Matthew 21
1 And when they had drawn near to Jerusalem, and had arrived at Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,2 saying to them: Go into the town that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Release them, and lead them to me.3 And if anyone will have said anything to you, say that the Lord has need of them. And he will promptly dismiss them.4 Now all this was done in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,5 Tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king comes to you meekly, sitting on a donkey and on a colt, the son of one accustomed to the yoke.6 Then the disciples, going out, did just as Jesus instructed them.7 And they brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their garments on them, and they helped him sit upon them.8 Then a very numerous crowd spread their garments on the way. But others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the way.9 And the crowds that preceded him, and those that followed, cried out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!10 And when he had entered into Jerusalem, the entire city was stirred up, saying, Who is this?11 But the people were saying, This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.12 And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and he cast out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of the vendors of doves.13 And he said to them: It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer. But you have made it into a den of robbers. 14 And the blind and the lame drew near to him in the temple; and he healed them.15 Then the leaders of the priests and the scribes became indignant, seeing the miracles that he wrought, and the children crying out in the temple, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David!16 And they said to him, Do you hear what these ones are saying? But Jesus said to them, Certainly. Have you never read: For out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have perfected praise?17 And leaving them behind, he went out, beyond the city, into Bethania, and he lodged here.18 Then, as he was returning to the city in the morning, he was hungry.19 And seeing a certain fig tree beside the way, he approached it. And he found nothing on it, except only leaves. And he said to it, May fruit never spring forth from you, for all time. And immediately the fig tree was dried up.20 And seeing this, the disciples wondered, saying, How did it dry up so quickly?21 And Jesus responded to them by saying: Amen I say to you, if you have faith and do not hesitate, not only shall you do this, concerning the fig tree, but even if you would say to this mountain, Take and cast yourself into the sea, it shall be done.22 And all things whatsoever that you shall ask for in prayer: believing, you shall receive.23 And when he had arrived at the temple, as he was teaching, the leaders of the priests and the elders of the people approached him, saying: By what authority do you do these things? And who has given this authority to you?24 In response, Jesus said to them: I also will question you with one word: if you tell me this, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.25 The baptism of John, where was it from? Was it from heaven, or from men? But they thought within themselves, saying:26 If we say, From heaven, he will say to us, Then why did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we have the crowd to fear, for they all hold John to be a prophet.27 And so, they answered Jesus by saying, We do not know. So he also said to them: Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.28 But how does it seem to you? A certain man had two sons. And approaching the first, he said: Son, go out today to work in my vineyard.29 And responding, he said, I am not willing. But afterwards, being moved by repentance, he went.30 And approaching the other, he spoke similarly. And answering, he said, I am going, lord. And he did not go.31 Which of the two did the will of the father? They said to him, The first. Jesus said to them: Amen I say to you, that tax collectors and prostitutes shall precede you, into the kingdom of God.32 For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Yet even after seeing this, you did not repent, so as to believe him.33 Listen to another parable. There was a man, the father of a family, who planted a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a press in it, and built a tower. And he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out to sojourn abroad.34 Then, when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, so that they might receive its fruits.35 And the farmers apprehended his servants; they struck one, and killed another, and stoned yet another.36 Again, he sent other servants, more than before; and they treated them similarly.37 Then, at the very end, he sent his son to them, saying: They will revere my son.38 But the farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and then we will have his inheritance.39 And apprehending him, they cast him outside the vineyard, and they killed him.40 Therefore, when the lord of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those farmers?41 They said to him, He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and he will loan out his vineyard to other farmers, who shall repay to him the fruit in its time.42 Jesus said to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders have rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?43 Therefore, I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and it shall be given to a people who shall produce its fruits.44 And whoever will have fallen on this stone shall be broken, yet truly, on whomever it shall fall, it will crush him.45 And when the leaders of the priests, and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them.46 And though they sought to take hold of him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Matthew 21
The Triumphal Entry
1 Nowt when they approached Jerusalems and came to Bethphage,s at the Mount of Olives,s Jesus sent two disciples,2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you.t Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’s and he will send them at once.”
4 Thist took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:t
5 “Tell the people of Zion,t
‘Look, your king is coming to you,
unassuming and seated on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”t
6 Sot the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloakst on them, and he sat on them.8 At very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting,t “Hosannats to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!sHosanna in the highest!”10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar,t saying, “Who is this?”
11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareths in Galilee.”
Cleansing the Temple
12 Thent Jesus entered the temple areats and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts,ts and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’s but you are turning it into a dentof robbers!”s
14 The blind and lame came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them.15 But when the chief priests and the experts in the lawt saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children crying out in the temple courts,t “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing infants you have prepared praise for yourself’?”s
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.
The Withered Fig Tree
18 Now early in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.19 After noticing a fig treets by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once.20 When the disciples saw it they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”21 Jesust answered them, “I tell you the truth,t if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe,t you will receive.”
The Authority of Jesus
23 Now after Jesust entered the temple courts,t the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authorityt are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”24 Jesust answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?”ts They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.”
27 Sot they answered Jesus,t “We don’t know.”s Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell yous by what authorityt I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “Whatt do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’29 The boy answered,t ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heartt and went.30 The fathert went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered,t ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go.31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”s Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,t tax collectorss and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Althought you saw this, you did not later change your mindss and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landownert who planted a vineyard.s He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Thent he leased it to tenant farmerss and went on a journey.34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slavests to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.t35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one,s killed another, and stoned another.36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.37 Finally he sent his son to them,s saying, ‘They will respect my son.’38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’39 Sot they seized him,t threw him out of the vineyard,s and killed him.40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.ts
This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?s
43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a peoplet who will produce its fruit.44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”ssts45 Whent the chief priests and the Phariseess heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.
46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowdst regarded him as a prophet.