By whose authority do you do these things

By whose authority do you do these things?
Jesus in the Temple - Matthew 21:23-32

One day after Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, he spent the night in the town of Bethany and the next day returned to the temple in Jerusalem. And the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said "By whose authority do you do these things?" And Jesus answered them "I will ask you one thing.. if you tell me, in the same way I will tell you by what authority I do the things I do. Regarding the baptism of John, where was it from? heaven? or of men?" And the priests and elders talked among themselves saying "if we say it was from heaven Jesus will ask why we did not believe John. But if we say, of men; we will fear the people because all of them believe John was a prophet."

So they answered Jesus "We cannot tell." And Jesus said to them "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do the things I do. But what do you think? and he told them this parable (that is a story that has a truth for them):

A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said "Son, today you go work in my vineyard." The son answered and said "I will not! but afterward he repented and went to the vineyard (repented means he was sorry for what he had said and went and did what he was told to do.) And the man went to his second son and asked him also to go work in the vineyard. And the son said that he would go but he did not go. Now which of these two sons did the will of their father?"

The priests and elders said to Jesus, "The first" and then Jesus said to them "Truly I say to you that people you see as sinners will go into the kingdom of God before you. For John (the Baptist) came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the sinners believed him: and when you saw what John did you did not repent and believe him."

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Memory Verse: Matthew 21:28,29 "...a certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went."

Questions:
1 What question did the priests and elders ask Jesus?
2 What did Jesus ask them about before he would answer their question?
3 In the parable what was wrong with what the second son did?
4 Which son did what their father asked him to do? Why?
5 Why did Jesus say that sinners would enter the kingdom before the chief priests and elders?

Answers:
1 By whose authority do you do these things?
2 The baptism of John (the Baptist)
3 He said that he would go and work in the vineyard but then he didn't do it.
4 The first son because first he said he wouldn't but then he was sorry for what he said and he went and did as his father asked.
5 Because John came in the way of righteousness and the chief priests and elders did not repent and believe him, but the sinners believed him.

Vicki C. Gross/January'05