Matthew 21

The Triumphal Entry

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,2 saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them.4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:5  Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who 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 come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?11 So the multitudes said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.

The Cleansing of the Temple

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.13 And He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! they were indignant16 and said to Him, Do You hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes. Have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Cursing of the Fig Tree

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you ever again. Immediately the fig tree withered away.20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree wither away so soon?21 So Jesus answered and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

Question of Jesus Authority

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?24 But Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of Johnwhere was it from? From heaven or from men?26 But if we say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.27 So they answered Jesus and said, We do not know. And He said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of the Two Sons

28 But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go, work today in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not, but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir, but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to Him, The first.32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

Parable of the Landowner

33 Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?41 They said to Him, He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.42 Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejectedHas become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lords doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes ?43  Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

MATTHEW 21

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)

1 When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. 2 He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me.

3 If anyone asks why you are doing this, just say, ‘The Lordt needs them.’ He will at once let you have the donkeys.”

4 So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

5  t “Announce to the people
of Jerusalem:
‘Your king is coming to you!
He is humble
and rides on a donkey.
He comes on the colt
of a donkey.’ ”
6 The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do.

7 They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.
8 Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branchest which they had cut from trees.

9 t Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,
“Hoorayt for the Son of David!t
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!”

10 When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus in the Temple

(Mark 11.15-19; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)

13 t He told them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship.’ But you have turned it into a place where robbers hide.”
14 Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were angry when they saw his miracles and heard the children shouting praises to the Son of David.t

16 t The men said to Jesus, “Don't you hear what those children are saying?”
“Yes, I do!” Jesus answered. “Don't you know that the Scriptures say, ‘Children and infants will sing praises’?”

17 Then Jesus left the city and went out to the village of Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Puts a Curse //on a Fig Tree

(Mark 11.12-14,20-24)

19 and along the way he saw a fig tree. But when he came to it, he found only leaves and no figs. So he told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” Right then the fig tree dried up.
20 The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. 21 t But Jesus said to them, “If you have faith and don't doubt, I promise you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will.

22 If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for.”

A Question //about Jesus' Authority

(Mark 11.27-33; Luke 20.1-8)

23 Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things.

25 Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 26 On the other hand, these people think John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”

27 So they told Jesus, “We don't know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

A Story about Two Sons

28 Jesus said:
I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!” 29 His son told him he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn't go.

31 Which one of the sons obeyed his father?
“The older one,” the chief priests and leaders answered.
Then Jesus told them:
You can be sure tax collectorst and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will!

32 t When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.

Renters of a Vineyard

(Mark 12.1-12; Luke 20.9-19)

33  t 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.
34 When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes. 35 But the renters grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death.

36 He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the renters treated them in the same way.
37 Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him. 38 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.”

39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

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

41 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.”

42  t Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,
‘The stone 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.’
43 I tell you God's kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands.

44 Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”t
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew Jesus was talking about them. 46 So they looked for a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to, because the people thought he was a prophet.