Mattityahu (Mat) 21
21
1As they were approaching Yerushalayim, they came to Beit-Pagei on the Mount of Olives. Yeshua sent two talmidim 2with these instructions: “Go into the village ahead of you, and you will immediately find a donkey tethered there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them’; and he will let them go at once.” 4This happened in order to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,
5“Say to the daughter of Tziyon,
‘Look! Your King is coming to you,
riding humbly on a donkey,
and on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden!’
6So the talmidim went and did as Yeshua had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put their robes on them, and Yeshua sat on them. 8Crowds of people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds ahead of him and behind shouted,
“Please! Deliver us!”
to the Son of David;
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai!”
“You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!”
10When he entered Yerushalayim, the whole city was stirred. “Who is this?” they asked. 11And the crowds answered, “This is Yeshua, the prophet from Natzeret in the Galil.”
12Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both the merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money-changers and knocked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons. 13He said to them, “It has been written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it into a den of robbers!”
14Blind and lame people came up to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15But when the head cohanim and Torah-teachers saw the wonderful things he was doing, and the children crying out in the Temple, “Please deliver us!” to the Son of David, they were furious. 16They said to him, “Do you hear what they’re saying?” Yeshua replied, “Of course! Haven’t you ever read,
‘From the mouth of children and infants
you have prepared praise for yourself’?”
17With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night.
18The next morning, on his way back to the city, he felt hungry. 19Spotting a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to it, “May you never again bear fruit!” and immediately the fig tree dried up. 20The talmidim saw this and were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked. 21Yeshua answered them, “Yes! I tell you, if you have trust and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree; but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ it will be done. 22In other words, you will receive everything you ask for in prayer, no matter what it is, provided you have trust.”
23He went into the Temple area; and as he was teaching, the head cohanim and the elders of the people approached him and demanded, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? And who gave you this s’mikhah?” 24Yeshua answered, “I too will ask you a question. If you answer it, then I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. 25The immersion of Yochanan — where did it come from? From Heaven or from a human source?” They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From a human source,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet.” 27So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” And he replied, “Then I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.
28“But give me your opinion: a man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29He answered, ‘I don’t want to’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to his other son and said the same thing. This one answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he didn’t go. 31Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they replied. “That’s right!” Yeshua said to them. “I tell you that the tax-collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you! 32For Yochanan came to you showing the path to righteousness, and you wouldn’t trust him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes trusted him; but you, even after you saw this, didn’t change your minds later and trust him.
33“Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower; then he rented it to tenants and left. 34When harvest-time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop. 35But the tenants seized his servants — this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned. 36So he sent some other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37Finally, he sent them his son, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ 39So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They answered him, “He will viciously destroy those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when it’s due.” 42Yeshua said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Tanakh,
‘The very rock which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing’?
43Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!” 44
45As the head cohanim and the P’rushim listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. 46But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.
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Mattityahu (Mat) 21: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 21
21
Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King
1As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers 2and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once.”
4This was to bring about what the prophet had said:
5“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.’ ”#Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9
6The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,
“Praise to the Son of David!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!#Psalm 118:26
Praise to God in heaven!”
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
11The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Goes to the Temple
12Jesus went into the Temple and threw out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. 13Jesus said to all the people there, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house for prayer.’ But you are changing it into a ‘hideout for robbers.’ ”
14The blind and crippled people came to Jesus in the Temple, and he healed them. 15The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things and that the children were praising him in the Temple, saying, “Praise to the Son of David.” All these things made the priests and the teachers of the law very angry.
16They asked Jesus, “Do you hear the things these children are saying?”
Jesus answered, “Yes. Haven’t you read in the Scriptures, ‘You have taught children and babies to sing praises’?”
17Then Jesus left and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
The Power of Faith
18Early the next morning, as Jesus was going back to the city, he became hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree beside the road, Jesus went to it, but there were no figs on the tree, only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again have fruit.” The tree immediately dried up.
20When his followers saw this, they were amazed. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?”
21Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree and even more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. 22If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority
23Jesus went to the Temple, and while he was teaching there, the leading priests and the elders of the people came to him. They said, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus answered, “I also will ask you a question. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. 25Tell me: When John baptized people, did that come from God or just from other people?”
They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘It was from people,’ we are afraid of what the crowd will do because they all believe that John was a prophet.”
27So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.
A Story About Two Sons
28“Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ 29The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son changed his mind and went. 30Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work,’ but he did not go. 31Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”
The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. 32John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.
A Story About God’s Son
33“Listen to this story: There was a man who owned a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress and built a tower. Then he leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip. 34When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent his servants to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 35But the farmers grabbed the servants, beat one, killed another, and then killed a third servant with stones. 36So the man sent some other servants to the farmers, even more than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to the servants that they had done before. 37So the man decided to send his son to the farmers. He said, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. If we kill him, it will be ours!’ 39Then the farmers grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40So what will the owner of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?”
41The priests and leaders said, “He will surely kill those evil men. Then he will lease the vineyard to some other farmers who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42Jesus said to them, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.’ #Psalm 118:22–23
43“So I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who do the things God wants in his kingdom. 44The person who falls on this stone will be broken, and on whomever that stone falls, that person will be crushed.”
45When the leading priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew Jesus was talking about them. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the people, because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.