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For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
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"Listen to another parable," Jesus said. "There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.
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When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest.
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The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
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Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.
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Last of all he sent his son to them. "Surely they will respect my son,' he said.
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But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, "This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!'
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So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
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"Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" Jesus asked.
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"He will certainly kill those evil men," they answered, "and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time."
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Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say?
3 "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!'