The Story of the Bible

And Jesus said, "Yes; and have you never read what is written in the Psalms, 'Out of the mouth of babes and little ones, thou hast made thy praise perfect?' "

And all the common people came to hear Jesus as he taught in the Temple, and they listened to him gladly, for he gave them plain and simple teachings, with many parables or stories. But the rulers and chief priests grew more and more angry as they saw the courts of the Temple filled with people eager to hear Jesus. They tried to find some way to lay hands on Jesus, and to kill him; but they dared not while all the crowds were around him.

All that day Jesus taught the people, and when night came he went out of the city, over the Mount of Olives, to Bethany, where he was safe among his friends.

And on the next morning, which was Tuesday of the week before Passover, Jesus again went over the Mount of Olives with his disciples. They passed the fig-tree to which Jesus had spoken such strange words on the day before. And now the disciples saw that the tree was standing, withered and dried, with its leaves dry and rustling in the wind.

"Look, Master!" said Peter.

"The fig-tree to which you spoke yesterday is withered!"

And Jesus said to them all, "Have faith in God, for in truth I say to you, that if you have faith, you shall not only do this which has been done to the fig-tree; but also, if you shall say to this mountain, 'Be moved away and thrown into the sea!' it shall be done. And all things, whatever they may be, that you ask in prayer, if you have faith, shall be given to you." Again Jesus went into the Temple and taught the people.

And Jesus gave another parable or story, that of "The Wedding Feast." He said:

"There was a certain king who made a great feast at the wedding of his son; and he sent out his servant to call those whom he had invited to the feast. But they would not come. Then he sent forth other servants, and said, 'Tell those who were invited that my dinner is all ready; my oxen are killed, and the dishes are on the table. Say to them, "All things are ready; come to the marriage-feast!' "

"But the men who had been sent for would not come. One went to his farm, another to his shop, and some of them seized the servants whom he sent, and beat them, and treated them roughly; and some of them they killed. This made the king very angry. He sent his armies, and killed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding-feast is ready, but those that were invited were not worthy of such honor. Go out into the streets, and call in everybody that you can find, high and low, rich and poor, good and bad, and tell them that they are welcome.'

"The servants went out and invited all the people of every kind, and brought them to the feast, so that all the places were filled. And to all who came they gave a wedding garment, so that every one might be dressed as was fitting before the king.

"But when the king came in to meet his guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. He said to him, 'Friends, why have you come to the feast without a wedding garment?'

"The man had nothing to say; he stood as one dumb. Then the king said to his officers, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him out into the darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For in the kingdom of God many are called, but few are chosen.' "

The enemies of Jesus thought that they had found a way to bring him into trouble, either with the people, or with the Romans, who were the rulers over the land. So they sent to him some men, who acted as though they were honest and true, but were in their hearts seeking to destroy Jesus. These men came, and they said, "Master, we know that you teach the truth, and that you are not afraid of any man. Now tell what is right, and what we should do. Ought our people, the Jews, to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"

And they watched for his answer. If he should say, "It is right to pay the tax," then these men could tell the people, "Jesus is the friend of the Romans, and the enemy of the Jews," and then they would turn away from him. But if he should say, "It is not right to pay the tax; refuse to pay it," then they might say to the Roman governor that Jesus would not obey the laws, and the governor might put him in prison or kill him. So whatever answer Jesus might give, they hoped he might make trouble for himself.

But Jesus knew their hate and the thoughts of their hearts, and he said, "Let me see a piece of the money that is given for the tax."

They brought him a silver piece, and he looked at it, and said, "Whose head is this on the coin? Whose name is written over it?"

They answered him, "That is Caesar, the Roman emperor."

"Well, then," said Jesus, "give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and give to God the things that are God's!"

JESUS AND THE PIECE OF MONEY