Luke 20:1-19
Read Luke 20 in full →The Authority of Jesus Challenged
20aAnd it happened that on one of the days while bHe was teaching the people in the temple and cproclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders dcame up to Him, 2and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a 1question, and you tell Me: 4“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6“But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a aprophet.” 7So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8And Jesus said to them, “Neither 1will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Vine-Growers
9aAnd He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to 1vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10“And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vine-growers sent him away empty-handed having beaten him. 11“And he proceeded to send another slave; and when they beat him also and treated him shamefully, they sent him away empty-handed. 12“And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13“Now the 1owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will arespect him.’ 14“But when the vine-growers saw him, they were reasoning with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15“So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the 1owner of the vineyard do to them? 16“He will come and adestroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “bMay it never be!” 17But when 1Jesus looked at them, He said, “What then is this that is written: ‘aThe stone which the builders rejected,This has become bthe chief corner stone’?
18“aEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
Taxes to Caesar
19And the scribes and the chief priests atried to lay hands on Him that very hour, but they feared the people. For they understood that He spoke this parable against them.