Paying Taxes
Jesus' enemies kept watching him closely, because they wanted to hand him over to the Roman governor. So they sent some men who pretended to be good. But they were really spies trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong. The spies said to him, "Teacher, we know that you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?"
Jesus knew that they were trying to trick him. So he told them, "Show me a coin." Then he asked, "Whose picture and name are on it?" "The Emperor's," they answered. Then he told them, "Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God." Jesus' enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer and kept quiet.
Life in the Future World
The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said: Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother.
There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. The second one married his brother's widow, and he also died without having any children. The same thing happened to the third one. Finally, all seven brothers married that woman and died without having any children. At last the woman died. When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? All seven brothers had married her. Jesus answered:
The people in this world get married. But in the future world no one who is worthy to rise from death will either marry or die. They will be like the angels and will be God's children, because they have been raised to life.
In the story about the burning bush, Moses clearly shows that people will live again. He said, "The Lord is the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So the Lord isn't the God of the dead, but of the living. This means that everyone is alive as far as God is concerned. Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses said, "Teacher, you have given a good answer!" From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any questions.
About David's Son
Jesus asked, "Why do people say that the Messiah will be the son of King David? In the book of Psalms, David himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right side until I make your enemies into a footstool for you.' David spoke of the Messiah as his Lord, so how can the Messiah be his son?"
Jesus and the Teachers of the Law of Moses
While everyone was listening to Jesus, he said to his disciples: Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes, and they like to be greeted in the market. They want the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets. But they cheat widows out of their homes and then pray long prayers just to show off. These teachers will be punished most of all.