Mat 11, Mat 21 | ESV | STEP | When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples , he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities .

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 ^aNow when John heard ^bin prison about the deeds of ^cthe Christ, he sent word by ^dhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ^ethe one who is to come, or shall we ^flook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 ^gthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ⁱthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who ^jis not offended by me.”

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^kinto the wilderness to see? ^lA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man ^{▼▼Or Why then did you go out? To see a man . . .} dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ⁿA prophet? ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?} Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

^p“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^qFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, ^{▼▼Or has been coming violently} and the violent take it by force. 13 ^sFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^tElijah who is to come. 15 ^uHe who has ears to hear, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit to hear} let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came ^wneither eating ^xnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came ^yeating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^za friend of ^aatax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35)}

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 ^acThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 ^ad“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^aeTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 ^afBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^agthe day of judgment for ^ahTyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, ^aiCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^ajHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 ^akBut I tell you that ^alit will be more tolerable on ^amthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 ^anAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^aoLord of heaven and earth, that ^apyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^aqrevealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your ^argracious will. ^{▼▼Or for so it pleased you well} 27 ^atAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^auexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^avto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 ^awCome to ^axme, all who labor and are ^ayheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and ^azlearn from me, for I am ^bagentle and lowly in heart, and ^bbyou will find rest for your souls. 30 For ^bcmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 21

The Triumphal Entry

1 ^bdNow when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^bethe Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^bfsent two disciples, 2 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place ^bgto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 ^bh“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
^bihumble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, ^{▼▼Or donkey, and on a colt,} the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd ^bkspread their cloaks 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 were shouting, ^bl“Hosanna to ^bmthe Son of David! ^bnBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^boin the highest!” 10 And ^bpwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is ^bqthe prophet Jesus, ^brfrom Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 ^bsAnd Jesus entered the temple ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add of God} and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^buthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^bvpigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ^bw‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^bxyou make it a den of robbers.”

14 ^byAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 ^bzBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^ca“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; ^cbhave you never read,

^cc“‘Out of the mouth of ^cdinfants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And ^celeaving them, he ^cfwent out of the city to ^cgBethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 ^chIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^cihe became hungry. 19 ^cjAnd 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.

20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, ^ck“Truly, I say to you, ^clif you have faith and ^cmdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^cn‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And ^cowhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^cpif you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ^cqAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^cras he was teaching, and said, ^cs“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 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. 25 The baptism of John, ^ctfrom where did it come? ^cuFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^cv‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^cwwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^cxa 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.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 ^cy“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^czthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^dachanged his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son 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, ^dbthe tax collectors and ^dcthe prostitutes go into ^ddthe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ^dein the way of righteousness, and ^dfyou did not believe him, but ^dgthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^dhchange your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^di“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^dja vineyard ^dkand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^dlleased it to tenants, and ^dmwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 35, 36} to the tenants ^doto get his fruit. 35 ^dpAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^dqstoned another. 36 ^drAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^ds‘This is the heir. Come, ^dtlet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and ^duthrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 ^dvWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, ^dw“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^dxlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

42 Jesus said to them, ^dy“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

^dz“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; ^{▼▼Greek 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 ^ebwill be taken away from you and given to a people ^ecproducing its fruits. 44 And ^edthe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^eewhen it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit verse 44}

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And ^egalthough they were seeking to arrest him, ^ehthey feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^eia prophet.