Luke 19:45-20:19

English Standard Version

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

⁴⁵^(A)And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written, ^(B)‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^(C)you have made it a den of robbers.”

⁴⁷^(D)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(E)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(F)One day, ^(G)as Jesus^[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^(H)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ²and said to him, “Tell us ^(I)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴was the baptism of John ^(J)from heaven or from man?” ⁵And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(K)‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ^(L)a prophet.” ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

⁹^(M)And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^(N)a vineyard and ^(O)let it out to tenants and ^(P)went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰When the time came, he sent a servant^[b] to the tenants, so that ^(Q)they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^(R)But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹^(S)And ^(T)he sent another servant. But they also beat and ^(U)treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹²^(V)And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^(W)beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^(X)‘This is the heir. ^(Y)Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵And they ^(Z)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶^(AA)He will ^(AB)come and destroy those tenants and ^(AC)give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷But he ^(AD)looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^(AE)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?^[c]

¹⁸^(AF)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^(AG)on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹^(AH)The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.