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The King Enters Jerusalem(A)

21 When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and that person will send them at once.”

Now this happened to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet when he said,

“Tell the daughter[a] of Zion,
    ‘Look, your king is coming to you![b]
He is humble and mounted on a donkey,
    even on a colt of a donkey.’”[c]

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put their coats on them, and he sat upon them. Many people in the crowd spread their own coats on the road, while others began cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Both the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed him kept shouting,

“Hosanna[d] to the Son of David!
How blessed is the one who comes
    in the name of the Lord![e]
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[f]

10 When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was trembling with excitement. The people[g] were asking, “Who is this?”

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

Confrontation in the Temple over Money(B)

12 Then Jesus went into the Temple,[h] threw out everyone who was selling and buying in the Temple, and overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold doves. 13 He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’[i] but you are turning it into a hideout[j] for bandits!”

14 Blind and lame people came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the high priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he had done and the children shouting in the Temple, “Hosanna[k] to the Son of David,” they became furious 16 and asked him, “Do you hear what these people are saying?”

Jesus told them, “Yes! Haven’t you ever read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have created praise’?”[l] 17 Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(C)

18 In the morning, as Jesus[m] was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He told it, “May fruit never come from you again!” And immediately the fig tree dried up.

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

21 Jesus answered them, “I tell all of you[n] with certainty, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you will also say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe.”

Jesus’ Authority is Challenged(D)

23 Then Jesus[o] went into the Temple. While he was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus answered them, “I, too, will ask you one question.[p] If you answer it for me, I will also tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 Where did John’s authority to baptize[q] come from? From heaven or from humans?”

They began discussing this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From humans,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet.” 27 So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”

He in turn told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable about Two Sons

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 His son[r] replied, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father[s] went to the other son[t] and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will,[u] sir,’ but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did the father’s will?”

They answered, “The first one.”

Jesus told them, “I tell all of you[v] with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! 32 John came to you living a righteous life,[w] and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds[x] at last and believe him.”

The Parable about the Tenant Farmers(E)

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. 34 When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. 35 But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. 36 Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers[y] treated them the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”

41 They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”

42 Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.[z]
This was the Lord’s[aa] doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes.’?[ab]

43 That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. 44 The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”[ac]

45 When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. 46 Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus[ad] to be a prophet.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:5 I.e. people
  2. Matthew 21:5 Cf. Isa 62:11
  3. Matthew 21:5 Cf. Zech 9:9
  4. Matthew 21:9 Hosanna is Heb. for Please save or Praise.
  5. Matthew 21:9 MT source citation reads Lord
  6. Matthew 21:9 Cf. Ps 118:25-26; Ps 148:1
  7. Matthew 21:10 Lit. They
  8. Matthew 21:12 Other mss. read temple of God
  9. Matthew 21:13 Cf. Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11
  10. Matthew 21:13 Lit. cave
  11. Matthew 21:15 Hosanna is Heb. for Please save or Praise.
  12. Matthew 21:16 Cf. Ps 8:2
  13. Matthew 21:18 Lit. he
  14. Matthew 21:21 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
  15. Matthew 21:23 Lit. he
  16. Matthew 21:24 Lit. one word
  17. Matthew 21:25 Lit. John’s baptism
  18. Matthew 21:29 Lit. He
  19. Matthew 21:30 Lit. he
  20. Matthew 21:30 The Gk. lacks son
  21. Matthew 21:30 The Gk. lacks will
  22. Matthew 21:31 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
  23. Matthew 21:32 Lit. you in the way of righteousness
  24. Matthew 21:32 Or didn’t repent
  25. Matthew 21:36 Lit. they
  26. Matthew 21:42 Or capstone
  27. Matthew 21:42 MT source citation reads Lord’s
  28. Matthew 21:42 Cf. Ps 118:22-23
  29. Matthew 21:44 Other mss. lack this verse
  30. Matthew 21:46 Lit. him

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(A)(B)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,(C) Jesus sent two disciples, saying 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. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill(D) what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a](E)

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”(G)

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c](H)

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”(I)

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

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

Jesus at the Temple(K)

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying(L) and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers(M) and the benches of those selling doves.(N) 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e](O) but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f](P)

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.(Q) 15 But 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,”(R) they were indignant.(S)

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
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?”(T)

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,(U) where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(V)

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing 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.(W)

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

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,(X) 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(Y) in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(Z)

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority(AA) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’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?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”(AB)

27 So 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.’(AC)

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(AD) and the prostitutes(AE) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(AF) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(AG) and the prostitutes(AH) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(AI) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants(AJ)

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(AK) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(AL) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(AM) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(AN) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(AO) 36 Then he sent other servants(AP) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last 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.(AQ) Come, let’s kill him(AR) and take his inheritance.’(AS) 39 So 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,”(AT) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(AU) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]?(AV)

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(AW) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i](AX)

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.(AY)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:5 Zech. 9:9
  2. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
  3. Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25,26
  4. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
  5. Matthew 21:13 Isaiah 56:7
  6. Matthew 21:13 Jer. 7:11
  7. Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint)
  8. Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
  9. Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.