Matthew 21

1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,

16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

17And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

18Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

21Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

23And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

33Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

41They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

The Triumphal Entry

1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5“Say to the Daughter of Zion,‘See, your King comes to you,gentle and riding on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”footnote a

6So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

8A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting:“Hosanna to the Son of David!”footnote b“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”footnote c“Hosanna in the highest!”footnote d

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

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

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12Then Jesus entered the temple courtsfootnote e and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. 13And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’footnote f But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’footnote g”

14The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. 15But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

16“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked.
“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read:‘From the mouths of children and infantsYou have ordained praise’footnote h?”

17Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.

The Barren Fig Tree

18In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

20When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

23When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

24“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?”
They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27So they answered, “We do not know.”
And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.footnote i

30Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing.
‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.

31Which of the two did the will of his father?”
“The first,footnote j” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

33Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

34When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. 35But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

36Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.

37Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”

41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:‘The stone the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone.This is from the Lord,and it is marvelous in our eyes’footnote k?

43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.footnote l”

45When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them. 46Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.