Salvation for Foreigners

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^27 (A)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they said to him, ^(B)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John ^(C)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” ³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(D)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^(E)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^(F)a prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 ^(G)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^(H)a vineyard ^(I)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^(J)leased it to tenants and ^(K)went into another country. ² When the season came, he sent a servant^[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^3 (L)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^4 (M)Again ^(N)he sent to them another servant, and ^(O)they struck him on the head and ^(P)treated him shamefully. ^5 (Q)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, ^(R)a beloved son. ^(S)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, ^(T)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(U)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him and ^(V)threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^(W)He will ^(X)come and destroy the tenants and ^(Y)give the vineyard to others. ^10 (Z)Have you not read ^(AA)this Scripture:

¹² And ^(AC)they were seeking to arrest him ^(AD)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^(AE)left him and went away.

Greeting

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant^[b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained ^(A)a faith of equal standing with ours ^(B)by the righteousness of our ^(C)God and Savior Jesus Christ:

^2 (D)May grace and peace be multiplied to you ^(E)in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirm Your Calling and Election

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him ^(F)who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence,^{[d] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become ^(G)partakers of the divine nature, ^(H)having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith ^(I)with virtue,^[e] and virtue ^(J)with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control ^(K)with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness ^(L)with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection ^(M)with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or ^(N)unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ^(O)is blind, having forgotten that he was ^(P)cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and ^(Q)election, for if you practice these qualities ^(R)you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you ^(S)an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² Therefore I intend ^(T)always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in ^(U)the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this ^(V)body,^{[h] (W)}to stir you up by way of reminder, ^14 (X)since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, ^(Y)as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶ For we did not follow ^(Z)cleverly devised ^(AA)myths when we made known to you ^(AB)the power and ^(AC)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but ^(AD)we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ^(AE)“This is my beloved Son,^[i] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on ^(AF)the holy mountain. ¹⁹ And ^(AG)we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention ^(AH)as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ^(AI)the day ^(AJ)dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. ²¹ For ^(AK)no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God ^(AL)as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.