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.
Currently Selected:
Mattityahu (Mat) 21: CJB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
For more information and to purchase a hard copy of the Complete Jewish Bible,
Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 21
21
Jesus' last week: his trial and death
Jesus enters Jerusalem
(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)
1When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. 2He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. 3If anyone asks why you are doing that, just say, ‘The Lord#21.3 The Lord: Or “the master of the donkeys”. needs them.’ Straight away he will let you have the donkeys.”
4So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,
5“Announce to the people#Zec 9.9.
of Jerusalem:
‘Your king is coming to you!
He is humble
and rides on a donkey.
He comes on the colt
of a donkey.’ ”
6The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. 7They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.
8Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches#21.8 spread clothes…put down branches: This was one-way that the Jewish people welcomed a famous person. which they had cut from trees. 9Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,#Ps 118.25,26.
“Hooray#21.9 Hooray: This translates a word that can mean “please save us”. But it is most often used as a shout of praise to God. for the Son of David!#21.9 Son of David: See the note at 9.27.
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!”
10When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”
11The crowd answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus in the temple
(Mark 11.15-19; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
12Jesus went into the temple and chased out everyone who was selling or buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of the ones who were selling doves. 13He told them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship.’ But you have turned it into a place where robbers hide.”#Is 56.7; Jr 7.11.
14Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. 15But the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were angry when they saw his miracles and heard the children shouting praises to the Son of David.#21.15 Son of David: See the note at 9.27. 16The men said to Jesus, “Don't you hear what those children are saying?”#Ps 8.2 (LXX).
“Yes, I do!” Jesus answered. “Don't you know that the Scriptures say, ‘Children and infants will sing praises’?” 17Then Jesus left the city and went out to the village of Bethany, where he spent the night.
Jesus puts a curse on a fig tree
(Mark 11.12-14,20-24)
18When Jesus got up the next morning, he was hungry. He started out for the city, 19and along the way he saw a fig tree. But when he came to it, he found only leaves and no figs. So he told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up.
20The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. 21But Jesus said to them, “If you have faith and don't doubt, I promise that you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will.#Mt 17.20; 1 Co 13.2. 22If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for.”
A question about Jesus' authority
(Mark 11.27-33; Luke 20.1-8)
23Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. 25Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 26On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.” 27So they told Jesus, “We don't know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”
A story about two sons
28Jesus said:
I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the elder son and said, “Go and work in the vineyard today!” 29His son told him that he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. 30The man then told his younger son to go and work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn't go. 31Which one of the sons obeyed his father?
“The elder one,” the chief priests and leaders answered.
Then Jesus told them:
You can be sure that tax collectors#21.31 tax collectors: See the note at 5.46. and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! 32When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.#Lk 3.12; 7.29,30.
Tenants of a vineyard
(Mark 12.1-12; Luke 20.9-19)
33Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:#Is 5.1,2.
A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he let his vineyard and left the country.
34When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes. 35But the tenants grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death. 36He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the tenants treated them in the same way.
37Finally, the owner sent his own son to the tenants, because he thought they would respect him. 38But when they saw the man's son, they said, “Some day he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.” 39So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those tenants?”
41The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will let his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”
42Jesus replied, “Surely you know that the Scriptures say,#Ps 118.22,23.
‘The stone that the builders
tossed aside
is now the most important
stone of all.
This is something
the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’
43I tell you that God's kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands. 44Anyone who stumbles over this stone will be crushed, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”#21.44 pieces: Verse 44 is not in some manuscripts.
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them. 46So they looked for a way to arrest Jesus. But they were afraid to, because the people thought he was a prophet.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012