Luke 20:1-26

Common English Bible

Controversy over authority

20 On one of the days when Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders approached him. ² They said, “Tell us: What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”

³ He replied, “I have a question for you. Tell me: ⁴  Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?”

⁵ They discussed among themselves, “If we say, ‘It’s of heavenly origin,’ he’ll say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘It’s of human origin,’ all the people will stone us to death because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ They answered that they didn’t know where it came from.

⁸ Then Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.”

Parable of the tenant farmers

⁹ Jesus told the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, rented it to tenant farmers, and went on a trip for a long time. ¹⁰ When it was time, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants sent him away, beaten and empty-handed. ¹¹ The man sent another servant. But they beat him, treated him disgracefully, and sent him away empty-handed as well. ¹² He sent a third servant. They wounded this servant and threw him out. ¹³ The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son, whom I love dearly. Perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when they saw him, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ They threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”

¹⁷ Staring at them, Jesus said, “Then what is the meaning of this text of scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?^{[a] 18} Everyone who falls on that stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.” ¹⁹ The legal experts and chief priests wanted to arrest him right then because they knew he had told this parable against them. But they feared the people.

An attempt to trap Jesus

²⁰ The legal experts and chief priests were watching Jesus closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They wanted to trap him in his words so they could hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. ²¹ They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are correct in what you say and teach. You don’t show favoritism but teach God’s way as it really is. ²² Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ Since Jesus recognized their deception, he said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a coin.^[b] Whose image and inscription does it have on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

²⁵ He said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” ²⁶ They couldn’t trap him in his words in front of the people. Astonished by his answer, they were speechless.