God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of nAsaph.
1 oThe Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
pfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, qthe perfection of beauty,
rGod shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he sdoes not keep silence;1
before him is a devouring tfire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 uHe calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made va covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 wThe heavens declare his righteousness,
for xGod himself is judge! Selah
7 y“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
zI am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices ado I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 bI know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
cfor the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 dOffer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,2
and eperform your vows to the Most High,
15 and fcall upon me in the day of trouble;
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 iFor you hate discipline,
jand you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, kyou are pleased with him,
land you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
mand your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I nhave been silent;
you thought that I3 was one like yourself.
22 “Mark this, then, you who qforget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be rnone to deliver!
23 The one who soffers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who torders his way rightly
I will show the usalvation of God!”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
1 hOne day, ias Jesus1 was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John lfrom heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, m‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was na prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
9 oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted pa vineyard and qlet it out to tenants and rwent into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant2 to the tenants, so that qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 tAnd she sent another servant. But they also beat and utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 sAnd he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, w‘This is the heir. xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 zHe will acome and destroy those tenants and bgive the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he clooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
d“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?3
18 eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls fon anyone, it will crush him.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
19 hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 iSo they jwatched him and sent spies, who kpretended to be sincere, that they might lcatch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of mthe governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and oshow no partiality,4 but truly teach pthe way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give qtribute to rCaesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their scraftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me ta denarius.5 Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then urender to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people vto catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
27 There came to him wsome Sadducees, xthose who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ythat if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man6 must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
34 And Jesus said to them, z“The sons of this age amarry and aare given in marriage, 35 but those who are bconsidered worthy to attain to cthat age and to the resurrection from the dead dneither marry dnor are given in marriage, 36 for ethey cannot die anymore, because they are fequal to angels and gare hsons of God, being isons7 of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, jeven Moses showed, in kthe passage about the bush, where he calls lthe Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all mlive to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes nanswered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For othey no longer dared to ask him any question.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
41 pBut he said to them, “How can they say that qthe Christ is qDavid’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
r“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies syour footstool.”’
44 David thus calls him Lord, so thow is he his son?”
Beware of the Scribes
45 uAnd in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and vthe places of honor at feasts, 47 wwho devour widows’ houses and xfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
