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¹He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.

²At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them.

³But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.

⁵Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.

⁶He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

⁸So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

¹¹ This came about from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?”

¹²They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

¹³Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.

¹⁴When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

¹⁵But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”

¹⁶They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. “Caesar’s,” they replied.

¹⁷Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

¹⁸Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him:

¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

²⁰There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.

²¹The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.

²²None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.

²³In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”

²⁴Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God?

²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.

²⁶And as for the dead being raised — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?

²⁷He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”

²⁸One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

³¹The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him.

³³And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?

³⁶David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’

³⁷David himself calls him ‘Lord’; how then can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

³⁸He also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

⁴¹Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums.

⁴²Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.

⁴³Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

⁴⁴For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had  — all she had to live on.”

¹As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!”

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another — all will be thrown down.”

³While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

⁵Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.

⁶Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end.

⁸For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.

¹⁰And it is necessary that the gospel be preached to all nations.

¹¹So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

¹³You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴“When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

¹⁵A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,

¹⁶and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.

¹⁷Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

¹⁸“Pray it won’t happen in winter.

¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of creation until now and never will be again.

²⁰If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect, whom he chose.

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah! See, there! ’ do not believe it.

²²For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

²³And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴“But in those days, after that tribulation: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light;

²⁵the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷He will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸“Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near — at the door.

³⁰“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.

³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³²“Now concerning that day or hour no one knows — neither the angels in heaven nor the Son  — but only the Father.

³³“Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is coming.

³⁴“It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert.

³⁵Therefore be alert, since you don’t know when the master of the house is coming — whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning.

³⁶Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.

³⁷And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”