"They knew that Jesus was talking about them."

Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:

A land owner once planted a vineyard.  He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in.  He also built a lookout tower.  Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.

When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes.  But the renters grabbed those servants.  They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death.  He then sent more servants than he did the first time.  But the renters treated them in the same way.

Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him.  But when they saw the man's son, they said, "Someday he will own the vineyard.  Let's kill him!  Then we can have it all for ourselves."  So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Jesus asked, "When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?

The chief priests and leaders answered, "He will kill them in some horrible way.  Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time."

Jesus replied, "You surely know that the Scriptures say,

'The stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all.  This is something the Lord has done, and it is amazing to us.'

I tell you that God's kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands.  Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them.  So they looked for a way to arrest Jesus.  But they were afraid to, because the people thought he was a prophet.

                                                                                         Matthew 21:33-45

Contemporary English Version The Holy Bible (New York , NY: American Bible Society 1995)