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

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (A)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(B)he became hungry. ^19 (C)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, ^(D)“Truly, I say to you, ^(E)if you have faith and ^(F)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(G)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(H)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(I)if you have faith.”

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^12 (A)On the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^(B)he was hungry. ^13 (C)And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^(D)it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had ^(A)a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. ^(B)Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

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

^14 (F)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (G)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(H)“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; ^(I)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(L)leaving them, he ^(M)went out of the city to ^(N)Bethany and lodged there.

¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ^(A)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^(B)you make it a den of robbers.”

^14 (C)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (D)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(E)“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; ^(F)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(I)leaving them, he ^(J)went out of the city to ^(K)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (L)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(M)he became hungry. ^19 (N)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, ^(O)“Truly, I say to you, ^(P)if you have faith and ^(Q)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(R)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(S)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(T)if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (U)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(V)as he was teaching, and said, ^(W)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(X)from where did it come? ^(Y)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(Z)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(AA)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(AB)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 do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (AC)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(AD)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(AE)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, ^(AF)the tax collectors and ^(AG)the prostitutes go into ^(AH)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(AI)in the way of righteousness, and ^(AJ)you did not believe him, but ^(AK)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(AL)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (AM)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(AN)a vineyard ^(AO)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(AP)leased it to tenants, and ^(AQ)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[a] to the tenants ^(AR)to get his fruit. ^35 (AS)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(AT)stoned another. ^36 (AU)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, ^(AV)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(AW)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(AX)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (AY)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(AZ)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(BA)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(BD)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(BE)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(BF)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(BG)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 ^(BH)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(BI)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(BJ)a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus ^(BK)spoke to them in parables, saying, ^2 (BL)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^(BM)a wedding feast for his son, ³ and ^(BN)sent his servants^[d] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ^4 (BO)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^(BP)dinner, ^(BQ)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But ^(BR)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, ^(BS)treated them shamefully, and ^(BT)killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^(BU)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^(BV)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 ^(BW)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 ^(BX)a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ^(BY)‘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 ^(BZ)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^(CA)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^(CB)called, but few are ^(CC)chosen.”

The Lord's Prayer

⁵ “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^(A)to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^(B)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But when you pray, ^(C)go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^(D)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^(E)the Gentiles do, for ^(F)they think that they will be heard ^(G)for their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, ^(H)for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

^7 (A)“Ask, ^(B)and it will be given to you; ^(C)seek, and you will find; ^(D)knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^(E)bread, will give him ^(F)a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, ^(G)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^(H)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!