Matthew 21:28-46

“What do you think? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ “He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented and went. “Then he came to the second, and said likewise. He answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. “Listen to another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he rented it to vinedressers and went into a distant country. When the season of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit. “The vinedressers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did likewise to them. Last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they caught him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said, “He will severely destroy those wicked men and rent his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever it falls, it will crush him.” When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But as they tried to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him as a prophet.