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21
The Triumphal Entry
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, towards the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone asks you anything, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 Now all this took place so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
humble, and sitting on a donkey,
a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 So the disciples went, and did just as Jesus ordered them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their clothes on them, and they set Him on them. 8 And a very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; but others were cutting down branches from the trees and were spreading them on the road. 9 Then the crowds who went before, and those following were crying out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when He entered into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and He cast out all those buying and selling in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
14 Then the lame and the blind came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonders which He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”
17 And having left them, He went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 Now in the early morning, returning to the city, He became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “May no fruit come from you ever again!” And immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly I say to 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 should say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And all things, as many as you may ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23 Now as He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
And they were arguing among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we should say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “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 “But what do you think? A man had two children. And having come to the first, he said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ 29 But he answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but later he regretted it and went. 30 And having come to the other, he said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I am going, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; but you, having seen, did not repent afterwards, that you might believe him.
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to farmers and went away on a journey. 34 Now when the harvest time of fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, that they might collect his fruits. 35 And the farmers took his servants, and they beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did to them likewise. 37 And at last he sent to them his son, saying, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’ 38 But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let us gain possession of his inheritance.’ 39 And taking him, they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other farmers, who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and it shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that He was speaking about them. 46 And seeking to seize Him, they feared the crowds, since they considered Him to be a prophet.

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© 2014 Dr. Paul W. Esposito