Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King^(A)(B)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,^(C) Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill^(D) what was spoken through the prophet:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks^(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet^(J) from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple^(K)

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying^(L) and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers^(M) and the benches of those selling doves.^{(N) 13} “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e](O) but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”^(P)

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.^{(Q) 15} But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,”^(R) they were indignant.^(S)

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany,^(U) where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree^(V)

¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.^(W)

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,^(X) not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for^(Y) in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(Z)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(AA) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(AB)

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’^(AC)

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors^(AD) and the prostitutes^(AE) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(AF) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(AG) and the prostitutes^(AH) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(AI) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants^(AJ)

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted^(AK) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.^(AL) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.^{(AM) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants^(AN) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(AO) 36} Then he sent other servants^(AP) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.^(AQ) Come, let’s kill him^(AR) and take his inheritance.’^{(AS) 39} So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”^(AT) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(AU) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(AW) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[i](AX)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.^(AY)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet^(AZ)

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like^(BA) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants^(BB) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants^(BC) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers^(BD) and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners^(BE) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,^(BF) and 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 wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend^(BG)?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(BH)

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(BI)

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar^(BJ)

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.^(BK) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax^[j](BL) to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(BM) and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.^(BN)

Marriage at the Resurrection^(BO)

²³ That same day the Sadducees,^(BP) who say there is no resurrection,^(BQ) came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.^{(BR) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures^(BS) or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;^(BT) they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[k]?^(BU) He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.^(BV)

The Greatest Commandment^(BW)

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,^(BX) the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law,^(BY) tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[l](BZ) 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[m](CA) 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”^(CB)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(CC)

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,”^(CD) they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(CF)

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle^(A) and set apart^(B) for the gospel of God^(C)— ² the gospel he promised beforehand^(D) through his prophets^(E) in the Holy Scriptures^{(F) 3} regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life^[a](G) was a descendant of David,^{(H) 4} and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power^[b](I) by his resurrection from the dead:^(J) Jesus Christ our Lord.^{(K) 5} Through him we received grace^(L) and apostleship to call all the Gentiles^(M) to the obedience that comes from^[c] faith^(N) for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.^(O)

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God^(P) and called to be his holy people:^(Q)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.^(R)

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,^(S) because your faith is being reported all over the world.^{(T) 9} God, whom I serve^(U) in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness^(V) how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times;^(W) and I pray that now at last by God’s will^(X) the way may be opened for me to come to you.^(Y)

¹¹ I long to see you^(Z) so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift^(AA) to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware,^(AB) brothers and sisters,^[d](AC) that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)^(AD) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated^(AE) both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.^(AF)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel,^(AG) because it is the power of God^(AH) that brings salvation to everyone who believes:^(AI) first to the Jew,^(AJ) then to the Gentile.^{(AK) 17} For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed^(AL)—a righteousness that is by faith^(AM) from first to last,^[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^[f](AN)

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ The wrath of God^(AO) is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.^{(AP) 20} For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,^(AQ) so that people are without excuse.^(AR)

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.^{(AS) 22} Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{(AT) 23} and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^(AU) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^(AV) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(AW) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(AX) and worshiped and served created things^(AY) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(AZ) Amen.^(BA)

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over^(BB) to shameful lusts.^(BC) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(BD) 27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(BE)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(BF) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(BG) 30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(BH) 31} they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(BI) no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(BJ) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(BK) of those who practice them.

God’s Righteous Judgment

2 You, therefore, have no excuse,^(BL) you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.^{(BM) 2} Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches^(BN) of his kindness,^(BO) forbearance^(BP) and patience,^(BQ) not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?^(BR)

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath^(BS), when his righteous judgment^(BT) will be revealed. ⁶ God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”^{[g](BU) 7} To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor^(BV) and immortality,^(BW) he will give eternal life.^{(BX) 8} But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,^(BY) there will be wrath and anger.^{(BZ) 9} There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:^(CA) first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;^{(CB) 10} but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.^{(CC) 11} For God does not show favoritism.^(CD)

¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law^(CE) will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey^(CF) the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,^(CG) they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) ¹⁶ This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets^(CH) through Jesus Christ,^(CI) as my gospel^(CJ) declares.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;^{(CK) 18} if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹ if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?^{(CL) 22} You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?^{(CM) 23} You who boast in the law,^(CN) do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”^[h](CO)

²⁵ Circumcision has value if you observe the law,^(CP) but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.^{(CQ) 26} So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements,^(CR) will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?^{(CS) 27} The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you^(CT) who, even though you have the^[i] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,^(CU) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.^{(CV) 29} No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,^(CW) by the Spirit,^(CX) not by the written code.^(CY) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.^(CZ)

God’s Faithfulness

3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ² Much in every way!^(DA) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.^(DB)

³ What if some were unfaithful?^(DC) Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?^{(DD) 4} Not at all! Let God be true,^(DE) and every human being a liar.^(DF) As it is written:

⁵ But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,^(DH) what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)^{(DI) 6} Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?^{(DJ) 7} Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,^(DK) why am I still condemned as a sinner?”^{(DL) 8} Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?^(DM) Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?^(DN) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.^{(DO) 10} As it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says,^(DV) it says to those who are under the law,^(DW) so that every mouth may be silenced^(DX) and the whole world held accountable to God.^{(DY) 20} Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;^(DZ) rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.^(EA)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God^(EB) has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.^{(EC) 22} This righteousness^(ED) is given through faith^(EE) in^[q] Jesus Christ^(EF) to all who believe.^(EG) There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,^{(EH) 23} for all have sinned^(EI) and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified^(EJ) freely by his grace^(EK) through the redemption^(EL) that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[r](EM) through the shedding of his blood^(EN)—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished^(EO)— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting?^(EP) It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.^{(EQ) 29} Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,^{(ER) 30} since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.^{(ES) 31} Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.