God’s Kingdom Is like a Banquet
1Once again, Jesus started teaching the people with parables. He said, 2“Here’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. A king put together a wedding feast for his son. 3Then the king sent his servants out to tell the invited guests that it was time to come and eat. But the guests wouldn’t come.4“Then the king sent out another group of servants. He gave them these orders: ‘Tell the guests, “Look, I prepared this banquet for you. I’ve slaughtered and cooked my oxen and calves who were fattened for this banquet. Everything is ready. Come and get it.”’
5“But the guests ignored the message. They just turned and walked off. One went to his farm. Another went to his business. 6Some guests actually grabbed the servants, shamefully abused them, and then killed them.
7“The king was absolutely livid. He mobilized his militia, which captured and killed the murderers and then burned their city to the dirt.
8“The king told his servants, ‘Well, the wedding banquet is ready to eat, but as it turns out, the people we invited aren’t fit to eat it. 9So, doggone it, get out there and hit the busy roads. Invite anyone you can find to come and join us. Tell them we’re having a wedding banquet and they’re invited.
10“So the servants hit the road and brought back everyone they could find, the damnable and the honorable. These people packed the wedding banquet venue.
11“When the king came to join the party and meet the guests, he noticed one man who hadn’t bothered to dress up in clothes fit for a wedding. 12The king said to the man, ‘Buddy, how on earth did you get in here dressed like that?’ The man didn’t know what to say. 13The king told his associates, ‘Tie this guy up, hands and feet. Then toss him into the darkness outside where folks will be crying and grinding their teeth.’ 14Many are invited. But not many are chosen.”
Should We Pay Roman Tax?
15The Pharisees tried to figure out a way to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him in trouble. 16They sent some of their people along with Herodians [1] to ask him a question: 17“Teacher, we know that you tell it like it is—fair and balanced and true. You say what God wants you to say. You don’t bow to pressure from anyone to do otherwise. So tell us this, is it legal to pay taxes to Caesar? Yes or no.”18Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Oh, come on now, you hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the kind of coin you use to pay your taxes.” They brought him a denarius. [2] 20Jesus said, “Whose picture is engraved on this?”
21They said, “Caesar’s.”
Jesus said, “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Give God what belongs to God.”
22That answer left the Jewish leaders amazed. They walked away.
Trick Question about Marriage in Heaven
23That same day, some Sadducees came over to ask Jesus a question. Sadducees are people who don’t believe in a resurrection or in life after death. 24They said, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a married man dies and doesn’t have any children, his brother has to marry the widow and give her children, which he raises as his brother’s kids.’25Now there were seven brothers in the family. The first one married and died before his wife had any children. The second brother married the widow. 26The same thing happened to the second brother, the third brother, and all the way through to the seventh. None of the seven brothers gave the woman any children. 27Eventually, the woman died too. 28So please do tell us. In the life after death, which brother will be married to this woman?”
29Jesus said, “You got it wrong. You don’t know the Scriptures. And you don’t have a clue about how powerful God is. 30People who rise from the dead don’t get married. [3] In that way, they’re like the angels. 31About the resurrection itself, haven’t you read what God said to you? 32‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He’s not the God of the dead. [4] He’s the God of the living.”
33The crowd heard this. The teaching astonished them.
God’s Biggest and Best Rule
34Pharisees heard that Jesus shut the Sadducees up, but good. [5] So the Pharisees called another meeting. 35One of the Pharisees, a scholar and an expert in Jewish law, decided to give it a go. He would try to trick Jesus with a tough question. So he asked Jesus, 36“Teacher of all the commandments in our Jewish law, which one is most important?”37Jesus said,
“‘You’ve got to love the Lord your God
with all the heart you’ve got in you,
all the spirit in your soul,
all your strength, and all your mind.’ [6]
“‘You have to love your neighbor [7]
every bit as much as you love yourself.’ [8]
Jesus Has a Question for Pharisees
41With the Pharisees still clustered around him, Jesus asked them a question. 42“What are you thinking about the Messiah? What family will he come from?”They said, “He comes from David’s family.”
43Jesus said, “Oh really? Then why would David, speaking under the guidance of the Spirit, call his younger relative ‘Master’? [9] David said this:
44“‘God said to my Master:
“Come over here and sit right beside me.
Relax, because I’m going to turn your enemies
into a footrest for you.”’ [10] 45“Why would King David call a younger relative his ‘Master’?”
46No one had an answer. No one spoke a word. His critics left him and never again tried to trick him with a hard question.
