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For 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.
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“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.
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At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.
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But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.
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So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
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“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
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“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!’
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So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
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“When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
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The 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.”
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Then 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.’