Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

23 ^hThe same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no ⁱresurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ^j‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ^k‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were ^lastonished at his teaching.

The Great Commandment

34 ^mBut when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, ⁿ“You shall ^olove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ^pYou shall ^qlove your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend ^rall the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 ^sNow while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The ^tson of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

1 ^vThen Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on ^wMoses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,¹ and lay them on people’s shoulders, but ^xthey themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be ^yseen by others. For they make their ^zphylacteries broad and their ^afringes long, 6 and they love the ^bplace of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and ^cgreetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi² by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.³ 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have ^done Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 ^eThe greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 ^fWhoever exalts himself will be humbled, and ^gwhoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, ^hhypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither ⁱenter 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 proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell⁵ as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, ^jblind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is ^kbound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the 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 the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar ^lthat 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 ^mhim who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by ⁿheaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^otithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the ^pweightier matters of the law: ^qjustice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

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

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like ^swhitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all ^tuncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe 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 ^ushedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 ^vFill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you ^wbrood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your ^xsynagogues and ^ypersecute from town to town, 35 so that ^zon you may come all the ^arighteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^bAbel to the blood of ^cZechariah the son of Barachiah,⁶ whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

18 ^fAnd Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no ^gresurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, ^hMoses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man¹ must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, ⁱin the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ^j‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

The Great Commandment

28 ^kAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^l‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall ^mlove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ⁿ‘You shall ^olove your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said ^pthat ^qhe is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much ^rmore than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 ^sAnd as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the ^tson of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,

37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 ^vAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like ^wgreetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the ^xbest seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who ^ydevour widows’ houses and for a ^zpretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

27 ^cThere came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a ^dresurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, ^eMoses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man¹ 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, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the ^fresurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they ^gcannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are ^hsons of God, being sons² of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, ⁱin the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord ^jthe 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 ^kall live to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 ^lBut he said to them, “How can they say that the ^mChrist is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”

Beware of the Scribes

45 ^oAnd 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 ^pgreetings in the marketplaces and the ^qbest seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who ^rdevour widows’ houses and for a ^spretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”