Matthew 21
21
The Triumphal Entry
1When they approached Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples [ahead], 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and without delay the owner will send them [with you].” 4This happened so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, saying:
5“Tell the daughter of Zion (the people of Jerusalem),
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Gentle and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
6Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them, 7and they brought the donkey and #A colt that had not been used was considered holy by the Jews and was fit to carry a king.the colt, and #A sign of homage and recognition of Jesus’ kingship.placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats. 8Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],
“#“Save now!” or “Save I pray!”Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah);
Blessed [praised, glorified] is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”
10When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Cleansing the Temple
12And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice]. 13Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”
14And the blind and the lame came to Him in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple area, and He healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful and miraculous things that Jesus had done, and heard the #There would have been a large number of twelve year old boys in the temple preparing to celebrate their first Passover and their ceremonial entry into manhood.boys who were shouting in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple [in praise and adoration], “Hosanna to the Son of David (the Messiah),” they became indignant 16and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus replied to them, “Yes; have you never read [in the Scripture], ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared and provided praise for Yourself’?” 17Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
The Barren Fig Tree
18Now early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry. 19Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
20When the disciples saw it, they were astonished and asked, “How is it that the fig tree has withered away all at once?” 21Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it]. 22And whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Authority Challenged
23When He entered the temple area, the #I.e. the official delegation from the Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court.chief priests and elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what [kind of] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority [to exercise this power]?” 24Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John—from where did it come? From heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” And they began debating among themselves [considering the implications of their answer], saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe John?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the [response of the] crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”
Parable of Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. 30Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you].
Parable of the Landowner
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country]. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. 35But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way. 37Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
42Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The [very] #This quotation from a Messianic psalm refers to the coming rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, and His resurrection as the Cornerstone of mankind’s redemption.Stone which the builders rejected and threw away,
Has become the chief Cornerstone;
This is the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it. 44And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was talking about them. 46And although they were trying to arrest Him, they feared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a prophet.
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Matthew 21: AMP
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Matthew 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.