The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem(A)
21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
4 All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Look, your King is coming to you,
humble, and sitting on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’[a]”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?”
11 The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The Cleansing of the Temple(B)
12 Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’[c] but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’[d] ”
14 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, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely displeased 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of children and infants
You have perfected praise’[e]?”
17 And He left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree(C)
18 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. 19 When He saw a fig tree by the road, He went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Let no fruit ever grow on you again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away instantly?”
21 Jesus answered them, “Truly 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 thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”
The Question of Jesus’ Authority(D)
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did the baptism of John come from? From heaven or from men?”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for all hold John as a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
Then He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
29 “He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented and went.
30 “Then he came to the second, and said likewise. He answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard and the Vinedressers(E)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he rented it to vinedressers and went into a distant country. 34 When the season of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit.
35 “The vinedressers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did likewise to them. 37 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 to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they caught him, threw 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, “He will severely destroy those wicked men and rent his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[f]?
43 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But as they tried to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him as a prophet.
Footnotes
- Matthew 21:5 Zec 9:9.
- Matthew 21:9 Ps 118:26.
- Matthew 21:13 Isa 56:7.
- Matthew 21:13 Jer 7:11.
- Matthew 21:16 Ps 8:2.
- Matthew 21:42 Ps 118:22–23.