Study Desk

And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, "Why are you untying that colt?"

So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you."

So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed.

A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.

"But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!'

So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. "What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?" Jesus asked.

The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people's reaction.

"Teacher," they said, "we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully.

"Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" "Caesar's," they replied.

So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.

They posed this question: "Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother's name.

And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

"Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.

Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished."

Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you.

They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.

The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people's reaction.

They were delighted, and they promised to give him money.