Mark 11:27-12:12

GOD’S WORD Translation

Jesus’ Authority Challenged^(A)

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple courtyard, the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came to him. ²⁸ They asked him, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?”

²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I’ll ask you a question. Answer me, and then I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. ³⁰ Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans? Answer me!”

³¹ They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘from humans,’ ⌞then what will happen⌟?” They were afraid of the people. All the people thought of John as a true prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.”

A Story about a Vineyard^(B)

12 Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.

² “At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. ³ The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing. ⁴ So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.

⁶ “He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸ So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you never read the Scripture passage:

¹² They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.