Mat 21 | ESV | STEP | Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage , to the Mount of Olives , then Jesus sent two disciples ,

1 ^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 ^dto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 ^e“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
^fhumble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, ^{▼▼Or donkey, and 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 ^hspread 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, ⁱ“Hosanna to ^jthe Son of David! ^kBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^lin the highest!” 10 And ^mwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is ⁿthe prophet Jesus, ^ofrom Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 ^pAnd Jesus entered the temple ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add of God} and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^rthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^spigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ^t‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^uyou make it a den of robbers.”

14 ^vAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 ^wBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^x“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; ^yhave you never read,

^z“‘Out of the mouth of ^aainfants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”

17 And ^ableaving them, he ^acwent out of the city to ^adBethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 ^aeIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^afhe became hungry. 19 ^agAnd 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, ^ah“Truly, I say to you, ^aiif you have faith and ^ajdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^ak‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And ^alwhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^amif you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ^anAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^aoas he was teaching, and said, ^ap“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, ^aqfrom where did it come? ^arFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^as‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^atwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^aua 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 ^av“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^awthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^axchanged his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, 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, ^aythe tax collectors and ^azthe prostitutes go into ^bathe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ^bbin the way of righteousness, and ^bcyou did not believe him, but ^bdthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^bechange your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^bf“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^bga vineyard ^bhand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^bileased it to tenants, and ^bjwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 35, 36} to the tenants ^blto get his fruit. 35 ^bmAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^bnstoned another. 36 ^boAgain 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, ^bp‘This is the heir. Come, ^bqlet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and ^brthrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 ^bsWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, ^bt“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^bulet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, ^bv“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

^bw“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ^{▼▼Greek the head of the corner}
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^bywill be taken away from you and given to a people ^bzproducing its fruits. 44 And ^cathe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^cbwhen it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit verse 44}

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And ^cdalthough they were seeking to arrest him, ^cethey feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^cfa prophet.