Matthew 21

1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with a colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to me.

3If anyone says anything to you, tell them, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them right away.”

4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

7They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up and asked, “Who is this?”

11The crowds answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

12Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.”

14The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things he did, and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant.

16They said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” Jesus replied, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of children and nursing infants you have brought forth praise’?”

17Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and he spent the night there.

18Early in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry.

19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And at once the fig tree withered.

20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

22And whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”

23When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”

24Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer it for me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

25John’s baptism—where did it come from? From heaven, or from human beings?” They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

26But if we say, ‘From human beings,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all regard John as a prophet.”

27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

28But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

29‘I do not 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. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31Which of the two did what his father wanted?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even after you saw this, you did not change your minds and believe him.

33Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away on a journey.

34When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35But the tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

36Again he sent other servants, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

37Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’

39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41They said to him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his fruit at harvest time.”

42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord, 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 that produces its fruit.

44Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and anyone it falls on will be crushed.”

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them.

46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.