Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as
King
1As
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,
Lord, have
called
forth your
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 Jesus 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;
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.