Matthew 21:1–22:46
Mark 11:1–10; Luke 19:29–38; John 12:12–15
21 Now awhen they drew near Jerusalem, and came to 1Bethphage, at bthe 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 2All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell cthe daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 dSo the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, elaid their clothes on them, 3and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; fothers 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!
g‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 hAnd when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, ithe prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12 jThen Jesus went into the temple 4of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the kmoney changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, l‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a m‘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 nSon of David!” they were 5indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
o‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
17 Then He left them and pwent out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
18 qNow in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 rAnd 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 sAnd 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, tif you have faith and udo not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, vbut also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And wwhatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
23 xNow when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and ysaid, “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 zbaptism of aJohn—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we bfear the multitude, cfor 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.
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 dvineyard.’ 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.”
Jesus said to them, e“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For fJohn came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; gbut tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward 6relent and believe him.
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner hwho 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 iwent 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 jAnd 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 kson to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, l‘This is the heir. mCome, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 nSo 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 oThey said to Him, p“He will destroy those wicked men miserably, qand lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will 7render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
r‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, sthe kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And twhoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, uit will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they 8perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they vfeared the multitudes, because wthey took Him for a prophet.
22 And Jesus answered aand spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; bmy oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them 1spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out chis armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not dworthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and egathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there fwho did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was gspeechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, 2take him away, and cast him hinto outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 i“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Conflict with Pharisees and Herodians
15 jThen the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the kHerodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not 3regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus 4perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”
So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, l“Render 5therefore to Caesar the things that are mCaesar’s, and to God the things that are nGod’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
23 oThe same day the Sadducees, pwho say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, qMoses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are 6mistaken, rnot knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but sare like angels 7of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 t‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, uthey were astonished at His teaching.
34 vBut when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, wa lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him