Matthew 21:1-46 NIV
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as
King
1As they
approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent
two disciples, 2saying
to them, “Go to the
village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her
colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3If anyone says anything to you, say
that the Lord needs them, and He
will send them right away.”
4This
took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your King comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
6The
disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They
brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to
sit on. 8A very
large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the
trees and spread them on the road. 9The
crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted,
10When
Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11The
crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus at the Temple
12 Jesus
entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves. 13“It is written,” He said
to them, “ ‘My House
will be called a House of Prayer,’e but you are making it ‘a den of
robbers.’f ”
14 The
blind and the lame came to Him at the Temple, and He healed them.
15But
when the chief priests and the teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things He
did and the children shouting in the Temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of
David,” they were indignant.
16“Do you
hear what these children are saying?” they asked Him.
“Yes,” replied
Jesus, “have you never read,
“ ‘From the lips of children and infants
17And He
left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
18Early in
the morning, as Jesus was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. 19Seeing
a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves.
Then He said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20When
the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so
quickly?” they asked.
21Jesus
replied, “Truly I
tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done
to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself
into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If
you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23Jesus
entered the Temple courts, and, while He was teaching, the chief priests and the
elders of the people came to Him.
“By what authority are
you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus
replied, “I will
also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority
I am doing these things. 25John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of
human origin?”
They discussed it among
themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Then why didn’t
you believe Him?’ 26But if
we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John
was a prophet.”
27So they
answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither
will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the
first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He
answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I
tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of
God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you
did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even
after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a
vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a
watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another
place. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the
tenants to collect his fruit.
35“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and
stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and
the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he
said.
38“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is
the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to
those tenants?”
41“He
will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent
the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at
harvest time.”
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ?
43“Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on
whom it falls will be crushed.”i
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