TCNT MAT Chapter 21

The Triumphal Entry

21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to [fn]Bethsphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead, 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And immediately he will send them.” 4 Now [fn]all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, yoʋr king is coming to yoʋ,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

and [fn]a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

6 So the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid on them their garments, and [fn]Jesus sat on them. 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. 9 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!”

10 As he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the crowds were saying, “This is [fn]Jesus the prophet, who is from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 Then Jesus entered the [fn]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. 13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you [fn]have made it a den of robbers.”

14 Then the [fn]lame and the blind came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them. 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 16 and said to him, “Do yoʋ hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read,

‘Out of the mouths of babies and nursing infants

yoʋ have prepared praise’?”

17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. 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. 20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 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. 22 And if you have faith, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

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?” 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. 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?’ 26 But we are afraid of what the crowd might do if we say, ‘From men,’ for everyone regards John as a prophet.” 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.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to his first son and said, ‘Son, go work today in [fn]my vineyard.’ 29 His son answered, ‘I will [fn]not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to his [fn]second son and said the same thing. His second son answered, ‘I will [fn]go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said [fn]to him, “The [fn]first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 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.

The Parable of the Vineyard Owner

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. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. 35 But the farmers took his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned yet another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. But the farmers treated them in the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent them his son, saying, ‘They will have respect for my son.’ 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.’ 39 So they took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” 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.”

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

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

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. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 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.