Luke 20:1-26

One day Jesus was teaching in the temple courts and sharing with the people the wonderful news of salvation. The high priest, the experts of the law, and the prominent men of the city confronted Jesus and asked him, “We want to know right now by what authority are you teaching here in the temple? And who gave you the authority to teach these things?” Jesus responded, “First, let me ask you a question and you tell me right now. Did John baptize because he had a commission from heaven or merely from men?” His interrogators pulled themselves aside to consider how to respond to Jesus. “What should we say? If we say that John’s mandate was from heaven, he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him and be baptized?’ But if we say, ‘John’s mandate was merely from men,’ then all the people around him will stone us, for they believe John was a prophet of God.” So unable to devise an answer they said to Jesus, “We cannot tell where John’s authority came from.” Jesus said, “Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Jesus taught the people using this story: “A man once planted a vineyard, then leased it out to tenants. Then he left to go abroad and was away for a long time. At harvest time, the owner sent one of his servants to the tenants to collect the landowner’s share of the harvest, but the tenants sent him away, beaten and empty-handed. So the owner dispatched another one of his servants to collect his portion, but the tenants treated him the same way. They cursed him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Then the owner sent a third servant, but they brutalized him also with the same treatment. Finally the owner of the vineyard said to his son, ‘Perhaps if I send you, my own cherished son, they will be ashamed of what they’ve done.’ “But when the tenants saw the son coming, they schemed among themselves. ‘This is the heir of the vineyard! If we kill him, the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw the son off the property and killed him. “I ask you, what do you think the owner of the vineyard will do to his son’s murderers? He will come back and destroy them and give his vineyard to another.” When the people heard this story, they all agreed, “This should never happen!” Jesus looked straight at the people and their leaders and said, “What do you think this verse means? ‘The worthless, rejected stone has become the cornerstone, the most important stone of all.’ Everyone who falls in humility upon that stone will be broken. But if that stone falls on you, it will grind you to pieces!” When the high priests and experts of the law realized that this story was about them, they wanted to have Jesus arrested that very moment, but they were afraid of all the people. Later, they sent spies who pretended to be honest seekers, but who wanted an opportunity to entangle Jesus by his words. Their plan was to catch him saying something against the government, so they could hand him over to the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities who would execute him for sedition. At the right time they asked him this question: “Teacher, we know that all you say is straightforward and what you teach us is right. You give us the true ways of God. You’re one who shows no favoritism to anyone’s status. So we ask you—is it proper or not to pay taxes to a corrupt government?” Jesus saw right through their cunning ploy and said, “Why are you testing me? Show me one of the Roman coins. Whose head is on the coin? Whose title is stamped on it?” They answered, “Why, it’s Caesar’s.” Jesus said, “Precisely. The coin bears the image of the Emperor Caesar, and you should give back to Caesar all that belongs to him. But you bear the image of God. So give back to God all that belongs to him.” The imposters were left speechless and amazed in the presence of all the people, unable to trap Jesus with his words.