Matthew 21
21
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
1As they approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out two disciples, 2telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you’ll find a donkey tied up, with her colt next to her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell them, ‘The Lord needs them.’ The owner will send them right away.”
4This happened to make the words of the prophet come true:
5“Say to the city of Zion,
‘See, your king is coming to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
riding on a donkey’s colt.’ ”
6The disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their coats on them for Jesus to sit on. 8A very large crowd spread their coats on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread those on the road. 9Some of the people went ahead of him, and some followed behind, and they all shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. The people asked, “Who is this?”
11The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Clears Out the Temple
12Jesus entered the temple courtyard and began to drive out all those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who exchanged money and the benches of those who sold doves. 13“It is written,” he told them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”
14People who were blind and disabled came to Jesus at the temple, and he healed them. 15The chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he was doing, and they heard the children in the temple courtyard shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” This made them angry.
16“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus. “Haven’t you ever read about it in Scripture? It says,
“ ‘Even from children and infants,
Lord, you will receive praise.’ ”
17Then Jesus left them and went out of the city to spend the night in Bethany.
Jesus Makes a Fig Tree Dry Up
18Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back into Jerusalem, he was hungry. 19He saw a fig tree by the road and went up to it, but he didn’t find anything on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Right away the tree dried up.
20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.
21Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do what was done to the fig tree. You can even say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive what you ask for when you pray.”
The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned
23Jesus went into the temple courtyard and started teaching there. The chief priests and elders of the people came up to him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus answered, “I’ll ask you a question too. If you answer me, I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. 25Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven, or was he acting on human authority?”
They talked this over among themselves and realized, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘On human authority,’ who knows what the people might do to us? They all believe that John was a prophet.”
27So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus replied, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things either.”
The Story of the Two Sons
28“What do you think about this? A certain man had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
29“ ‘I won’t,’ the son answered. But later he changed his mind and went.
30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. That son answered, ‘I will, sir.’ But he didn’t go.
31“Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32John came to show you the right way, and you didn’t believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Even when you saw that, you didn’t turn away from your sins and believe him.
The Story of the Renters
33“Listen to another story. A certain man owned some land and planted a vineyard on it. He put up a wall around it, dug a pit for a winepress, and built a lookout tower. Then he rented the vineyard out to some farmers and moved to another place. 34When harvest time came, he sent his slaves to the renters to collect his share of the fruit.
35“But the renters mistreated his slaves. They beat one of them, killed another, and threw stones at a third. 36Then the man sent a larger group of slaves to the renters, but they treated them the same way. 37So finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
38“But when the renters saw the son coming, they said to one another, ‘He’s supposed to inherit all the owner’s property someday. Come on, let’s kill him, and then everything will be ours.’ 39So they grabbed him and dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40“What will the owner of the vineyard come and do to those renters?”
41“He’ll make those cruel men suffer a cruel death,” they replied. “Then he’ll rent the vineyard out to other renters who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
“ ‘The stone the builders wouldn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
The Lord has done this,
and it’s wonderful in our eyes.’
43“So I tell you that the kingdom of God is going to be taken away from you and given to people who will produce its fruit. 44Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd, because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
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Matthew 21: RAD
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Matthew 21
21
The Triumphal Entry
1 # For ver. 1-9, see Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to #ch. 24:3; 26:30; Zech. 14:4; [John 8:1]; [Acts 1:12] the Mount of Olives, then Jesus #[Mark 14:13]sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately 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 shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4This took place #See ch. 1:22to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 # Cited from Zech. 9:9; [Isa. 62:11] “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
# ch. 11:29 humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,#21:5 Or donkey, and on a colt the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd #2 Kgs. 9:13spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, #[Rev. 7:10]; See Ps. 118:25 (Heb.) “Hosanna to #ch. 20:30 the Son of David! #ch. 23:39; Cited from Ps. 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna #Luke 2:14; [Ps. 148:1]in the highest!” 10And #Mark 11:11when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds said, “This is #ver. 46; Luke 7:16; 13:33; 24:19; John 4:19; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17; [Mark 6:15; Luke 9:8, 19; John 1:21] the prophet Jesus, #See ch. 2:23from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 # For ver. 12-16, see Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; [John 2:14-16] And Jesus entered the temple#21:12 Some manuscripts add of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of #[Ex. 30:13] the money-changers and the seats of those who sold #Lev. 1:14; 5:7; 12:8; Luke 2:24pigeons. 13He said to them, “It is written, #Cited from Isa. 56:7 ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but #Jer. 7:11you make it a den of robbers.”
