The Parable of the Banquet (Luke 14:15–24)
1 UST Then Jesus used more stories to teach the chief priests and the Jewish leaders. He said, BSB BSB: Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:
2 UST “Here is what God’ s heavenly kingdom is like: a king prepared a banquet to celebrate his son, who was getting married. BSB BSB: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
3 UST { When it was time for the banquet,} the king told his servants to summon the people that he had asked to attend the banquet. However, those people refused to attend{ the banquet}. BSB BSB: He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
4 UST So, the king told different servants to summon again the people he had asked to attend{ the banquet}. He instructed them to say that the meal was ready, that his servants had prepared special cows to eat and everything else, and that they should attend the banquet. BSB BSB: Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 UST However, the people{ that the king had asked to attend the banquet} ignored his servants. Instead, some of them left for other places, like their farms or workplaces. BSB BSB: But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business.
6 UST Other{ people that the king had asked to attend the banquet} grabbed his servants. They abused some of them, and they killed some of them. BSB BSB: The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.
7 UST So, the king was very upset. He told his soldiers to kill the people who killed his servants and to burn down their town. BSB BSB: The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
8 UST After that, the king told his servants that, although the feast for his son’ s wedding was ready, the people he had asked to attend did not deserve to be there. BSB BSB: Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy.
9 UST So,{ he told his servants} to walk to the intersections of the main roads and to tell the people they encountered to attend the feast for his son’ s wedding. BSB BSB: Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’
10 UST So, his servants walked to{ the intersections of} the roads. They brought all the people they encountered, whether those people did what was right or did what was wrong. Then, the wedding hall was full of people who were feasting. BSB BSB: So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 UST The king went into the hall to see the people who were feasting.{ While he was} there, he noticed that one person did not have on the proper clothing for a wedding. BSB BSB: But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes.
12 UST The king called him friend and told him that he should not have attended without having on the proper clothing for a wedding. The person had nothing to say in response. BSB BSB: ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.
13 UST After that, the king told his servants to tie the person up and cast him out{ of the wedding hall}.{ He told them to punish him} in a dark place, where people will cry and sorrowfully grind their teeth. BSB BSB: Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 UST As that story illustrates, God summons many people{ to participate in his kingdom}. However, he only chooses a few of them{ to do so}.” BSB BSB: For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13–17; Luke 20:19–26)
15 UST After{ Jesus said those things}, the Pharisees left{ that place}. They started to plan how they could cause him to make a mistake in what he said. BSB BSB: Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.
16 UST So, the Pharisees told some of their apprentices and some people who supported King Herod to go to Jesus and say to him,“Our instructor, we realize that you say what is true. Further, you truthfully instruct people in what God wants them to do. You do not pay attention to how important or powerful people are. So, you do not care about what other people think. BSB BSB: They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
17 UST So, please tell us how you answer this question: Does our law allow us to pay taxes to the Roman government, or{ does it} not{ allow that}?” BSB BSB: So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 UST However, Jesus knew that they were trying to harm him. So, he replied,“You are trying to make me say something wrong. You pretend to respect me, but you really do not! BSB BSB: But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
19 UST Hand me one of the coins that you use to pay taxes.” Someone handed him a Roman coin. BSB BSB: Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius.
20 UST Then Jesus asked,“Whose picture and name are on this coin?” BSB BSB: “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”
21 UST They replied,“{ It is} Caesar’ s{ picture and name}.” Then Jesus said,“In that case, give to the Roman government what belongs to it, and give to God what belongs to him.” BSB BSB: “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 UST What Jesus said impressed the Pharisees’ apprentices and the people who supported King Herod. They left where he was. BSB BSB: And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.
The Sadducees and the Resurrection (Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40)
24 UST “Our instructor, Moses wrote{ in the Scriptures} about what should happen when a man with{ a wife but} no children dies. When that happens, the man’ s brother should marry the dead man’ s wife. When they have a child, they should consider it to be the child of the dead man. BSB BSB: “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.
25 UST So,{ consider this situation}: seven brothers lived here. One brother got married, but then he died before he had children. So, one of his brothers married his widow. BSB BSB: Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother.
26 UST The same thing happened to the second brother, the third brother, and the other four brothers.{ They each married the widow but died before they had children.} BSB BSB: The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh.
27 UST Finally, the widow died. BSB BSB: And last of all, the woman died.
28 UST So then, of those seven brothers, whose wife will she be when God makes people alive again?{ We ask} because she got married to all seven of them{ at different times}.” BSB BSB: In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”
29 UST Jesus replied,“You do not realize what the Scriptures mean or how powerful God is. So, you believe what is wrong. BSB BSB: Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
30 UST Here is what I mean: after God makes people alive again, they will not get married. Instead, they will be like angels who dwell in heaven{ and do not get married}. BSB BSB: In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.
31 UST Now I will speak about whether God makes people who have died alive again. You have read in the Scriptures that God said to you, BSB BSB: But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you:
32 UST ‘I am the God whom Abraham worships, the God whom Isaac worships, and the God whom Jacob worships.’ It is living people who worship God, not dead people.{ So, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who all have died, must be alive again!}” BSB BSB: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 UST The things that Jesus taught impressed the large groups of people. BSB BSB: When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
The Greatest Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:1–19; Mark 12:28–34)
34 UST The Pharisees heard that Jesus answered so well that the Sadducees could not respond. So, the Pharisees met together{ and went to where Jesus was}. BSB BSB: And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.
35 UST Then, one of the Pharisees, who was an expert in the Jewish law, decided to investigate Jesus. He asked him, BSB BSB: One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:
36 UST “Instructor, which of the laws that God gave us is the most important?” BSB BSB: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
37 UST Jesus replied:“We must love the Lord, the God whom we worship, with everything that we desire, everything that we do, and everything that we think. BSB BSB: Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 UST That is the most important law. BSB BSB: This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 UST The next most important law is similar. It is that we must care for people we know as much as we care for ourselves. BSB BSB: And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 UST All the parts of the Scriptures depend upon these two laws.” BSB BSB: All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Whose Son Is the Christ? (Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:41–44)
41 UST While those Pharisees were still all together{ near Jesus}, he asked them, BSB BSB: While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them:
42 UST “I want you to answer a question about the Messiah. Who is his ancestor?” They replied,“His ancestor is King David.” BSB BSB: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.
43 UST Jesus replied,“In that case, why did the Holy Spirit cause King David to write that the Messiah was his Lord?{ People do not describe their descendants as their lords. However,} King David wrote BSB BSB: Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:
44 UST that the Lord God said to David’ s Lord,‘Rule with me while I defeat all of your enemies!’ BSB BSB: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’
45 UST So then, since King David wrote that the Messiah was his Lord, how is it possible for King David to be his ancestor?” BSB BSB: So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”
46 UST The people who were there could not answer his question. In fact, after that nobody was bold enough to ask him more questions. BSB BSB: No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.