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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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Matthew 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.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012