Matthew 21:6-46

6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on 1the coats. 8Most of the crowd 2spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the 3Son of David; 4Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna 5in the highest!” 10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This is 6the prophet Jesus, from 7Nazareth in Galilee.”

128And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the 9money changers and the seats of those who were selling 10doves. 13And He said to them, “It is written, ‘11My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a 12robbers’ 13den.”

14And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and 14He healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the 15Son of David,” they became indignant 16and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘16Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17And He left them and went out of the city to 17Bethany, and spent the night there.

1818Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19Seeing a lone 19fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, 20if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22And 21all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

2322When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him 23while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one 24thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the 25people; for they all regard John as 26a prophet.” 27And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also 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 27sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘28Son, go work today in the 29vineyard.’ 29And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that 30the tax collectors and prostitutes 31will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but 32the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

33“Listen to another parable. 33There was a 34landowner who 35planted a 36vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to 37vine-growers and 38went on a journey. 34When the 39harvest time approached, he 40sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36Again he 41sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40Therefore when the 42owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and 43will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘44The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a 45people, producing the fruit of it. 44And 46he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46When they sought to seize Him, they 47feared the 48people, because they considered Him to be a 49prophet.