Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem(A)
21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite 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 has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
4 All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Look, your King is coming to you,
humble, and sitting on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’[a]”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[b]
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?”
11 The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The Cleansing of the Temple(B)
12 Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’[c] but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’[d] ”
14 The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely displeased 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘Out of the mouth of children and infants
You have perfected praise’[e]?”
17 And He left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree(C)
18 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. 19 When He saw a fig tree by the road, He went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Let no fruit ever grow on you again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away instantly?”
21 Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed, and be thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”
The Question of Jesus’ Authority(D)
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, “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. If you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did the baptism of John come from? From heaven or from men?”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for all hold John as a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
Then He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
29 “He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented and went.
30 “Then he came to the second, and said likewise. He answered, ‘I will 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, the tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard and the Vinedressers(E)
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he rented it to vinedressers and went into a distant country. 34 When the season of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit.
35 “The vinedressers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did likewise to them. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they caught him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said, “He will severely destroy those wicked men and rent his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[f]?
43 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits. 44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But as they tried to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him as a prophet.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet(F)
22 Jesus spoke to them again by parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, but they would not come.
4 “Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I have prepared my supper. My oxen and fattened calves are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his business; 6 the rest took his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 When the king heard about it, he was angry. He sent in his army and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the streets, and invite to the wedding banquet as many as you find.’ 10 So those servants went out into the streets and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not wearing wedding garments. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding garments?’ And he was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Question of Paying Taxes(G)
15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel to entangle Him in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to Him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God truthfully, and are swayed by no one. For You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, “Why test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” They brought Him a denarius. 20 He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
Then He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard these words, they were amazed, and left Him and went on their way.
The Question About the Resurrection(H)
23 The same day the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry his wife and raise up children for his brother.’[g] 25 Now there were seven brothers with us. The first died after he married and, having no children, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second and third, on to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered, “You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[h]? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
The Great Commandment(I)
34 When the Pharisees heard that He silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 One of them, who was a lawyer, tested Him by asking Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[i] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[j] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The Question About David’s Son(J)
41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I make Your enemies
Your footstool” ’?[k]
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.