Study Desk

He saw a fig tree beside the road and went to get a fig from it. But there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, "You will never again produce fruit!" The tree immediately dried up and died.

When the followers saw this, they were very surprised. They asked, "How did the fig tree dry up and die so quickly?"

So they told Jesus, "We don't know the answer." Jesus said, "Then I will not tell you who gave me the authority to do these things.

Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent his servants to the farmers to get his share of the grapes.

So the man sent some other servants to the farmers. He sent more servants than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to them that they did the first time.

So the man decided to send his son to the farmers. He said, ‘The farmers will respect my son.'

So the farmers took the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

"So what will the owner of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?"

"So I tell you that God's kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who do what God wants in his kingdom.

"Then the king sent some more servants. He said to them, ‘I have already invited the people. So tell them that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves to be eaten. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.'

So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.'

So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike, and brought them to where the wedding feast was ready. And the place was filled with guests.

So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man's hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness, where people are crying and grinding their teeth with pain.'

So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, "You hypocrites! Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong?

There were seven brothers among us. The first brother married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the woman.

But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?"

Jesus answered, "You are so wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures say. And you don't know anything about God's power.

God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people."

The Pharisees learned that Jesus had made the Sadducees look so foolish that they stopped trying to argue with him. So the Pharisees had a meeting.