14 # ch. 11:5; 15:31 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15#[Luke 19:39, 40] But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, #[See ver. 9 above]“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; #ver. 42; ch. 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31 have you never read,
# Cited from Ps. 8:2 (Gk.) “‘Out of the mouth of # ch. 11:25 infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17And #ch. 16:4 leaving them, he #Mark 11:19; [Luke 21:37] went out of the city to #Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29; 24:50; John 11:18Bethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 # For ver. 18-22, see Mark 11:12-14, 20-24 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, #ch. 4:2he became hungry. 19#[Luke 13:6-9]And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21And Jesus answered them, #ch. 17:20 “Truly, I say to you, #[John 14:12] if you have faith and #Acts 10:20; Rom. 4:20; 14:23; James 1:6 do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, #[Ps. 46:2; 1 Cor. 13:2; Rev. 8:8]‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22And #[See ver. 21 above] whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, #See ch. 7:7if you have faith.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 # For ver. 23-27, see Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him #See ch. 26:55 as he was teaching, and said, #[Ex. 2:14; John 1:25; Acts 4:7]“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one 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, #[ch. 13:54] from where did it come? #Luke 15:18, 21; John 3:27 From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, #ver. 32; Luke 7:30‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ #ver. 46; ch. 14:5 we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was #[John 5:35]; See ch. 11:9a 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.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 # ch. 17:25; 18:12 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in # ver. 33; ch. 20:1 the vineyard today.’ 29And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he #ver. 32; ch. 27:3; Heb. 7:21changed his mind and went. 30And he went to the other son 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, #Luke 7:29 the tax collectors and #Luke 7:37-50 the prostitutes go into #See ch. 12:28the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you #[ch. 3:8-12, 15; Prov. 8:20; 2 Pet. 2:21] in the way of righteousness, and #ver. 25; ch. 11:18 you did not believe him, but #Luke 3:12, 13 the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward #[See ver. 29 above]change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 # For ver. 33-46, see Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted # ver. 28; Ps. 80:8; Isa. 5:1 a vineyard #
Isa. 5:2 and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and #
Song 8:11, 12 leased it to tenants, and # ch. 25:14, 15; [Mark 13:34] went into another country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants#21:34 Or bondservants; also verses 35, 36 to the tenants #[See ver. 33 above]to get his fruit. 35#ch. 5:12; 22:6; 23:34, 37; [2 Chr. 24:19; 36:15, 16; Neh. 9:26; Jer. 37:15; 38:6; Acts 7:52; 2 Cor. 11:24-26; 1 Thess. 2:15; Heb. 11:36, 37] And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and #[2 Chr. 24:21; John 10:31-33; Acts 7:59]stoned another. 36#ch. 22:4Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, #Heb. 1:2; [John 1:11; Rom. 8:17] ‘This is the heir. Come, #[1 Kgs. 21:19]let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and #Heb. 13:12threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40#[ch. 24:50; 25:19]When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, #Luke 19:27 “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and #ver. 43; Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:28; [ch. 8:11, 12]let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, #ver. 16 “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
#
Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7; Cited from Ps. 118:22, 23 “‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;#21:42 Greek the head of the corner
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God # [Luke 14:24] will be taken away from you and given to a people # [ch. 3:10; Isa. 5:4, 7] producing its fruits. 44And #Isa. 8:14, 15; Rom. 9:32, 33; 1 Pet. 2:8 the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and #Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”#21:44 Some manuscripts omit verse 44
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46And #Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47, 48; John 7:25, 30, 44; [ch. 26:4] although they were seeking to arrest him, #ver. 26 they feared the crowds, because they held him to be #[ver. 11]a prophet.
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