11
So he sent another slave; but the tenants beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him back without a thing.
12
Then he sent a third slave; the tenants wounded him, too, and threw him out.
13
Then the owner of the vineyard said, "What shall I do? I will send my own dear son; surely they will respect him!'
14
But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, "This is the owner's son. Let's kill him, and his property will be ours!'
15
So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?" Jesus asked.
16
"He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants." When the people heard this, they said, "Surely not!"
17
Jesus looked at them and asked, "What, then, does this scripture mean?
1 "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.'
18
Everyone who falls on that stone will be cut to pieces; and if that stone falls on someone, that person will be crushed to dust."
19
The teachers of the Law and the chief priests tried to arrest Jesus on the spot, because they knew that he had told this parable against them; but they were afraid of the people.
20
So they looked for an opportunity. They bribed some men to pretend they were sincere, and they sent them to trap Jesus with questions, so that they could hand him over to the authority and power of the Roman Governor.
21
These spies said to Jesus, "Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is right. We know that you pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people.