Old/New Testament

The Priests Ask, By What Authority Do You Do This?

²³ And He having come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came-to Him while He was teaching, saying, “By what-kind-of ^[a] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ And having responded, Jesus said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what-kind-of authority I am doing these things— ²⁵ From where was the baptism of John, from heaven or from humans?” And the ones were discussing among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven’, He will say to us, ‘Then for what reason did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans’, we fear the crowd. For they all are holding John as a prophet”. ²⁷ And having responded to Jesus, they said, “We do not know”. He also said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what-kind-of authority I am doing these things.

One Son Feigns Obedience, One Disobeys But Repents. Which Did The Father’s Will?

²⁸ “But what seems right to you?— A man had two children. And having gone to the first he said, ‘Child, go, work today in the vineyard’. ²⁹ And the one, having responded, said, ‘I will not’. But having regretted^[b] it later, he went. ³⁰ And having gone to the other, he spoke similarly. And the one, having responded, said, ‘I will, sir’, and he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of the father?” They say, “The first”.

You Priests Feign Obedience To God, But Did Not Believe John, God’s Messenger

Jesus says to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going-ahead-of you into the kingdom of God. ³² For John came to you in^[c] the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And you, having seen it, did not-even regret it later, that you might believe him.

You Priests Are Like Farmers Who Killed The Owner’s Messengers And Son

³³ “Listen-to another parable. There was a man who was a house-master, who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he rented it to farmers and went-on-a-journey. ³⁴ And when the time of the fruits drew-near, he sent forth his slaves to the farmers to receive his fruits. ³⁵ And the farmers, having taken his slaves, beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent-forth other slaves— more than the first. And they did similarly to them. ³⁷ But finally he sent forth his son to them, saying, ‘They will have-regard-for my son’. ³⁸ But the farmers, having seen the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and let us have his inheritance’. ³⁹ And having taken him, they threw him outside of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” ⁴¹ They say to Him, “He will miserably destroy the miserable ones themselves! And he will rent the vineyard to other farmers who will give-back the fruits to him in their seasons”.

The Kingdom Will Be Taken Away Because You Rejected God’s Cornerstone

⁴² Jesus says to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the ones building rejected, this became the head^[d] of the corner. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? [Ps 118:22-23]. ⁴³ For this reason^[e] I say to you that the kingdom of God will be taken-away from you, and will be given to a nation^[f] producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one having fallen upon this stone will be broken-to-pieces^[g]. And upon whomever it may fall, it will crush^[h] him”.

When The Invited Refuse To Attend The Wedding of The King’s Son, They Are Destroyed

⁴⁵ And having heard His parables, the chief priests and the Pharisees knew that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And while seeking to seize Him, they feared the crowds, because they were holding Him for a prophet.