5They discussed this among themselves. They said, “ If we(inc) say, ‘ It was from God MTY/EUP,’ he will say to us, ‘ Then ◄you should have believed John's message!/why did you not believe what John preached?► RHQ’
6But if we say, ‘It was from people,’ the people here will kill us by throwing stones at us, because they all believe that John was a prophet from God.”
7So they replied, “We (exc) do not know where John got his authority.”
8Then Jesus said to them, “ Because you did not answer my question, I will not tell you who authorized me to do those things here yesterday.”
9Then Jesus told the people this parable to illustrate what God would do to the Jews who rejected the former prophets and himself: “A certain man planted a vineyard. He rented the vineyard to some men to care for it and to give him some of the grapes in return. Then he went to another country and stayed there several years.
10When the vines started producing grapes, he sent a servant to the men who were taking care of the vineyard. He expected that they would give him some of the grapes that the vineyard had produced. But after the servant arrived, they beat him and they did not give him any grapes. They just sent him away.
11Later, the owner sent another servant. But they beat him and mistreated him also. They sent him away without giving him any grapes.
12Still later, the owner sent another servant. That one they wounded and threw him out of the vineyard.
13So the owner of the vineyard thought to himself, ‘◄I do not know what to do!/What shall I do?► RHQ’ Then he had an idea. He thought to himself, ‘I will send my son, whom I love very much. Perhaps they will respect him and give him my share of the grapes.’
Luke 20
Luke 20:5-13