The Triumphal Entry

21 ^(A)Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^(B)the Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^(C)sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front 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, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place ^(D)to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd ^(G)spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ^(H)“Hosanna to ^(I)the Son of David! ^(J)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^(K)in the highest!” ¹⁰ And ^(L)when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is ^(M)the prophet Jesus, ^(N)from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^12 (O)And Jesus entered the temple^[b] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^(P)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^(Q)pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ^(R)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^(S)you make it a den of robbers.”

^14 (T)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (U)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(V)“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶ and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^(W)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(Z)leaving them, he ^(AA)went out of the city to ^(AB)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (AC)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(AD)he became hungry. ^19 (AE)And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And 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 marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them, ^(AF)“Truly, I say to you, ^(AG)if you have faith and ^(AH)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(AI)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(AK)if you have faith.”

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (A)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(B)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(C)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(D)the tax collectors and ^(E)the prostitutes go into ^(F)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(G)in the way of righteousness, and ^(H)you did not believe him, but ^(I)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(J)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (K)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(L)a vineyard ^(M)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(N)leased it to tenants, and ^(O)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[a] to the tenants ^(P)to get his fruit. ^35 (Q)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(R)stoned another. ^36 (S)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 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, ^(T)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(U)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(V)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (W)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(X)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(Y)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(Z)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(AB)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(AC)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(AD)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(AE)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[c]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And ^(AF)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(AG)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(AH)a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus ^(AI)spoke to them in parables, saying, ^2 (AJ)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^(AK)a wedding feast for his son, ³ and ^(AL)sent his servants^[d] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ^4 (AM)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^(AN)dinner, ^(AO)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But ^(AP)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, ^(AQ)treated them shamefully, and ^(AR)killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^(AS)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^(AT)worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and ^(AU)gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there ^(AV)a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ^(AW)‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and ^(AX)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^(AY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^(AZ)called, but few are ^(BA)chosen.”

^29 (A)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are ^(B)sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 (C)Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(D)you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to ^(E)hell? ^34 (F)Therefore ^(G)I send you ^(H)prophets and wise men and ^(I)scribes, ^(J)some of whom you will kill and crucify, and ^(K)some you will ^(L)flog in your synagogues and ^(M)persecute from town to town, ³⁵ so that on you may come all ^(N)the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(O)Abel to the blood of ^(P)Zechariah the son of Barachiah,^[a] whom you murdered between ^(Q)the sanctuary and ^(R)the altar. ³⁶ Truly, I say to you, ^(S)all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

^37 (A)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(B)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have ^(C)gathered ^(D)your children together ^(E)as a hen gathers her brood ^(F)under her wings, and ^(G)you were not willing! ³⁸ See, ^(H)your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ^(I)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 ^(J)Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.