Matthew 21
21
1 #
Mk 11.1-10; Lk 19.29-38; Jn 12.12-18. And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3If any one says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 #
Is 62.11; Zech 9.9. “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of an ass.”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. 8#2 Kings 9.13. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9#Ps 118.26; Lk 2.14; Mt 21.15; 23.39. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11#Jn 6.14; 7.40; Acts 3.22; Mk 6.15; Lk 13.33. And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12 #
Mk 11.15-17; Lk 19.45-46; Jn 2.13-17; Ex 30.13; Lev 1.14. And Jesus entered the temple of God#21.12 Other ancient authorities omit of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13#Is 56.7; Jer 7.11. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you make it a den of robbers.”
14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15#Lk 19.39; Mt 21.9. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant; 16#Ps 8.2. and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
thou hast brought perfect praise’?”
17 #
Mk 11.11-14; Lk 13.6-9. And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
18In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20#Mk 11.20-24. When the disciples saw it they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21#Mt 17.20; Lk 17.6; 1 Cor 13.2; Jas 1.6. And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22#Jn 14.13-14; 16.23. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
23 #
Mk 11.27-33; Lk 20.1-8; Jn 2.18-22. And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26#Mt 11.9; 14.5; Lk 1.76. But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 #
Mt 20.1; 21.33. “What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. 30And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but 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, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32#Lk 7.29-30. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
33 #
Mk 12.1-12; Lk 20.9-19; Is 5.1-7. “Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. 34#Mt 22.3. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; 35and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. 37Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41#Mt 8.11; Acts 13.46; 18.6; 28.28. They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 #
Ps 118.22-23; Acts 4.11; 1 Pet 2.7. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The very stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” 44#21.44 Other ancient authorities add verse 44, “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but when it falls on any one, it will crush him”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Matthew 21
21
The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem
(Mk 11.1–11; Lk 19.28–40; Jn 12.12–19)
1As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead 2with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied up with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3And if anyone says anything, tell him, ‘The Master#21.3 The Master; or Their owner. needs them’; and then he will let them go at once.”
4This happened in order to make what the prophet had said come true:
5 #
Zech 9.9
“Tell the city of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you!
He is humble and rides on a donkey
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6So the disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do: 7they brought the donkey and the colt, threw their cloaks over them, and Jesus got on. 8A large crowd of people spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9#Ps 118.25, 26The crowds walking in front of Jesus and those walking behind began to shout, “Praise to David's Son! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God!”
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into an uproar. “Who is he?” the people asked.
11“This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee,” the crowds answered.
Jesus Goes to the Temple
(Mk 11.15–19; Lk 19.45–48; Jn 2.13–22)
12Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, 13#Is 56.7; Jer 7.11and said to them, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it a hideout for thieves!”
14The blind and the crippled came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15The chief priests and the teachers of the Law became angry when they saw the wonderful things he was doing and the children shouting in the Temple, “Praise to David's Son!” 16#Ps 8.2 (LXX)So they asked Jesus, “Do you hear what they are saying?”
“Indeed I do,” answered Jesus. “Haven't you ever read this scripture? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’ ”
17Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
(Mk 11.12–14, 20–24)
18On his way back to the city early next morning, Jesus was hungry. 19He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to the tree, “You will never again bear fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up.
20The disciples saw this and were astounded. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.
21 #
Mt 17.20; 1 Cor 13.2 Jesus answered, “I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, ‘Get up and throw yourself in the sea,’ and it will. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
The Question about Jesus' Authority
(Mk 11.27–33; Lk 20.1–8)
23Jesus came back to the Temple; and as he taught, the chief priests and the elders came to him and asked, “What right have you to do these things? Who gave you this right?”
24Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things. 25Where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”
They started to argue among themselves, “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’ 26But if we say, ‘From human beings,’ we are afraid of what the people might do, because they are all convinced that John was a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We don't know.”
And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the elder one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29‘I don't want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go. 31Which one of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The elder one,” they answered.
So Jesus said to them, “I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. 32#Lk 3.12; 7.29–30For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard
(Mk 12.1–12; Lk 20.9–19)
33 #
Is 5.1–2
“Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he let out the vineyard to tenants and went on a journey. 34When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest. 35The tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said. 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!’ 39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus asked.
41“He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and let the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”
42 #
Ps 118.22–23
Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say?
‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
turned out to be the most important of all.
This was done by the Lord;
what a wonderful sight it is!’
43 “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”#21.43 Some manuscripts add verse 44: Whoever falls on this stone will be cut to pieces; and if the stone falls on someone, it will crush him to dust (see Lk 20.18).
45The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables and knew that he was talking about them, 46so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.