AUTHORITY OF JESUS QUESTIONED

Passage: Mark 11:27-12:12

Key verse: 12:10

NIV

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(B)

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants(C)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(D) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(E) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;(F)
11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”(G)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(H) so they left him and went away.(I)

Footnotes
  1. Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22,23
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 (A)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, (B)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John (C)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, (D)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—(E)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was (F)a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12 (G)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted (H)a vineyard (I)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and (J)leased it to tenants and (K)went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 (L)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 (M)Again (N)he sent to them another servant, and (O)they struck him on the head and (P)treated him shamefully. 5 (Q)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, (R)a beloved son. (S)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, (T)‘This is the heir. Come, (U)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and (V)threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? (W)He will (X)come and destroy the tenants and (Y)give the vineyard to others. 10 (Z)Have you not read (AA)this Scripture:

(AB)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And (AC)they were seeking to arrest him (AD)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they (AE)left him and went away.

Footnotes
  1. Mark 12:2 Or bondservant; also verse 4
  2. Mark 12:10 Greek the head of the corner
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Teachers of the law were looking for a way to kill Jesus. They asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things?” Instead of answering directly, Jesus also asked them, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven or of human origin?” They could not answer. They knew that John’s baptism was from heaven, yet they did not believe it. They feared that if they said John’s ministry was of human origin, people would rise against them. In their hearts, although it was obvious Jesus was from God, they did not want to believe him.

Jesus began to speak to them in parables. Jesus told them about a man who planted a vineyard and rented it to some farmers to take care of it. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them. But they seized and beat him. Then the man sent another servant. They struck him too. They killed another servant. So the man sent his own son. But they killed the son, and threw him out of the vineyard. This parable was for the teachers of the law. They were the ones who killed God’s son, Jesus. We are the same sinners who rejected Jesus and killed him on the cross. Lord, may we repent of our sins and accept Jesus in our heart moment by moment.

Prayer: Lord, please help us to repent of our pride and accept Jesus as our true Messiah and king of our lives.

One Word: Jesus has become the cornerstone.