The Triumphal Entry
aNow when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to bthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus csent two disciples, 2 saying 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place ato fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 a“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
bhumble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd aspread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, a“Hosanna to bthe Son of David! cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna din the highest!” 10 And awhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is athe prophet Jesus, bfrom Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 aAnd Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of bthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold cpigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, a‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but byou make it a den of robbers.”
14 aAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 aBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, b“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ahave you never read,
b“‘Out of the mouth of cinfants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And aleaving them, he bwent out of the city to cBethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 aIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, bhe became hungry. 19 aAnd 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.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, a“Truly, I say to you, bif you have faith and cdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, d‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And awhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, bif you have faith.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 aAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him bas he was teaching, and said, c“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus 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. 25 The baptism of John, afrom where did it come? bFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, c‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ awe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ba prophet.” 27 So 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 a“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in bthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he achanged his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, athe tax collectors and bthe prostitutes go into cthe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ain the way of righteousness, and byou did not believe him, but cthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward dchange your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 a“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ba vineyard cand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and dleased it to tenants, and ewent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants ato get his fruit. 35 aAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and bstoned another. 36 aAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, a‘This is the heir. Come, blet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and athrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 aWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, a“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and blet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, a“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
b“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God awill be taken away from you and given to a people bproducing its fruits. 44 And athe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and bwhen it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And aalthough they were seeking to arrest him, bthey feared the crowds, because they held him to be ca prophet.