Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil^[a] of David.

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, ^(A)he went on ahead, ^(B)going up to Jerusalem. ^29 (C)When he drew near to Bethphage and ^(D)Bethany, at ^(E)the mount that is called Olivet, he sent ^(F)two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, ^(G)on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it ^(H)just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they ^(I)spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—^(J)the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice ^(K)for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, ^(L)“Blessed is ^(M)the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and ^(N)glory in the highest!” ^39 (O)And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, ^(P)the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

^41 (Q)And when he drew near and saw the city, ^(R)he wept over it, ⁴² saying, ^(S)“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now ^(T)they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For ^(U)the days will come upon you, when your enemies ^(V)will set up a barricade around you and ^(W)surround you and hem you in on every side ^44 (X)and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And ^(Y)they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know ^(Z)the time of your ^(AA)visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^45 (AB)And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ^(AC)‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^(AD)you have made it a den of robbers.”

^47 (AE)And he was teaching daily in the temple. ^(AF)The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(AG)One day, ^(AH)as Jesus^[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^(AI)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ² and said to him, “Tell us ^(AJ)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴ was the baptism of John ^(AK)from heaven or from man?” ⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(AL)‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ^(AM)a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

^9 (AN)And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^(AO)a vineyard and ^(AP)let it out to tenants and ^(AQ)went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant^[b] to the tenants, so that ^(AR)they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^(AS)But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^11 (AT)And ^(AU)he sent another servant. But they also beat and ^(AV)treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ^12 (AW)And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^(AX)beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^(AY)‘This is the heir. ^(AZ)Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ And they ^(BA)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ^16 (BB)He will ^(BC)come and destroy those tenants and ^(BD)give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷ But he ^(BE)looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^18 (BG)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^(BH)on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^19 (BI)The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. ^20 (BJ)So they ^(BK)watched him and sent spies, who ^(BL)pretended to be sincere, that they might ^(BM)catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^(BN)the governor. ²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^(BO)show no partiality,^[d] but truly teach ^(BP)the way of God. ²² Is it lawful for us to give ^(BQ)tribute to ^(BR)Caesar, or not?” ²³ But he perceived their ^(BS)craftiness, and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me ^(BT)a denarius.^[e] Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then ^(BU)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people ^(BV)to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

²⁷ There came to him ^(BW)some Sadducees, ^(BX)those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ^(BY)that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man^[f] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Afterward the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(BZ)“The sons of this age ^(CA)marry and ^(CB)are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are ^(CC)considered worthy to attain to ^(CD)that age and to the resurrection from the dead ^(CE)neither marry ^(CF)nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for ^(CG)they cannot die anymore, because they are ^(CH)equal to angels and ^(CI)are ^(CJ)sons of God, being ^(CK)sons^[g] of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, ^(CL)even Moses showed, in ^(CM)the passage about the bush, where he calls ^(CN)the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all ^(CO)live to him.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes ^(CP)answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For ^(CQ)they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (CR)But he said to them, “How can they say that ^(CS)the Christ is ^(CT)David's son? ⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so ^(CW)how is he his son?”