The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard^(A)

^9 (B)Then Jesus told the people this parable: “There was once a man who planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenants, and then left home for a long time. ¹⁰ When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing. ¹¹ So he sent another slave; but the tenants beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him back without a thing. ¹² Then he sent a third slave; the tenants wounded him, too, and threw him out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my own dear son; surely they will respect him!’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the owner's son. Let's kill him, and his property will be ours!’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?” Jesus asked. ¹⁶ “He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants.”

When the people heard this, they said, “Surely not!”

^17 (C)Jesus looked at them and asked, “What, then, does this scripture mean?

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces; and if that stone falls on someone, that person will be crushed to dust.”