and went away.

The Jewish Leaders Try to Trick Jesus

¹³Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees* and some men from the group called Herodians* to Jesus. They wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong. ¹⁴The Pharisees and Herodians went to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God's way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar* ? Yes or no? Should we pay taxes, or should we not pay taxes?" ¹⁵But Jesus knew that these men were really trying to trick him. Jesus said, "Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong? Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it." ¹⁶They gave Jesus a coin and Jesus asked, "Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on it?" They answered, "It is Caesar's* picture and Caesar's name." ¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.* And give to God the things that are God's." The men were amazed at what Jesus said.

Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus

¹⁸Then some Sadducees* came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. ¹⁹They said, "Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and he had no children, then his brother must marry the woman. Then they will have children for the dead brother.* ²⁰There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children. ²¹So the second brother married the woman. But he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. ²²All seven brothers married the woman and died. None of the brothers had any children with the woman. The woman was last to die. ²³But all seven brothers had married her. So at the time when people rise from death, whose wife will the woman be?" ²⁴Jesus answered, "Why did you make this mistake? Is it because you don't know what the Scriptures* say? Or because you don't know about God's power? ²⁵When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. All people will be like angels in heaven. ²⁶Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book where Moses wrote about the [burning] bush,* it says that God told Moses this: 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.* '* ²⁷[If God said he is their God, then] these men are not really dead. He is the God only of living people. You Sadducees* are wrong!"

wine press A place dug in rock used to mash grapes and collect the juice for making wine. Scripture Part of the Holy Writings--Old Testament. cornerstone The first and most important rock of a building. Pharisees The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. Herodians A Jewish political group. Caesar The name given to the emperor (ruler) of Rome. Sadducees A leading Jewish religious group. They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament. They believed that people don't live again after death. if ... dead brother See Deut. 25:5-6. burning bush Read Ex. 3:1-12. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Three of the most important Jewish leaders during the time of the Old Testament. 'I am ... Jacob' Quote from Ex. 3:6.