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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