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M ATTHEW 21
page 883
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.
11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the
prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Clears the Temple
12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive
out all the people buying and selling animals
for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the
money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “The Scriptures
declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of
prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of
thieves!”*
14 The blind and the lame came to him in the
Temple, and he healed them. 15 The leading
priests and the teachers of religious law saw
these wonderful miracles and heard even the
children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God
for the Son of David.”
But the leaders were indignant. 16 They asked
Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are
saying?”
“Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read
the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught
children and infants to give you praise.’*”
17 Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed
overnight.
They talked it over among themselves. “If we
say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we
didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely
human, we’ll be mobbed because the people
believe John was a prophet.” 27 So they finally
replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you
by what authority I do these things.
Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think about this? A man
with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out
and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed
his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father
told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes,
sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”*
Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell
you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and
showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t
believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent
of your sins.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19 and he noticed a fig
tree beside the road. He went over to see if there
were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then
he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!”
And immediately the fig tree withered up.
20 The disciples were amazed when they saw
this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so
quickly?”
21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth,
if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do
things like this and much more. You can even
say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and
thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You
can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you
will receive it.”
Parable of the Evil Farmers
33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around
it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice,
and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the
vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share
of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his
servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began
teaching, the leading priests and elders came
up to him. They demanded, “By what authority
are you doing all these things? Who gave you
the right?”
24 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these
things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 25 “Did John’s authority to baptize come
from heaven, or was it merely human?”
Someone has said that the road to
destruction is paved with good intentions.
In this parable, Jesus is showing us that
our actions prove our obedience or disobedience. Even though the one son
initially had no intention of obeying, the
fact that he obeyed in the end made him
the obedient son. The other son said the
right thing but didn’t follow through, and
he was therefore disobedient. We are
reminded that our professions of faith are
only as valid as the actions that follow
them. Does either brother in this story
illustrate your walk with Christ?
21:13 Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. 21:16 Ps 8:2 (Greek version).
21:29-31 Other manuscripts read “The second.” In still other
manuscripts the first son says “Yes” but does nothing, the
second son says “No” but then repents and goes, and the
answer to Jesus’ question is that the second son obeyed his
father.
• Obedience
M ATTHE W 21:28-31