21:1 As Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] ·were coming closer to [approached] Jerusalem, they ·stopped at [L came to] Bethphage ·at [or on] the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his ·followers [disciples]
21:2 and said to them, “Go to the town ·you can see there [ahead of you; or opposite you]. When you enter it, you will ·quickly [immediately] find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me.
21:3 If anyone asks you ·why you are taking the donkeys [L anything], say that ·the Master [the Lord; or its Owner] needs them, and ·he will send them at once [or the Lord will return it soon; see Mark 11:3].”
21:4 This was to ·bring about [fulfill] what ·the prophet had said [L had been spoken through the prophet]:
21:5 “Tell ·the people of Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C a metaphor for Israel], ‘[L Look; T Behold,] Your king is coming to you. He is ·gentle [humble] and ·riding [mounted] on a donkey, on the colt of a donkey [Is. 62:11; Zech. 9:9].’”
21:6 [So] The ·followers [disciples] went and did what Jesus ·told them to do [instructed; commanded].
21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their ·coats [cloaks] on them, ·and Jesus sat on them.
21:8 ·Many people [A very large crowd; or Most of the crowd] spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
21:9 The ·people [crowds] were walking ahead of Jesus and ·behind [following] him, shouting, “·Praise [L Hosanna! C a Hebrew word originally used in praying for help, but by this time a joyful shout of praise to God] to the Son of David [C a title for the Messiah]! ·God bless [Blessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:26]! ·Praise to God in heaven [L Hosanna in the highest; C either “in highest heaven” or “to the Most High God”]!”
21:10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was ·filled with excitement [stirred up; in an uproar]. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
21:11 The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
21:12 Jesus went into the ·Temple [temple complex; C the large temple area, not the inner building where only the priests could go] and ·threw [drove] out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of ·those who were exchanging different kinds of money [L the moneychangers], and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves [or pigeons; C moneychangers provided particular coins needed for the temple tax; doves or pigeons were sold for sacrifices; Lev. 5:7].
21:13 Jesus said to ·all the people there [L them], “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My ·Temple [L House] will be called a house for prayer [Is. 56:7].’ But you are ·changing [making] it into a ·hideout for robbers [T den of thieves; Jer. 7:11].”
21:14 The blind and ·crippled people [lame] came to Jesus in the Temple [courts; v. 12], and he healed them.
21:15 [L But when] The ·leading [T chief] priests and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things and that the children were praising him in the Temple [courts; v. 12], saying, “·Praise [L Hosanna; v. 9] to the Son of David [C a title for the Messiah; v. 9].” All these things made the priests and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] ·very angry [indignant].
21:16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear the things these children are saying?” Jesus answered, “Yes. Haven’t you read in the Scriptures, ·‘You have taught children and babies to sing praises’ [L ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babes you have prepared/created praise’; Ps. 8:2 LXX]?”
21:17 Then Jesus left and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
21:18 Early the next morning, as Jesus was going back to the city, he became hungry.
21:19 Seeing a fig tree beside the road, Jesus went to it, but ·there were no figs [L he found nothing] on the tree, only leaves [Is. 5:1–7]. So Jesus said to the tree, “·You will [May you] never again have fruit.” The tree immediately ·dried up [withered].
21:20 When his ·followers [disciples] saw this, they were amazed. They asked, “How did the fig tree ·dry up [wither] ·so quickly [immediately]?”
21:21 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree and even more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘·Go, fall [L Be lifted up and thrown] into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will ·happen [be done].
21:22 If you ·believe [have faith], you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
21:23 Jesus went to the Temple [courts], and while he was teaching there, the ·leading [T chief] priests and the elders of the people came to him. They said, “What authority do you have to do these things? [L And] Who gave you this authority?”
21:24 Jesus answered, “I also will ask you a question. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things.
21:25 Tell me: When John baptized people, did that come from ·God [L heaven; C a reverential Jewish way of referring to God] or just from ·other people [human beings]?” They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from ·God [L heaven],’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
21:26 But if we say, ‘It was from ·people [human beings],’ we are afraid of what the crowd will do because they all ·believe [think; hold] that John was a prophet.”
21:27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.
21:28 “Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the ·first [elder] son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in ·my [the] vineyard.’
21:29 The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son ·changed his mind [regretted/thought better of it] and went.
21:30 Then the father went to the other son and said, ·‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard’ [L the same thing]. The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will,’ but he did not go.
21:31 Which of the two sons ·obeyed [L did the will of] his father?” ·The priests and leaders [L They] answered, “The first son.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes ·will enter [are going into] the kingdom of God ·before you do [ahead of you].
21:32 [L For] John came to show you the ·right way to live [the way/path of righteousness]. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to ·change your ways [change your mind; repent] and believe him.
21:33 “Listen to ·this story [another parable]: There was a ·man who owned [landowner who planted] a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a ·hole [vat; pit] for a winepress and built a tower [C to protect against thieves; see Is. 5:1–7 for the background to this parable]. Then he leased the land to some [C tenant] farmers and left for a trip [C the owner represents God, the farmers are Israel’s religious leaders].
21:34 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent his ·servants [slaves] to the farmers to get his share of the grapes.
21:35 But the farmers grabbed the ·servants [slaves], beat one, killed another, and then ·killed a third servant with stones [L stoned a third].
21:36 So the man sent some other ·servants [slaves] to the farmers, even more than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to them that they had done before [C the servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel].
21:37 ·So [L Finally; Last of all] the man sent his son to the farmers [C the son represents Jesus]. He said, ‘They will respect my son.’
21:38 But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill him, and we will get his inheritance!’
21:39 Then the farmers grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
21:40 So what will the ·owner [lord] of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?”
21:41 ·The priests and leaders [L They] said, “He will ·surely kill those evil men [bring those wretches/evil men to a wretched/evil end]. Then he will lease the vineyard to some other farmers who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time [C referring to the sinners who were responding to Jesus’ call for repentance, and eventually to the Gentiles who would be saved].”
21:42 Jesus said to them, “·Surely you have read [L Haven’t you ever read…?] this in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone [capstone; keystone; L head of the corner; C the meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in the building; Jesus is the rejected stone]. The Lord did this, and it is ·wonderful [amazing; marvelous] ·to us [for us to see; L in our eyes; Ps. 118:22–23].’
21:43 “·So [For this reason; Therefore] I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to ·people [a nation] who ·do the things God wants in his kingdom [L will produce its fruit].
21:44 The person who ·falls on [stumbles over] this stone will be ·broken [shattered], and on whomever that stone falls, that person will be crushed.”
21:45 When the ·leading [T chief] priests and the Pharisees heard these ·stories [parables], they knew Jesus was talking about them.
21:46 They ·wanted [were seeking/trying] to arrest him, but they were afraid of the ·people [crowds], because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
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