¹⁸Early in the morning, Jesus was on his way back to Jerusalem. He was hungry. ¹⁹He saw 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!” Right away the tree dried up.

²⁰When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.

²¹Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You must have faith and not doubt. Then you can do what was done to the fig tree. And you can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea.’ It will be done. ²²If you believe, you will receive what you ask for when you pray.”

The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned

²³Jesus entered the temple courtyard. While he was teaching there, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “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. ²⁵Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven? Or did it come from men?”

They talked to each other about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶But what if we say, ‘From men’? We are afraid of the people. Everyone believes that John was a prophet.”

²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.

The Story of the Two Sons

²⁸“What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹“ ‘I will not,’ the son answered. But later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰“Then the father went to the other son. He said the same thing. The son answered, ‘I will, sir.’ But he did not go.

³¹“Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You saw this. But even then you did not turn away from your sins and believe him.

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