1 WHEN they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

2 telling them, "Go into the village opposite and at once you will find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose her and lead her to me.

3 If any one says anything to you, you will say, 'The Master has need of them,' and at once he will send them."

4 This happened in order that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled,

5 "Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king comes to thee, gentle and riding on an ass and on a colt, the foal of a beast of draught."

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had bidden them,

7 and brought the ass and the colt, and spread on them their cloaks and seated him on them.

8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks in the road, and others cut off branches from the trees and spread them in the road.

9 The crowds that walked before and those that followed shouted, "God save the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! God in highest heaven save him!"

10 When he entered Jerusalem all the city was shaken, and people said, "Who is this?"

11 The crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

12 Jesus went into the Temple courts and drove out all those who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling doves,

13 and he said, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of robbers."

14 Then blind men and lame men came to him in the Temple courts and he healed them.

15 When the high priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting, "God save the Son of David!" they were angry

16 and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise'?"

17 Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

18 Early in the morning as he was returning to the city, he was hungry,

19 and seeing a solitary fig tree at the roadside he went to it, but found on it nothing but leaves only. He said to it, "Let there no more be fruit from you forever." The fig tree immediately withered up.

20 Upon seeing this, the disciples were astonished and said, "How suddenly the fig tree withered up!"

21 Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' that will happen,

22 and whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will obtain."

23 When he had gone into the Temple courts, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, "By what authority are you doing this, and who gave you this authority?"

24 Jesus replied to them, "I too will ask you one question. If you answer me, then I also will tell you by what authority I am doing this.

25 The baptism of John \'97 where did it come from? From heaven or from men?" They debated among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

26 and if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the people, for they all hold John for a prophet."

27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." He in turn said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing this.

28 What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go to-day and work in the vineyard.'

29 He answered, 'I will, Sir,' but he did not go.

30 The father went to the second son and said the same. He answered, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The last." Jesus said to them, "I tell you truly the tax collectors and the bad women are going before you into the kingdom of God.

32 For John came to you in the path of righteousness and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the bad women believed him. And you when you saw it did not change your minds afterwards and believe him.

33 "Listen to another illustration: There was a man, a house-holder, who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine-vat in it and built a watch-tower, and let it out to grape-growers and went abroad.

34 When the time of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the grape-growers to get his fruit.

35 But the grape-growers seized the servants, and one they beat, one they killed, one they pelted with stones.

36 Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first, but they treated them just the same.

37 At last he sent to them his son, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

38 But when the grape-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.'

39 So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 When, therefore, the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those grape-growers?"

41 They said to him, "He will put those miserable men to a miserable death, and will let out the vineyard to other grape-growers who will render him the fruits in their seasons."

42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, that one has become the corner stone. This stone came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes'?

43 Therefore I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation that produces the fruits.

44 Whoever falls on this stone will be shattered, and if it falls on any one, it will crush him to powder."

45 The high priests and the Pharisees listening to his illustrations knew that he was speaking about them.

46 They were eager to seize him, but were afraid of the people, for the people held him for a prophet.