Matthew 21

The Triumphal Entry

1 And when they drew near unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage unto the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her; loose them and bring them unto me. 3 And if anyone says anything unto you, ye shall say, The Lord has need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Say unto the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King comes unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt the foal of a beast under yoke.

6 And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them 7 and brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes, and he sat upon them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them in the way. 9 And the people that went before and that followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all those that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those that sold doves 13 and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the princes of the priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased

16 and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus said unto them, Yes; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of children and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

17 And he left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and he lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it and found nothing upon it, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee from now on for ever. And then the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do this to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 And when he was come into the temple, the princes of the priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you a word, which if ye tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, where was it from? from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they answered Jesus and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 But what do you think? A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not, but afterward he repented and went. 30 And he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I will go, Lord, and went not. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go ahead of you into the kingdom of God. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not, but the publicans and the harlots believed him, and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 Hear another parable: There was a certain husband of a house who planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country, 34 and when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. 35 And the husbandmen took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other slaves more than the first, and they did unto them likewise. 37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us take his inheritance. 39 And they took hold of him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. 40 Therefore, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will destroy those wicked men without mercy and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

42 Jesus said unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

45 And as the princes of the priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude because they held him as a prophet.

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