Luke 20:20-47

20So this is what they did to catch Jesus. They sent people to ask him difficult questions. These people pretended to be honest, but they wanted to deceive Jesus. They wanted to make him say something wrong. Then they would take him to the ruler of the city to punish him.

21So these people went to Jesus. They said, ‘Teacher, everything that you say and everything that you teach is right. We know that. You teach everyone the same true message about what God wants us to do. You do not say something different to an important person to make him happy.

22So tell us your answer to this question: Should we pay our taxes to the Roman ruler, Caesar? Is it right to give that money to him, or not?’

23Jesus knew that those men were not really honest. They wanted to make him say the wrong thing.

24So he said to them, ‘Show me a coin. Tell me, whose picture is on this coin? Whose name is on it?’

25The men replied, ‘It is Caesar's picture and Caesar's name.’ Jesus then said to them, ‘So you should give to Caesar the things that belong to him. And give to God the things that belong to God.’

26So the Jewish leaders could not make Jesus say anything wrong. They were very surprised at his answer to their question. They could not say anything more against him. All the people who were there saw this.

27Then some of the Sadducees came to see Jesus. The Sadducees do not believe that anyone becomes alive again after they die.

28They wanted to ask Jesus a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said to him, ‘Moses wrote this in the Bible for us: “A man may die and leave a wife but no children. Then that man's brother must marry the woman. Then their children will be called the children of the brother who died.”

29But once there were seven brothers. The oldest brother married a woman. Then he died before they had any children.

30So the second brother married this woman. But he also died without children.

31Then the third brother married the woman. The same thing happened to all seven brothers. They all died but they had no children.

32After all this, the woman also died.

33You teach that one day dead people will become alive again. So, on that day, whose wife will the woman be? She had married all seven of those brothers.’

34Jesus answered them, ‘Men and women who are alive on earth are the ones who get married.

35But God has chosen some people to live again with him. He will raise them up after they have died. Those people will not marry. They will not have husbands or wives,

36and they cannot die any more. This is because they will live as the angels live in heaven. They are children of God. He has made them alive again to live with him.

37It is true that God makes dead people become alive again. Moses showed us this in his report about the bush in the wilderness. He told us that our Lord God is the God of Abraham. He is the God of Isaac. And he is the God of Jacob.

38But God is not the God of people who are dead. He is the God of people who are alive. For God, all people continue to be alive.’

39Some of the teachers of God's Law agreed with Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘that was a very good answer.’

40After that, they were all afraid to ask Jesus any more questions.

41Jesus said to them, ‘Why do people say that the Messiah will be King David's son?

42David himself said this in the book called Psalms: “The Lord God said to my Lord, Sit at my right side until I win against your enemies.

43Then you will be able to put your feet on them.”

44You see here that David calls the Messiah his Lord. So can you really say that the Messiah is David's son?’

45All the people were listening to Jesus. Jesus then said to his disciples,

46‘Be careful not to do the same as the teachers of God's Law. They want people to think that they are important. So they walk about in beautiful long clothes. They like people to praise them in the market place. They choose to sit in the best seats in the meeting place. They like to sit in the most important places at special meals.

47They take things away from women after their husbands have died, even their houses. Then they pray for a long time so that other people will praise them. Because they do these things, God will punish those men much more than other people.’