Sunday 17 December 2017

Day 292: Matthew 21 - 24


Chapter 21

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
1: When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 
2: saying to them, "Go into the village ahead 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, just say this, "The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. " 
4: This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 
5: "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." 
6: The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 
7: they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 
8: A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 
9: The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" 
10: When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" 
11: The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

The Cleansing of the Temple
12: Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 
13: 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." 
14: The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 
15: But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry 
16: and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself'?" 
17: He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Cursing of the Fig Tree
18: In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. 
19: And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then 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 were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 
21: Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. 
22: Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive."

Jesus' Authority Questioned
23: When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 
24: Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 
25: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, "From heaven,' he will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?' 
26: But if we say, "Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 
27: So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons
28: "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 
29: He answered, "I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 
30: The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, "I go, sir'; but he did not go. 
31: Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 
32: For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen
33: "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 
34: When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 
35: But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36: Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 
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, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' 
39: So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 
40: Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 
41: They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." 
42: Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? 
43: Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 
44: The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." 
45: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 
46: They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.


Chapter 22

The Parable of the Marriage Feast
1: Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 
2: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 
3: He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 
4: Again he sent other slaves, saying, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' 
5: But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 
6: while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 
7: The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 
8: Then he said to his slaves, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 
9: Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' 
10: Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. 
11: "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 
12: and he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless.
13: Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14: For many are called, but few are chosen."

Paying Taxes to Caesar
15: Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 
16: So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 
17: Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 
18: But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 
19: Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.
 20: Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"
 21: They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 
22: When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

The Question about the Resurrection
23: The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, 
24: "Teacher, Moses said, "If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.' 
25: Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. 
26: The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. 
27: Last of all, the woman herself died. 
28: In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her." 
29: Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 
30: For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 
31: And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 
32: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is God not of the dead, but of the living." 
33: And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

The Great Commandment
34: When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 
35: and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 
36: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 
37: He said to him,  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 
38: This is the greatest and first commandment.
39: And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 
40: On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

The Question about David's Son
41: Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 
42: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." 
43: He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 
44: "The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet" '? 
45: If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" 46: No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Chapter 23

Jesus Denounces the Scribes and Pharisees
1: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
3: therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 
4: They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them 
5: They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. 
6: They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 
7: and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. 
8: But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
9: And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-the one in heaven. 
10: Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. 
11: The greatest among you will be your servant. 
12: All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
13: "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven.
14:  For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. 
15: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 
16: "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' 
17: You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? 
18: And you say, "Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.' 
19: How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred 
20: So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; 
21: and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it 
22: and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.
23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
24: You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! 
25: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 
26: You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. 
27: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. 
28: So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 
29: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 
30: and you say, "If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 
31: Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 
32: Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. 
33: You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?
34: Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 
35: so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 
36: Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem
37: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 
38: See, your house is left to you, desolate. 
39: For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

Chapter 24

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs before the End
1: As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 
2: Then he asked them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." 
3: When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
4: Jesus answered them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. 
5: For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray. 
6: And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 
7: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 
8: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. 
9: "Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.
10: Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 
11: And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 
12: And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 
13: But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 
14: And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come. 
15: "So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 
16: then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 
17: the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 
18: the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 
19: Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 
20: Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 
21: For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 
22: And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 
23: Then if anyone says to you, "Look! Here is the Messiah!' or "There he is!'-do not believe it. 
24: For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 
25: Take note, I have told you beforehand. 
26: So, if they say to you, "Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, "Look! He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 
27: For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 
28: Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man
29: "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 
30: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. 
31: And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32: "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 
33: So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 
34: Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 
35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No Man Knoweth the Day and Hour
36: "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 
37: For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 
38: For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 
39: and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 
40: Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 
41: Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 
42: Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 
43: But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 
44: Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

The Unfaithful Servant
45: "Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? 
46: Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 
47: Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 
48: But if that wicked slave says to himself, "My master is delayed,' 
49: and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 
50: the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. 
51: He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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