Mat 21, Mat 24 | ESV | STEP | Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage , to the Mount of Olives , then Jesus sent two disciples ,

1 ^aNow when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^bthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^csent 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 ^dto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 ^e“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
^fhumble, 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 ^hspread 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, ⁱ“Hosanna to ^jthe Son of David! ^kBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^lin the highest!” 10 And ^mwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is ⁿthe prophet Jesus, ^ofrom Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 ^pAnd 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 ^rthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^spigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ^t‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^uyou make it a den of robbers.”

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

^z“‘Out of the mouth of ^aainfants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And ^ableaving them, he ^acwent out of the city to ^adBethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 ^aeIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^afhe became hungry. 19 ^agAnd 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, ^ah“Truly, I say to you, ^aiif you have faith and ^ajdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^ak‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And ^alwhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^amif you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ^anAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^aoas he was teaching, and said, ^ap“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, ^aqfrom where did it come? ^arFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^as‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^atwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^aua 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 ^av“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^awthe vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^axchanged 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, ^aythe tax collectors and ^azthe prostitutes go into ^bathe kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you ^bbin the way of righteousness, and ^bcyou did not believe him, but ^bdthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^bechange your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^bf“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^bga vineyard ^bhand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^bileased it to tenants, and ^bjwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants; also verses 35, 36} to the tenants ^blto get his fruit. 35 ^bmAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^bnstoned another. 36 ^boAgain 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, ^bp‘This is the heir. Come, ^bqlet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and ^brthrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 ^bsWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, ^bt“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^bulet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

^bw“‘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 ^bywill be taken away from you and given to a people ^bzproducing its fruits. 44 And ^cathe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^cbwhen 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 ^cdalthough they were seeking to arrest him, ^cethey feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^cfa prophet.

Matthew 24

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^cgJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^chthere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on ^cithe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^cjprivately, saying, “Tell us, ^ckwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^clcoming and of ^cmthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, ^cn“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For ^comany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^cpthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^cqare not alarmed, for this ^crmust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For ^csnation will rise against nation, and ^ctkingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^cufamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ^cvthe birth pains.

9 “Then ^cwthey will deliver you up ^cxto tribulation and ^cyput you to death, and ^czyou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away ^{▼▼Or stumble} and ^dbbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^dcfalse prophets will arise ^ddand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, ^dethe love of many will grow cold. 13 ^dfBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom ^dgwill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^dhas a testimony ^dito all nations, and ^djthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^dkspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^dlthe holy place ( ^dmlet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 ^dnLet the one who is on ^dothe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^dpalas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^dqgreat tribulation, ^drsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^dsthe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^dtThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For ^dufalse christs and ^dvfalse prophets will arise and ^dwperform great signs and wonders, ^dxso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, ^dyI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^dzhe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 ^eaFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^ebthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 ^ecWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after ^edthe tribulation of those days ^eethe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^efthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then ^egwill appear in heaven ^ehthe sign of the Son of Man, and then ^eiall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^ejthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^ekwith power and great glory. 31 And ^elhe will send out his angels with a loud ^emtrumpet call, and they will ^engather ^eohis elect from ^epthe four winds, ^eqfrom one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^erat the very gates. 34 ^esTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^etHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^eumy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour ^evno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^ewnor the Son, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit nor the Son} ^eybut the Father only. 37 ^ezFor as were the days of Noah, ^faso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 ^fbFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^fcmarrying and giving in marriage, until ^fdthe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^feso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 ^ffTwo women will be grinding ^fgat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, ^fhstay awake, for you do not know on what day ^fiyour Lord is coming. 43 ^fjBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^fkthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ^flready, for ^fmthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is ^fnthe faithful and ^fowise servant, ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 46, 48, 50} whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 ^fqBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, ^frhe will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^fsis delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} and eats and drinks with ^fudrunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come ^fvon a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^fwthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.