Luke 20:1-16

Living Bible

20 On one of those days when he was teaching and preaching the Good News in the Temple, he was confronted by the chief priests and other religious leaders and councilmen. ² They demanded to know by what authority he had driven out the merchants from the Temple.

³ “I’ll ask you a question before I answer,” he replied. ⁴ “Was John sent by God, or was he merely acting under his own authority?”

⁵ They talked it over among themselves. “If we say his message was from heaven, then we are trapped because he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say John was not sent from God, the people will mob us, for they are convinced that he was a prophet.” ⁷ Finally they replied, “We don’t know!”

⁸ And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t answer your question either.”

⁹ Now he turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers, and went away to a distant land to live for several years. ¹⁰ When harvest time came, he sent one of his men to the farm to collect his share of the crops. But the tenants beat him up and sent him back empty-handed. ¹¹ Then he sent another, but the same thing happened; he was beaten up and insulted and sent away without collecting. ¹² A third man was sent and the same thing happened. He, too, was wounded and chased away.

¹³ “‘What shall I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will show respect for him.’

¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw his son, they said, ‘This is our chance! This fellow will inherit all the land when his father dies. Come on. Let’s kill him, and then it will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What do you think the owner will do? ¹⁶ I’ll tell you—he will come and kill them and rent the vineyard to others.”

“But they would never do a thing like that,” his listeners protested.