Matthew 21 (NMV)
1 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
2 telling them, "Go into the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them immediately."
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 "Say to the daughter of Zion: Look, your King is coming to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their cloaks on them, and He sat on them.
8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
10 When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, "Who is this?"
11 And the crowds kept saying, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
12 Jesus went into the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
13 He said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of thieves!"
14 The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that He did and the children shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were furious
16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" "Yes," Jesus replied. "Have you never read: 'From the mouths of children and infants, You have prepared praise for Yourself'?"
17 Then He left them, 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 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And He said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" Immediately the fig tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?"
21 Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.
22 And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?"
24 Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer it, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven or from people?" They debated among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'
26 But if we say, 'From people,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John a prophet."
27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." And He said to them, "Then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
28 "What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go work in the vineyard today.'
29 He answered, 'I don't want to,' but later changed his mind and went.
30 Then the man went to the second son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" "The first," they said. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him. And even after seeing this, you didn't change your minds and believe him.
33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.
34 When the time came to harvest the fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his share.
35 But the farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them.
37 Finally, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.
38 But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'
39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"
41 "He will completely destroy those wicked men," they told Him, "and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will crush them."
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they realized He was speaking about them.
46 They wanted to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.