Matthew 23; Luke 20–21

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Matthew 23

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

Then Jesus tsaid to the crowds and to his disciples, uThe scribes and the Pharisees vsit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, wbut not the works they do. xFor they preach, but do not practice. yThey tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,1 and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. tThey do all their deeds zto be seen by others. For they make atheir phylacteries broad and btheir fringes long, and they clove the place of honor at feasts and dthe best seats in the synagogues and dgreetings in ethe marketplaces and being called frabbi2 by others. gBut you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are hall brothers.3 iAnd call no man your father on earth, for jyou have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, kthe Christ. 11 lThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 mWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 But woe nto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you oshut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you pneither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.4 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single qproselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a rchild of shell5 as yourselves.

16 Woe to tyou, ublind guides, who say, vIf anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath. 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or wthe temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by xthe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath. 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ythe altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by zhim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by aheaven swears by bthe throne of God and by chim who sits upon it.

23 dWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For eyou tithe mint and dill and fcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: gjustice and mercy and faithfulness. hThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ia camel!

25 jWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For kyou clean the outside of lthe cup and the plate, but inside they are full of mgreed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of lthe cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 nWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like owhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and pall uncleanness. 28 So you also qoutwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of rhypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 sWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are tsons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 uFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, vyou brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to whell? 34 xTherefore yI send you zprophets and wise men and ascribes, bsome of whom you will kill and crucify, and bsome you will cflog in your synagogues and dpersecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all ethe righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous fAbel to the blood of gZechariah the son of Barachiah,6 whom you murdered between hthe sanctuary and ithe altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, jall these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

37 kO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that lkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have mgathered nyour children together oas a hen gathers her brood punder her wings, and qyou were not willing! 38 See, ryour house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, sBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.


Luke 20–21

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

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 and said to him, Tell us kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority. He answered them, I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John lfrom heaven or from man? And they discussed it with one another, saying, If we say, From heaven, he will say, mWhy did you not believe him? But if we say, From man, all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was na prophet. So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

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, wThis 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:

dThe 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, zThe 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,

rThe 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.

The Widow’s Offering

yJesus8 looked up and saw the rich zputting their gifts into athe offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two bsmall copper coins.9 And he said, Truly, I tell you, cthis poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her dpoverty put in all eshe had to live on.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

fAnd while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, As for these things that you see, gthe days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And they asked him, Teacher, hwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? And he said, iSee that you are not led astray. For jmany will come in my name, saying, kI am he! and, lThe time is at hand! Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be mterrified, for these things nmust first take place, but the end will not be at once.

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

10 Then he said to them, oNation will rise against nation, and pkingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great qearthquakes, and in various places rfamines and pestilences. And there will be sterrors and great tsigns from heaven. 12 But before all this uthey will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to vthe synagogues and wprisons, and you xwill be brought before ykings and zgovernors for my name’s sake. 13 aThis will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds bnot to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for cI will give you a mouth and dwisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or econtradict. 16 You will be delivered up feven by parents and brothers10 and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 gYou will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But hnot a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your iendurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

20 But jwhen you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that kits desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are ldays of mvengeance, to fulfill nall that is written. 23 oAlas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and pwrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and qbe led captive among all nations, and rJerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, suntil the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

25 And tthere will be signs in sun and moon uand stars, and on the earth vdistress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For wthe powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see xthe Son of Man coming in a cloud ywith power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and zraise your heads, because ayour redemption is drawing near.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see bfor yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 cTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 dHeaven and earth will pass away, but emy words will not pass away.

Watch Yourselves

34 But watch yourselves flest gyour hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and hcares of this life, and ithat day come upon you suddenly jlike a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But kstay awake at all times, lpraying that you may mhave strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and nto stand before the Son of Man.

37 And oevery day he was teaching in the temple, but pat night he went out and lodged on qthe mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning oall the people came to him in the temple to hear him.