Authority Challenged; Parables of Judgment (Sunday–Monday)

²³And when he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you these things? And who gave you this authority? ²⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵The baptism of John, from where was it? From Heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From Heaven, he will say unto us, Why did you not then believe him? ²⁶But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people, for all people hold John as a prophet. ²⁷And they answered Jesus and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸But what do you think? A man had two sons. And he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. ²⁹He answered and said, I will not. But afterward he repented and went. ³⁰And he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir I will serve, and went not. ³¹Which of those two did the will of their father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus said unto them, Truly I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you; ³²for John came unto you in the way of righteousness and bore record of me and you believed him not, but the publicans and the harlots believed him. And ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. And you, afterward, when you had seen me, repented not, that you might believe him; for he that believed not John concerning me cannot believe me, except he first repent. And except you repent, the preaching of John shall condemn you in the day of judgment.

³³And again, hear another parable; for unto you that believe not, I speak in parables, that your unrighteousness may be rewarded unto you. Behold, there was a certain householder who planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. ³⁴And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. ³⁵And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did unto them likewise. ³⁷But last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. ³⁸But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance. ³⁹And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. ⁴⁰And Jesus said unto them, When the lord therefore of the vineyard comes, what will he do unto those husbandmen? ⁴¹They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard destroy those miserable, wicked men and will lease the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

⁴²Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is to become the head of the corner; this is the Lord’s doings, and it is marvelous in our eyes? ⁴³Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ⁴⁴For whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

⁴⁵And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. ⁴⁶And they said among themselves, Shall this man think that he alone can spoil this great kingdom? And they were angry with him. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they learned that the multitude took him for a prophet.

And now his disciples came to him, and Jesus said unto them, Do you marvel at the words of the parable which I spoke unto them? Truly I say unto you, I am the stone, and those wicked ones reject me. I am the head of the corner. These Jews shall fall upon me and shall be broken, and the kingdom of God shall be taken from them and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (meaning the Gentiles). Wherefore, on whomever this stone shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And when the Lord therefore of the vineyard comes, he will destroy those miserable, wicked men, and will lease again his vineyard unto other husbandmen, even in the last days, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

And then understood they the parable which he spoke unto them, that the Gentiles should be destroyed also when the Lord should descend out of Heaven to reign in his vineyard, which is the earth and the inhabitants thereof.

¹And Jesus answered the people again, and spoke unto them in parables, and said, ²The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king who made a marriage for his son. ³And when the marriage was ready, he sent forth his servants to call them that were bid to the wedding; and they would not come. ⁴Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bid, Behold, I have prepared my oxen, and my fatlings have been killed, and my dinner is ready, and all things are prepared; therefore, come unto the marriage. ⁵But they made light of it the servants and went their ways — one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. ⁶And the remnant took his servants, and treated them spitefully, and slew them. ⁷But when the king heard that his servants were dead, he was angry. And he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

⁸Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they who were bid were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. ¹⁰So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all, as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests.

¹¹But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. ¹²And he said unto him, Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. ¹³Then said the king unto his servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into and cast him away into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ¹⁴for many are called, but few chosen; wherefore, all do not have on the wedding garment.

²⁷And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, ²⁸and said unto him, By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority to do these things? ²⁹And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question. Answer me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰The baptism of John, was it Was the baptism of John from Heaven or of men? Answer me. ³¹And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From Heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? ³²But if we shall say, Of men, they feared the people: for all men counted John we shall offend the people. Therefore, they feared the people, for all people believed John, that he was a prophet indeed. ³³And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

¹And he Jesus began to speak unto them by parables, saying, A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug the wine vat, and built a tower, and leased it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. ²And at the season, he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. ³And they caught him the servant, and beat him, and sent him away empty. ⁴And again he sent unto them another servant, and at him they cast stones and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. ⁵And again he sent another, and him they killed, and many others — beating some and killing some.

⁶Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. ⁷But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours. ⁸And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁹What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? Behold, he will come and destroy the husbandmen and will give the vineyard unto others. ¹⁰Again, have you not read this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; ¹¹this was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes?

¹²And now they were angry when they heard these words, and they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them. And they left him and went their way.

¹And it came to pass that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders ²and spoke unto him, saying, Tell us by what authority you do these things; or who is he who gave you this authority? ³And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; answer me: ⁴The baptism of John, was it from Heaven or of men? ⁵And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From Heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? ⁶And if we say, Of men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet. ⁷And they answered that they could not tell from where it was. ⁸Jesus said unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these those things.

⁹Then began he to speak to the people this parable: A certain man planted a vineyard, and leased it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. ¹⁰And at the season of the harvest, he sent his servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him and sent him away empty. ¹¹And again he sent another servant, and they beat him also, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. ¹²And again he sent a third, and they wounded him also and cast him out. ¹³Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him when they see him. ¹⁴But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. ¹⁵So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? ¹⁶He shall come and destroy these husbandmen and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it this, they said, God forbid.

¹⁷And he beheld them and said, What is this then which is written: The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? ¹⁸Whoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken, but on whomever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. ¹⁹And the chief priests and the scribes, the same hour, sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people, for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.