Luke 20:1–18

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20^hOne day, ⁱas Jesus¹ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ²and said to him, “Tell us ^kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴was the baptism of John ^lfrom heaven or from man?” ⁵And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^m‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ⁿa prophet.” ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

^9oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^pa vineyard and ^qlet it out to tenants and ^rwent into another country for a long while. ¹⁰When the time came, he sent a servant² to the tenants, so that ^qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^11tAnd ^she sent another servant. But they also beat and ^utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ^12sAnd he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^w‘This is the heir. ^xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵And they ^ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ^16zHe will ^acome and destroy those tenants and ^bgive the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷But he ^clooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^d“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?³

^18eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^fon anyone, it will crush him.”