Matthew 21:23-46

Matthew 21

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²³ When Jesus went into the temple courts, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things?” and “Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer it, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, since they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

He said to them, “Then I will not tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ He came to the second and said the same thing. The second son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Amen I tell you: The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe him. However, the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him. Even when you saw this, you did not change your mind and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it out to some tenant farmers and went away on a journey. ³⁴ When the time approached to harvest the fruit, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ The tenant farmers seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then the landowner sent even more servants than the first time. The tenant farmers treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. ³⁸ But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ ³⁹ They took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ So when the landowner comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”

⁴¹ They told him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end. Then he will lease out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his fruit when it is due.”

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

⁴³ “That is why I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds because the people regarded him as a prophet.