Matthew 21

Crowd's Response to Jesus Matthew 21:7–11

⁷Verse 7. and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their clothes on them; and he sat on them. ⁸Verse 8. A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut branches from the trees, and spread them on the road. ⁹Verse 9. The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰Verse 10. When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹Verse 11. The multitudes said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple Matthew 21:12–17

¹²Verse 12. Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves. ¹³Verse 13. 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!” ¹⁴Verse 14. The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵Verse 15. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant,

¹⁶Verse 16. and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’” ¹⁷Verse 17. He left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and camped there.

Withering of the Fig Tree Matthew 21:18–22

¹⁸Verse 18. Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹Verse 19. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away. ²⁰Verse 20. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?” ²¹Verse 21. Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.

²²Verse 22. All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Authority Questioned Matthew 21:23–27

²³Verse 23. When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”²⁴Verse 24. Jesus answered them,“I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.²⁵Verse 25. The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?”They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’²⁶Verse 26. But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”²⁷Verse 27. They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.”He also said to them,“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of the Two Sons Matthew 21:28–32

²⁸Verse 28. But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹Verse 29. He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. ³⁰Verse 30. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’ m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹Verse 31. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you. ³²Verse 32. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn’t even repent afterward, that you might believe him.

Parable of the Wicked Tenants Matthew 21:33–46

³³Verse 33. “Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household, who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. ³⁴Verse 34. When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruit. ³⁵Verse 35. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Verse 36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them the same way. ³⁷Verse 37. But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸Verse 38. But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹Verse 39. So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰Verse 40. When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” ⁴¹Verse 41. They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers, who will give him the fruit in its season.” ⁴²Verse 42. Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes?’

⁴³Verse 43. “Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruit. ⁴⁴Verse 44. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.” ⁴⁵Verse 45. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them. ⁴⁶Verse 46. When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.