Luke 20:1–26

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

20And it happened that on one of the days while^* he was teaching the people in the temple courts^* and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders ²and said, saying to him, “Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority? ³And he answered and^* said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and you tell me: ⁴The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? ⁵And they discussed this^* with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷And they replied that they did not know where it was from. ⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard

⁹And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man^a planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. ¹⁰And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after^* beating him.^{* 11}And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and^* sent him^* away empty-handed. ¹²And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and^* threw out this one also. ¹³So the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴But when^* the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason^* with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!’ ¹⁵And they threw him out of the vineyard and^* killed him.^* What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they^* heard this,^* they said, “May this never happen!” ¹⁷But he looked intently at them and^* said, “What then is this that is written:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

this has become the cornerstone.’^b

¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!” ¹⁹And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay their^* hands on him at that same hour, and they were afraid of the people, for they knew that he had told this parable with reference to them.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

²⁰And they watched him^* closely and^* sent spies who pretended they were upright, in order that they could catch him in a statement, so that they could hand him over to the authority and the jurisdiction of the governor. ²¹And they asked him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not show partiality,^c but teach the way of God in truth. ²²Is it permitted for us to pay taxes^d to Caesar or not?” ²³But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them, ²⁴“Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?” And they answered and^* said,^e “Caesar’s.” ²⁵So he said to them, “Well then, give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” ²⁶And they were not able to catch him^*f in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.