[1] And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth'phage, to the
Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, [2] saying to them, "Go
into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied,
and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. [3] If any one says
anything to you, you shall say, `The Lord has need of them,' and he will
send them immediately." [4] This took place to fulfil what was spoken by
the prophet, saying, [5] "Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is
coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an
ass." [6] The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; [7] they
brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat
thereon. [8] Most of the crowd spread their garments 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 shouted, "Hosanna to the
Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in
the highest!" [10] And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred,
saying, "Who is this?" [11] And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus
from Nazareth of Galilee." [12] 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 pigeons. [13]
He said to them, "It is written, `My house shall be called a house of
prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers." [14] And the blind and the lame
came to him in the temple, and he healed them. [15] 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; [16] 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 sucklings thou hast brought perfect praise'?" [17] And leaving
them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. [18] In the
morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. [19] And seeing a
fig tree by the wayside 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 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, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not
only do what has been 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. [22] And
whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." [23] 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?" [24] Jesus answered
them, "I also will ask you a 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, whence was it? From heaven or from men?" And they argued with one
another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you
not believe him?' [26] But if we say, `From men,' we are afraid of the
multitude; for all hold that John was 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. [28] "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.' [29] And he answered, `I will not'; but afterward he repented and
went. [30] And he went to the second 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,
the tax collectors and the harlots go into 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 the harlots believed him; and even
when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. [33] "Hear
another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a
hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it
out to tenants, and went into another country. [34] When the season of
fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit;
[35] and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and
stoned another. [36] Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and
they did the same to them. [37] Afterward he sent his son to them, saying,
`They will respect my son.' [38] But when the tenants saw the son, they
said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his
inheritance.' [39] And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and
killed him. [40] When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will
he do to those tenants?" [41] 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." [42] Jesus said to them, "Have you
never read in the scriptures: `The very stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is
marvelous in our eyes'? [43] Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will
be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."
[44] When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they
perceived that he was speaking about them. [45] But when they tried to
arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a
prophet.
