Matthew:21

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* Now when they drew near Jerusalem , and came to Bethphage , at the Mount of Olives , Jesus sent two disciples , * saying to them , »Go 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 . * If any one says anything to you , you shall say , ‘The Lord has need of them ,’ and he will send them immediately .« * This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet , saying : tcent @Matthew:21:5 " /> * The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them . * They brought the donkey and the colt , placed their cloaks on them , and Jesus sat on them . * And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road , while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road . * The crowds that went before him and those that followed shouted , * And when he entered Jerusalem , all the city was stirred , saying , »Who is this ?« * So the crowds said , »This is Jesus , the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee .« * And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple , and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves . * And he said to them , »It is written , * And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple , and he healed them . * But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did , and the children crying out in the temple , »Hosanna to the Son of David !« they were indignant ; * and they said to him , »Do you hear what these are saying ?« And Jesus said to them , »Yes . Have you never read , ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise ’?« * Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany , and he lodged there . * In the morning , as he was returning to the city , he was hungry . * And seeing a fig tree by the road he went to it , and found nothing on it but leaves only . And he said to it , »May no fruit ever come from you again !« And immediately the fig tree withered . * And when the disciples saw it , they marveled , saying , »How did the fig tree wither away so soon ?« * And 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 even if you say to this mountain , ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea ,’ it will be done . * And whatever you ask in prayer , you will receive , if you have faith .« * And 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 ?« * 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 . * The baptism of John —where was it from ? From heaven or from men ?« And they reasoned among themselves , saying , »If we say , ‘From heaven ,’ he will say to us , ‘Why then did you not believe him ?’ * But if we say , ‘From men ,’ we are afraid of the multitude ; for all hold that John was a prophet .« * 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 . * »What do you think ? A man had two sons ; and he went to the first and said , ‘Son , go and work in the vineyard today .’ * He answered , ‘I will not ,’ but afterward he regretted it and went . * Then he went to the second and said the same thing . And he answered , ‘I go , sir ,’ but he did not go . * 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 the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you . * For John came to you in the way of righteousness , and you did not believe him , but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him ; and even when you saw it , you did not afterward repent and believe him . * »Hear another parable : there was a landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it , dug a wine press in it and built a tower . And he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country . * When the harvest time drew near , he sent his servants to the tenants , to get his fruit . * And the tenants took his servants , beat one , killed one , and stoned another . * Again he sent other servants , more than the first , and they did the same to them . * Last of all , he sent his son to them saying , ‘They will respect my son ,’ * But when the tenants saw the son , they said to themselves , ‘This is the heir . Come , let us kill him and seize his inheritance .’ * So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him . * Therefore , when the owner of the vineyard comes , what will he do to those tenants ?« * They said to him , »He will put those wretches to a miserable death , and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons .« * Jesus said to them , »Have you never read in the Scriptures : * »Therefore I tell you , the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it . tcent @Matthew:21:44 " /> * When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables , they perceived that he was speaking about them . * But when they tried to arrest him , they feared the multitudes , because they held him to be a prophet .

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