Messiah’s Authority Challenged

27 They(A) came again to Jerusalem.(B) As He was walking in the temple complex,(C) the chief priests, the scribes,(D) and the elders(E) came 28 and asked Him, “By what authority(F) are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”

29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;(G) then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 Was John’s baptism(H) from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

31 They began to argue among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe(I) him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was a genuine prophet.(J) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

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

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

12 Then(K) He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,(L) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. At harvest time he sent(M) a slave(N) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit(O) of the vineyard from the farmers. But they took him, beat(P) him, and sent him away empty-handed.(Q) Again he sent another slave to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.[b] Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.

“He still had one to send, a beloved(R) son. Finally(S) he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“Therefore, what will the owner[c](T) of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:(U)

The(V) stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[d](W)
11 This came from the Lord(X)
and is wonderful in our eyes?”[e]

12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:4 Other mss add threw stones and
  2. Mark 12:4 Other mss add and sent him off
  3. Mark 12:9 Or lord
  4. Mark 12:10 Lit the head of the corner
  5. Mark 12:11 Ps 118:22-23

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(B)

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants(C)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(D) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(E) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;(F)
11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”(G)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(H) so they left him and went away.(I)

Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23