Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to farmers, and left the country for a long time.
“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
So he said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then return.
At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”