There is a vineyard. Someone has planted it, put a fence around it, dug a winepress, built a watchtower, and entrusted it to tenants. And everything in Jesus’ parable turns on one simple fact: The vineyard does not belong to the tenants. They have been entrusted with it. They are...

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” That is the question the chief priests and elders ask Jesus. And it is a good question. Authority matters. We entrust people with authority over enormous parts of our lives. Parents have authority. Teachers have authority....

On Monday I was at my child’s soccer game. It was a close game. Tied for much of the time. In the end, my child’s team lost by one point. There were a lot of off-side calls. There were also, shall we say, some questionable calls by the referees. But...