Matthew 21:23–46

Messiah’s Authority Challenged

²³When He entered the temple complex, ^mthe chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?” ⁿ

²⁴Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from men?”

They began to argue among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ^o26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, ^pbecause everyone thought John was a prophet.” ^q27So they answered Jesus, “We don’t 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“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’ ^r

²⁹“He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.

“ ‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go.

³¹“Which of the two did his father’s will?”

“The first,” they said.

Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, ^sand you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

³³“Listen ^tto another parable: ^uThere was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. ^vHe leased it to tenant farmers and went away. ^w34When the grape harvest ^xdrew near, he sent his ^•slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵But the farmers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ^y36Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. ³⁷Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸“But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ ^z39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹“He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told Him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest.” ^ab

⁴²Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. ^c

This came from the Lord

and is wonderful in our eyes? ^de

⁴³Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its ^ffruit. [⁴⁴Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; ^gbut on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!]” ^h

⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, ⁱthey knew He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they ^jregarded Him as a prophet. ^k