Day 31: Jesus' Authority

One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him. “Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” “I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me: John’s baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it was from. And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed. Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out. ‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!” But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people. So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. “Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

Berean Standard Bible

Public Domain