Matthew 21:18-46

181Now in the early morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19And seeing a lone 2fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves alone; 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 3asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, 4if 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 5whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive it all.”

236When He entered the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him 7while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24But Jesus responded and said to them, “I will also ask you one 8question, 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 considering the implications 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 9people; for they all regard John as 10a prophet.” 27And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.

28“But what do you think? A man had two 11sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘12Son, go work today in the 13vineyard.’ 29But he replied, ‘I do not want to.’ Yet afterward he regretted it and went. 30And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet 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 14the tax collectors and prostitutes 15will 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 16the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even 17have second thoughts afterward so as to believe him.

33“Listen to another parable. 18There was a 19landowner who 20planted a 21vineyard and put a 22fence around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and he leased it to 23vine-growers and 24went on a journey. 34And when the 25harvest time approached, he 26sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. 35And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again, he 27sent other slaves, more than the first; and they did the same things 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’s kill him and take possession of his inheritance!’ 39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Therefore, when the 28owner 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 29lease the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the fruit in the proper seasons.”

42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘30A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the 31chief cornerstone; 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 32people producing its fruit. 44And 33the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46And although they sought to arrest Him, they 34feared the crowds, since they considered Him to be a 35prophet.