Matthew 21:28-44

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you]. “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country]. [Is 5:1-7; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19] When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man]is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘THE [very] STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED and THREW AWAY, HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE; THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING, AND IT IS MARVELOUS and WONDERFUL IN OUR EYES’? [Ps 118:22, 23] Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” [Is 8:14, 15; Dan 2:34, 35]