Mark 11:27-33

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^aAnd 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, 28and they said to him, ^b“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John ^cfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^d‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— ^ethey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^fa prophet. 33So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Mark 12:1-12

The Parable of the Tenants

1 ^gAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ^ha vineyard ⁱand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and ^jleased it to tenants and ^kwent into another country. 2When the season came, he sent a servant ▼

▼Greek bondservant; also verse 4

to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 ^mAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 ⁿAgain ^ohe sent to them another servant, and ^pthey struck him on the head and ^qtreated him shamefully. 5 ^rAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6He had still one other, ^sa beloved son. ^tFinally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7But those tenants said to one another, ^u‘This is the heir. Come, ^vlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8And they took him and killed him and ^wthrew him out of the vineyard. 9What will the owner of the vineyard do? ^xHe will ^ycome and destroy the tenants and ^zgive the vineyard to others. 10 ^aaHave you not read ^abthis Scripture:

^ac“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ▼

▼Greek  the head of the corner

11this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12And ^aethey were seeking to arrest him ^afbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they ^agleft him and went away.

Luke 20:1-19

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

1 ^ahOne day, ^aias Jesus ▼

▼Greek he

was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^akthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2and said to him, “Tell us ^alby 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 ^amfrom heaven or from man?” 5And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^an‘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 ^aoa 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 ^apAnd he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^aqa vineyard and ^arlet it out to tenants and ^aswent into another country for a long while. 10When the time came, he sent a servant ▼

▼Greek bondservant; also verse 11

to the tenants, so that ^authey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^avBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 ^awAnd ^axhe sent another servant. But they also beat and ^aytreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 ^azAnd 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 ^babeloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^bb‘This is the heir. ^bcLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15And they ^bdthrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 ^beHe will ^bfcome and destroy those tenants and ^bggive the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17But he ^bhlooked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^bi“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’? ▼

▼Greek  the head of the corner

18 ^bkEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^blon anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 ^bmThe 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.