Matthew 21

Jesus Rides Into Jerusalem

1 “When Jesus and His crew got close to Jerusalem, near Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, He sent two disciples ahead.”

2 “He told them, ‘Go into the village up ahead. You will find a donkey tied up with her colt. Untie them and bring them to Me.’”

3 “‘If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, “The Lord needs them,” and they will let you take them.’”

4 “This happened to fulfill the prophecy:

5 “‘Say to Zion: “Your King is coming, humble, riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”’”

6 “The disciples did exactly what Jesus told them to do.”

7 “They brought the donkey and colt, threw their cloaks on them, and Jesus hopped on.”

8 “A big crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from trees and laid them down too.”

9 “The crowd was hyped, shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’”

10 “When Jesus rolled into Jerusalem, the whole city was buzzing. People were asking, ‘Who is this?’”

11 “The crowd said, ‘It is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee!’”

Jesus Clears the Temple

12 “Jesus went into the temple and started flipping tables. He threw out the money changers and the people selling doves.”

13 “He said, ‘The Scriptures say, “My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you all turned it into a den of thieves!’”

14 “Then blind and lame folks came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.”

15 “When the chief priests and teachers of the law saw the miracles and heard the kids shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they got salty.”

16 “They said, ‘Do You hear what these kids are saying?’ Jesus said, ‘Yeah, I hear them. Have you not read, “Out of the mouths of children and infants, You have perfected praise”,’”

17 “Then He left them, went to Bethany, and spent the night there.”

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 “The next morning, as Jesus was heading back to the city, He got hungry.”

19 “He saw a fig tree by the road but found nothing on it but leaves. He said, ‘You will never produce fruit again.’ Immediately, the tree withered.”

20 “The disciples saw it and said, ‘Listen, how did the tree wither so fast,’”

21 “Jesus said, ‘If you have faith and do not doubt, you can do what I just did to the fig tree. You could even tell a mountain to jump into the sea, and it will happen.’”

22 “‘If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’”

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

23 “When Jesus went back to the temple courts, the chief priests and elders came up to Him and said, ‘By what authority are You doing this, Who gave You this power,’”

24 “Jesus said, ‘I will ask you all one question. If you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I do this.’”

25 “‘John’s baptism, was it from heaven or just from humans,’ They huddled up and said, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” He will ask why we did not believe John.’”

26 “‘But if we say, “From humans,” the crowd will flip, because they think John was a prophet.’”

27 “So they said, ‘We do not know.’ Jesus said, ‘Then I am not telling you by what authority I do these things.’”

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “‘What do you think, A man had two sons. He told the first, “Go work in the vineyard today.”’”

29 “‘The son said, “Nah, I am not going,” but later he changed his mind and went.’”

30 “‘The man told the second son the same thing, and he said, “Sure, I will go,” but he did not go.’”

31 “‘Which son did what his father wanted,’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said, ‘Right. Tax collectors and prostitutes are getting into God’s kingdom ahead of you all.’”

32 “‘John came preaching righteousness, and you all did not believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you still did not repent and believe him.’”

The Parable of the Tenants

33 “‘Here is another story: A man planted a vineyard, put up a fence, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out and dipped.’”

34 “‘When harvest time came, he sent his servants to collect his share from the tenants.’”

35 “‘But the tenants jumped the servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.’”

36 “‘He sent more servants, but they did the same thing to them.’”

37 “‘Finally, he sent his son, thinking, “They will respect my son.”’”

38 “‘But the tenants said, “This is the heir. Let us kill him and take his inheritance!”’”

39 “‘So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.’”

40 “‘What do you think the owner will do to those tenants when he comes?’”

41 “They said, ‘He will destroy those evil men and rent the vineyard to others who will give him his share at harvest time.’”

42 “Jesus said, ‘Have you not read the Scriptures, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord did this, and it is amazing to see.”’”

43 “‘That is why God’s kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will actually produce fruit.’”

44 “‘Anyone who trips over this stone will be broken, and anyone it falls on will be crushed.’”

The Religious Leaders Are Furious

45 “When the chief priests and Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories, they knew He was talking about them.”

46 “They wanted to arrest Him, but they were scared of the crowd, who thought Jesus was a prophet.”