Bible Browser

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

20One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders ²and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ ³He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: ⁴Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ ⁵They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” ⁶But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

9 He began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. ¹⁰When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹²And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, “This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.” ¹⁵So 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 tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ When they heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’ ¹⁷But he looked at them and said, ‘What then does this text mean:
“The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone”?^*
18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ ¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

The Question about Paying Taxes

20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. ²¹So they asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. ²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ ²³But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, ²⁴‘Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?’ They said, ‘The emperor’s.’ ²⁵He said to them, ‘Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ ²⁶And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.