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One day when Jesus was in the Temple teaching the people and preaching the Good News, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, together with the elders, came
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and said to him, "Tell us, what right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?"
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Jesus answered them, "Now let me ask you a question. Tell me,
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did John's right to baptize come from God or from human beings?"
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They started to argue among themselves, "What shall we say? If we say, "From God,' he will say, "Why, then, did you not believe John?'
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But if we say, "From human beings,' this whole crowd here will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."
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So they answered, "We don't know where it came from."
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And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things."
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Then Jesus told the people this parable: "There was once a man who planted a vineyard, rented it out to tenants, and then left home for a long time.
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When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest. But the tenants beat the slave and sent him back without a thing.