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Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage
on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying
to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you
will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie
them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you,
say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right
away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through
the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.’ ”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed
them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed
their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large
crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut
branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The
crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed
shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was
stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet
from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus at the Temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all
who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables
of the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves.
13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will
be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den
of robbers.’ ”
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple,
and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the
teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the
children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son
of David,” they were indignant.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they
asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained
praise?’ ”
17 And he left them and went out of the city to
Bethany, where he spent the night.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to
the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road,
he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then
he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately
the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How
did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith
and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the
fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw
yourself into the sea,” and it will be done. 22 If you
believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was
teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people
came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?”
they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question.
If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am
doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come
from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They
discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From
heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26
But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the
people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he
said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing
these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two
sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today
in the vineyard.’
29 “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed
his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the
same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The
first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell
you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show
you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him,
but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even
after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner
who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a
winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the
vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When
the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the
tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one,
killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other
servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants
treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son
to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to
each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take
his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of
the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those tenants?”
41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”
they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other
tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest
time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the
Scriptures:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in
our eyes?’
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will
be taken away from you and given to a people who will
produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be
broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be
crushed.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard
Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46
They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of
the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. |
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