Matthew 21 — GMV

21 Verse 1 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethsphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead, ^{Verse 2} telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. ^{Verse 3} If anyone says anything to you, say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And immediately he will send them.” ^{Verse 4} Now all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: ^{Verse 5} “Say to the daughter of Zion, ^{Verse 6} So the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them. ^{Verse 7} They brought the donkey and the colt and laid on them their garments, and Jesus sat on them. ^{Verse 8} A very large crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut down branches from the trees and also spread them on the road. ^{Verse 9} The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed were crying out, ^{Verse 10} As he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ^{Verse 11} So the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, who is from Nazareth of Galilee.” 01 Matthew 21_9.pngspanPublic Domain (Gustave Doré)The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed were crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”21:9 ^{Verse 12} Then Jesus entered the courts of God's temple and drove out all who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ^{Verse 13} And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” ^{Verse 14} Then the lame and the blind came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them. ^{Verse 15} But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant ^{Verse 16} and said to him, “Do yoʋ hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read, ^{Verse 17} And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there. ^{Verse 18} Early in the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. ^{Verse 19} Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May there never be any fruit from yoʋ again!” And at once the fig tree withered. ^{Verse 20} When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” ^{Verse 21} Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ^{Verse 22} And if you have faith, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” ^{Verse 23} When he entered the temple courts, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are yoʋ doing these things? And who gave yoʋ this authority?” ^{Verse 24} Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you tell me the answer, I will also tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ^{Verse 25} Where did John's authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from men?” So they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ^{Verse 26} But we are afraid of what the crowd might do if we say, ‘From men,’ for everyone regards John as a prophet.” ^{Verse 27} So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ^{Verse 28} “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to his first son and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ ^{Verse 29} His son answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ^{Verse 30} Then the man went to his other son and said the same thing. His other son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. ^{Verse 31} Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ^{Verse 32} For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Yet even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. ^{Verse 33} “Listen to another parable: There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, leased it to farmers, and left the country. ^{Verse 34} When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. ^{Verse 35} But the farmers seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned yet another. ^{Verse 36} Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the farmers treated them in the same way. ^{Verse 37} Last of all, he sent them his son, saying, ‘They will have respect for my son.’ ^{Verse 38} But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take possession of his inheritance.’ ^{Verse 39} So they took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ^{Verse 40} Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” ^{Verse 41} They said to him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” ^{Verse 42} Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ^{Verse 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. ^{Verse 44} He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” ^{Verse 45} When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was speaking about them. ^{Verse 46} Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.