The Triumphal Entry
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1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to 2the Mount of Olives, then Jesus 3sent two disciples,
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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.
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If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."
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5"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, 6humble, and mounted on a donkey, anda on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"
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The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
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They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
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Most of the crowd 7spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
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And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, 8"Hosanna to 9the Son of David! 10Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna 11in the highest!"
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
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15And Jesus entered the templeb and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of 16the money-changers and the seats of those who sold 17pigeons.
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He said to them, "It is written, 18'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but 19you make it a den of robbers."
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21But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, 22"Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant,
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and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; 23have you never read, 24"'Out of the mouth of 25infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
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31And 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.
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When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?"
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And Jesus answered them, 32"Truly, I say to you, 33if you have faith and 34do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 35'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
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38And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him 39as he was teaching, and said, 40"By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"
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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.
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The baptism of John, 41from where did it come? 42From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 43'Why then did you not believe him?'
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But if we say, 'From man,'44we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was 45a prophet."
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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
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46"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in 47the vineyard today.'
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And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go.
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Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, 49the tax collectors and 50the prostitutes go into 51the kingdom of God before you.
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For John came to you 52in the way of righteousness, and 53you did not believe him, but 54the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward 55change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
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56"Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted 57a vineyard 58and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and 59leased it to tenants, and 60went into another country.
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Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
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But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 65'This is the heir. Come, 66let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
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They said to him, 69"He will put those wretches to a miserable death and 70let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."
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Jesus said to them, 71"Have you never read in the Scriptures: 72"'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;d this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
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Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God 73will be taken away from you and given to a people 74producing its fruits.
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And 75the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and 76when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."e
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When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)