CET PRESENTATON

Luke 20
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
1One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2"Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"
3He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?"
5They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' 6But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
7So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."
8Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
The Parable of the Tenants
9He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13"Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'
14"But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
"What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!"
17Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone[a]'[b]? 18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
19The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
Matthew 21:23-46

The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
24Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25John's baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"
They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 26But if we say, 'From men'—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
27So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.
38"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone[a]; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'[b]?
43"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."[c]
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.


Mark 11:27-12:12


The Authority of Jesus Questioned
27They 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?"
29Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!"
31They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 32But if we say, 'From men'...." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
33So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Mark 12
The Parable of the Tenants
1He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. 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 went away on a journey. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He 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, 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.' 8So 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. 10Haven't you read this scripture: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone[a]; 11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'[b]?"
12Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
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Target audiences of
i) Matthew : Mainly were the Jews and Jesus as being their awaited messiah and secondarily also to the gentiles
ii) Mark : Mainly to the Gentiles in Rome
iii) Luke : Mainly to the gentiles but also to the believers in the early church through correspondence with Theophilus as like to the book of Acts. Theophilus was as most theologians suppose a Roman official or in the upper echelons of society then responsible to have seen into the copying n distribution of the written gospel by Luke



The teachers of the law, chief priests and elders (KJV interchanged teachers of the law as being scribes) and scribes then held judicial powers then given as in tradition to sit in Sanhedrin and later independent legislative positions in the synagogues* apprehended Jesus and asked by whose authority is He doing these things
-incognizant of Jesus’s ministry and deity being the very son of God despite having even seen miracles performed
-scrutinized and skeptically saw Jesus’s ministry as being unorthodox to that of the law being in contrast and
blesphemic when in actual fact Jesus came to fulfill the law and not abolish it (Matthew 5:17)

Jesus used then what was familiar to them in reply to their confrontation by asking “30John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?
John’s baptism was as that of the traditional Jewish ceremonial cleansing albeit the teaching into the Messianic coming of the Lord Jesus and baptized the people into “repentance” and to prepare ye the way for the Lord …. Matt 3:3 thus it was on one hand a written law of ceremonial cleansing and from whom did the law come from? God , yet also had in itself the messianic promise of the Lord Jesus coming to save. No indication otherwise that John’s baptism was from man.

From there Jesus proved His point on a basis that these teachers of the law, are people pleasing and yet they knew the people were for John being a Prophet of God and that the baptism came from God interchangeably used with the term ‘Heaven’, and somehow or rather there is nothing substantiating baptism being that which is from man. Yet if they were to reply saying John’s baptism was from Heaven, why then are they not listening to Jesus who is also sent down from God which then brings them down to the following parable of the wicked tenants.

Since most commentators describe the parable being an allegory to depict the rejection of Jesus’ s authority being sent by the Father and well instead that He being the very son whom was supposed to be respected, and to claim that due allegiance back having the tenants recognize they’re indebted to the Lordship of the Father, He was beaten and killed for what they thought would earn themselves the inheritance, whereas that sought allegiance in claiming the fruits of the vineyard to which they were leased on the count of privileges, and a return of it will be required of them in portions from their produce were called upon by the servants sent also by the Father and yet they were mistreated and beaten, thrown out without the return of allegiance they called to claim for. That being the very prophets like John the Baptist. If they rejected John who was sent by the Father, and He knew they’ll reject Him likewise and kill Him to satisfy themselves in the religion they’re in without opposition as their presumed inheritance, the Abrahamic covenant. Yet with their rejection of the son and having killed Him. 9"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Others many suppose will have to be the gentiles as the Gospel of Matthew hits this parable with two additional parables. The Two sons which points out the distinction of the teachers of the law having known the law, yet not obeying but the sinners whom were in their lower social caste whom they called sinners initially rejecting the Law but turned and followed .prior to the parable tenants and the Wedding Banquet depicting the many who were called into His kingdom but not all were clothed in some would say His righteousness (Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven), to be in the banquet .that was all before which, Mark and Luke whose main recipients were mainly gentiles who felt need not to make so much that comparison. But in this case here, it’s a matter of giving the due allegiance and accept the authority of Jesus.

It went on further yet with the Builders rejecting the stone which eventually became the capstone.
The Capstone which is mostly also interchangeable as being the chief cornerstone. That cornerstone analogy , If I can co-relate to some of the epistles of Peter and Paul.


1 Peter 2:4-10
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[a] 7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,[b]"[c] 8and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."[d] They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy
Ephesians 2:11-22
One in Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

These two I think quite puts everything together that Christ is that Chief Cornerstone by which we are to lay ourselves in unison with Him, and submit ourselves to His authority in that being set proper as being God’s people. The fonts highlighted in blue does suggest having the recipients as gentiles being also called God’s people and His Children. Because these terms ‘God’s people’ and having to introduce The Father’ concept to the gentiles is somewhat foreign but telling them that this relationship is given to us by His Spirit that had reconciled us into sonship being heirs and co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
But to those who reject him and undermine His authority as being from the Father, or tries to in His own righteousness stand in His own will fall and break or crushed under His judgment as some commentators put it. I’d say it has not altogether be on the point of being gentile or Jew but a beseech or appeal to accept Jesus’ s authority from the Father.

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Footnotes:

i) The son being sent in the parable of the tenants does suggest for some theologians that He is the last line of hope to claim the revenue, or the last appeal before the owner pass out His judgment on the tenants
ii) To the parts where the servants were sent prior to the son, the prophets to claim back His due allegiance from the People ;
Luke 11:47-52
47Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
51From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
iii) In reference to the Thomson chain bible, its noted that on all of these gospels, the parable of the tenants is believed to be on the same sitting.