Two parables
Matthew 21:28-46 (New Living Translation)
28“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older
boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29The son answered,
‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30Then the father
told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t
go.
31“Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”
Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the
truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God
before you do. 32For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you
didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you
saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
33“Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard,
built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a
lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to
another country. 34At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his
share of the crop. 35But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned
another. 36So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him,
but the results were the same.
37“Finally, the owner sent his son,
thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
38“But when the tenant farmers saw his
son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come
on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39So they grabbed
him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
40“When the owner of the vineyard
returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41The religious leaders replied, “He
will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others
who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever
read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’
43I tell you, the Kingdom of God will
be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper
fruit. 44Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it
will crush anyone it falls on.”
45When the leading priests and
Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against
them—they were the wicked farmers. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they
were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
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