"And I will not tell you by what authority I do these things," Jesus said to them.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Then, turning to them, He asked: "Will you answer Me another question? A certain man had two sons, and he sent them to his vineyard to work: one of them refused to go, but then he became ashamed, he repented and went; and the other said, "I am coming," but did not go. Which of the two has fulfilled the will of the father?"

Not understanding what Jesus' purpose was in telling this parable, they answered: "Surely,

the first (Matt. 21:31); Can there be any doubt about this?"

"You answered correctly," Jesus told them. "Listen to what this parable means. The Lord, through John, called you to repentance, which is necessary for entering the Kingdom of God, and demanded of you worthy fruits of repentance; in short, He called you to work in His vineyard. He also called publicans and harlots. It seemed that you, who pride yourself on your knowledge of the Scriptures, would respond to His call faster than obvious sinners; moreover, by your outward piety, you have always tried to present yourselves as exact executors of the will of God; you always said: "I am coming, Lord!", although you did not move. Nor did you respond to John's call. And the publicans and prostitutes, who, indulging in sin, refused to do the will of God, having heard John, came to their senses, repented and went to work in God's vineyard. And you saw this, but still you did not repent, did not believe John. So know that the publicans and harlots are ahead of you on the way to the Kingdom of God; many of them will even enter it, and you will be rejected!"

The members of the Sanhedrin had come to the temple as accusers, and now they stood silently before Jesus and all the people as condemned.

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen

"Listen to another parable," Jesus said to them. "A certain man planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, built a winery and built a watchtower; but since it was necessary for him to leave for another place, he gave the vineyard to the management of the tenants, with the obligation to provide him with part of the fruit. When the time came to gather the fruit, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive the fruit from them; but the tenants beat him and gave him nothing. He sent another servant; but even this husbandman sent away empty-handed, smashing his head with stones. The owner of the vineyard sent a third servant, but the tenants killed him also. He sent many more servants, but all in vain: the tenants did not give fruit, and the servants sent were either beaten or completely killed. It would seem that the time has come to take away from the wicked tenants the vineyard that has been given to them to govern; but the landlord was so kind that he decided to try one last remedy: "I have," he said, "a beloved son; I will send him; it cannot be that they reject him either; perhaps they will be ashamed of him and give him his due." The landlord's son went to the tenants; but when they saw him from afar, they recognized him as a son and heir, and fearing that he would take away the vineyard from them, they conspired to kill him. "Let us kill him," they said, "and then the vineyard will be ours forever." Having decided so, they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard."

This parable made a strong impression on the people; and when Jesus said that the tenants had killed their son and thrown him out of the vineyard, the people, indignant at the wicked tenants, cried out with one voice: