The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (A)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(B)as he was teaching, and said, ^(C)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(D)from where did it come? ^(E)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(F)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(G)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(H)a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (I)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(J)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(K)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(L)the tax collectors and ^(M)the prostitutes go into ^(N)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(O)in the way of righteousness, and ^(P)you did not believe him, but ^(Q)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(R)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (S)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(T)a vineyard ^(U)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(V)leased it to tenants, and ^(W)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[a] to the tenants ^(X)to get his fruit. ^35 (Y)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(Z)stoned another. ^36 (AA)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^(AB)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(AC)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(AD)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (AE)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(AF)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(AG)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(AH)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(AJ)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(AK)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(AL)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(AM)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[c]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And ^(AN)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(AO)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(AP)a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus ^(A)spoke to them in parables, saying, ^2 (B)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^(C)a wedding feast for his son, ³ and ^(D)sent his servants^[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ^4 (E)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^(F)dinner, ^(G)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But ^(H)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, ^(I)treated them shamefully, and ^(J)killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^(K)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^(L)worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and ^(M)gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there ^(N)a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ^(O)‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and ^(P)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^(Q)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^(R)called, but few are ^(S)chosen.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^27 (A)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they said to him, ^(B)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John ^(C)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” ³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(D)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^(E)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^(F)a prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 ^(A)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^(B)a vineyard ^(C)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^(D)leased it to tenants and ^(E)went into another country. ² When the season came, he sent a servant^[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^3 (F)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^4 (G)Again ^(H)he sent to them another servant, and ^(I)they struck him on the head and ^(J)treated him shamefully. ^5 (K)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, ^(L)a beloved son. ^(M)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ^(N)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(O)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him and ^(P)threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^(Q)He will ^(R)come and destroy the tenants and ^(S)give the vineyard to others. ^10 (T)Have you not read ^(U)this Scripture:

¹² And ^(W)they were seeking to arrest him ^(X)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^(Y)left him and went away.

^47 (A)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(B)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(C)One day, ^(D)as Jesus^[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^(E)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ² and said to him, “Tell us ^(F)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴ was the baptism of John ^(G)from heaven or from man?” ⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(H)‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ^(I)a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

^9 (J)And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^(K)a vineyard and ^(L)let it out to tenants and ^(M)went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant^[b] to the tenants, so that ^(N)they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^(O)But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^11 (P)And ^(Q)he sent another servant. But they also beat and ^(R)treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ^12 (S)And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^(T)beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^(U)‘This is the heir. ^(V)Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ And they ^(W)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ^16 (X)He will ^(Y)come and destroy those tenants and ^(Z)give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷ But he ^(AA)looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^18 (AC)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^(AD)on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^19 (AE)The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.