MatthäusKapitel 21

23When he came into 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 ask you one question too, and if you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from men?" They discussed it among themselves: "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask us, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'

26But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, since they all regard John as a prophet."

27So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." And he said to them, "Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

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 it, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

21Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only 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 if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

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

13and he said to them, "It is written: 'My house shall 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 wonders he did, and the children shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant

16and said to him, "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus answered, "Yes. Have you never read: 'From the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have brought forth praise'?"

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

1When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,

2telling them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and right away 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 him, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."

4This happened to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5"Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your king is coming to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."

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

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

8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9The crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed kept shouting: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" [Footnote: Hosanna is a Hebrew cry meaning "Save, we pray!" used here as a shout of praise and welcome.]

10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, asking, "Who is this?"

11And the crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

33"Listen 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 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, and they treated them the same way.

37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's 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 he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruit at the proper seasons."

42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone 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 people who will produce 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.