What Jesus Did

[Trying to trap Jesus, the Pharisees said to him:] "Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

But Jesus knew their evil motives. "You hypocrites!" he said. "Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax." When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?"

"Caesar's," they replied.

"Well, then," he said, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."

His...

 

[After Jesus' parables against the Pharisees, they] met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. "Teacher," they said, "we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don't play favorites."

—Matthew 22:15-16 NLT

Key Thought​

The Pharisees and supporters of Herod were bitter enemies. Hatred can make for...

 

[Jesus concluded his parable:] "But when the king came in to meet the guests [at the wedding feast for his son], he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?' But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, 'Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"For many are called, but few are chosen."


—Matthew...

 

[Jesus continued his parable about guests killing a king's servants who brought an invitation to a wedding feast for his son:] "The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.' So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was...

 

[Jesus continued his parable about guests invited to a wedding feast by a king:] "But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them."

—Matthew 22:5-6 NLT

Key Thought​

The power of this parable, this story, is found in a few key identifications. Clearly, the king in this story is God. The son, or prince, he wants honored is Jesus. As was standard practice...

 

Jesus also told [the leading priests and Pharisees] other parables. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!
"So he sent other servants to tell them, 'The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!'"


—Matthew 22:1-4...

 

When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable [about the tenant farmers who killed the landowners son], they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

—Matthew 21:45-46 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus is the one attacked and hated. Jesus is the one who appears powerless. Jesus is the one who is crucified. Jesus is the one without earthly...

 

[After telling the religious leaders the parable about the tenant farmers who killed the landowner's son,] Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?

'The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.'

I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will...

 

[Talking to the religious leaders, Jesus continued his story about the vineyard owner's efforts to collect from the tenant farmers:] "When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?"
The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest."


—Matthew 21:40-41 NLT

Key Thought​

We sometimes naively suppose that...

 

[Talking to the religious leaders, Jesus continued his story about the vineyard owner's efforts to collect from the tenant farmers:] "Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, 'Surely they will respect my son.'
"But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, 'Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him."


—Matthew 21:37-39 NLT

Key...​