Luke 20:1-10

Christian Standard Bible

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 One^(A) day as he was teaching^(B) the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news,^(C) the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders,^(D) came ² and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”

³ He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, ⁴ was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”

⁵ They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people^(E) will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”^{(F) 7} So they answered that they did not know its origin.

⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

⁹ Now^(G) he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,^(H) leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.