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 Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (AL)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(AM)as he was teaching, and said, ^(AN)“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, ^(AO)from where did it come? ^(AP)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(AQ)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(AR)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(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 do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (AT)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(AU)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(AV)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, ^(AW)the tax collectors and ^(AX)the prostitutes go into ^(AY)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(AZ)in the way of righteousness, and ^(BA)you did not believe him, but ^(BB)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(BC)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (BD)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(BE)a vineyard ^(BF)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(BG)leased it to tenants, and ^(BH)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[c] to the tenants ^(BI)to get his fruit. ^35 (BJ)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(BK)stoned another. ^36 (BL)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, ^(BM)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(BN)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(BO)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (BP)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(BQ)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(BR)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

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

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

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus ^(CB)spoke to them in parables, saying, ^2 (CC)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave ^(CD)a wedding feast for his son, ³ and ^(CE)sent his servants^[f] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ^4 (CF)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my ^(CG)dinner, ^(CH)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But ^(CI)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, ^(CJ)treated them shamefully, and ^(CK)killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and ^(CL)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not ^(CM)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 ^(CN)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 ^(CO)a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ^(CP)‘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 ^(CQ)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place ^(CR)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are ^(CS)called, but few are ^(CT)chosen.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^15 (CU)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how ^(CV)to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶ And they sent ^(CW)their disciples to him, along with ^(CX)the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, ^(CY)we know that you are true and teach ^(CZ)the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for ^(DA)you are not swayed by appearances.^{[g] 17} Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay ^(DB)taxes to ^(DC)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why ^(DD)put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.^{[h] 20} And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, ^(DE)“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²² When they heard it, they marveled. And they ^(DF)left him and went away.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

²³ The same day ^(DG)Sadducees came to him, ^(DH)who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ^(DI)‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ So too the second and third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ After them all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

²⁹ But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, ^(DJ)because you know neither the Scriptures nor ^(DK)the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither ^(DL)marry nor ^(DM)are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ And as for the resurrection of the dead, ^(DN)have you not read what was said to you by God: ^32 (DO)‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And when the crowd heard it, ^(DP)they were astonished at his teaching.

The Great Commandment

^34 (DQ)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(DR)the Sadducees, they gathered together. ^35 (DS)And one of them, ^(DT)a lawyer, asked him a question ^(DU)to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, ^(DV)“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 great and first commandment. ³⁹ And ^(DW)a second is like it: ^(DX)You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ^40 (DY)On these two commandments depend ^(DZ)all the Law and the Prophets.”

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (EA)Now while the Pharisees ^(EB)were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about ^(EC)the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, ^(ED)“The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, ^(EE)in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, ^(EG)how is he his son?” ^46 (EH)And no one was able to answer him a word, ^(EI)nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

The Command to Leave Sinai

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you ^(A)and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To ^(B)your offspring I will give it.’ ² I will send an ^(C)angel before you, ^(D)and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ^3 (E)Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; ^(F)but I will not go up among you, ^(G)lest I consume you on the way, for you are a ^(H)stiff-necked people.”

⁴ When the people heard this disastrous word, they ^(I)mourned, and ^(J)no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a ^(K)stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would ^(L)consume you. So now ^(M)take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” ⁶ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting

⁷ Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and ^(N)he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who ^(O)sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and ^(P)each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. ⁹ When Moses entered the tent, the ^(Q)pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord^[a] would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. ¹¹ Thus ^(R)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his ^(S)assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses' Intercession

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, ^(T)you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ^(U)‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please ^(V)show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is ^(W)your people.” ¹⁴ And he said, ^(X)“My presence will go with you, and ^(Y)I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ And he said to him, ^(Z)“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? ^(AA)Is it not in your going with us, ^(AB)so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, ^(AC)for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ Moses said, “Please ^(AD)show me your glory.” ¹⁹ And he said, ^(AE)“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And ^(AF)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for ^(AG)man shall not see me and live.” ²¹ And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, ²² and while my glory passes by I will put you in a ^(AH)cleft of the rock, and I will ^(AI)cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall ^(AJ)not be seen.”

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

A Psalm of David.