020:017 Jesus was now going up to Jerusalem, and He took the twelve
disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,
020:018 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and there the Son of Man
will be betrayed to the High Priests and Scribes.
They will condemn Him to death,
020:019 and hand Him over to the Gentiles to be made sport of and scourged
and crucified; and on the third day He will be raised to life."
020:020 Then the mother of the sons of Zabdi came to Him with her sons,
and knelt before Him to make a request of Him.
020:021 "What is it you desire?" He asked. "Command," she replied,
"that these my two sons may sit one at your right hand and one
at your left in your Kingdom."
020:022 "None of you know what you are asking for," said Jesus;
"can you drink out of the cup from which I am about to drink?"
"We can," they replied.
020:023 "You shall drink out of my cup," He said, "but a seat at my
right hand or at my left it is not for me to allot, but it
belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
020:024 The other ten heard of this, and their indignation was aroused
against the two brothers.
020:025 But Jesus called them to Him, and said, "You know that the rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise
authority over them.
020:026 Not so shall it be among you; but whoever desires to be great
among you shall be your servant,
020:027 and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant;
020:028 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give His life as the redemption-price for many."
020:029 As they were leaving Jericho, an immense crowd following Him,
020:030 two blind men sitting by the roadside heard that it was Jesus
who was passing by, and cried aloud, "Sir, Son of David, pity us."
020:031 The people angrily tried to silence them, but they cried all
the louder. "O Sir, Son of David, pity us," they said.
020:032 So Jesus stood still and called to them. "What shall I do
for you?" He asked.
020:033 "Sir, let our eyes be opened," they replied.
020:034 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately
they regained their sight and followed Him.
021:001 When they were come near Jerusalem and had arrived at Bethphage
and the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples
on in front,
021:002 saying to them, "Go to the village you see facing you, and as you
enter it you will find a she-ass tied up and a foal with her.
Untie her and bring them to me.
021:003 And if any one says anything to you, say, `The Master needs them,'
and he will at once send them."
021:004 This took place in order that the Prophet's prediction
might be fulfilled:
021:005 "Tell the Daughter of Zion, `See, thy King is coming to thee,
gentle, and yet mounted on an ass, even on a colt the foal
of a beast of burden.'"
021:006 So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them:
021:007 they brought the she-ass and the foal, and threw their outer
garments on them. So He sat on them;
021:008 and most of the crowd kept spreading their garments along
the road, while others cut branches from the trees and carpeted
the road with them,
021:009 and the multitudes--some of the people preceding Him
and some following--sang aloud, "God save the Son
of David! Blessings on Him who comes in the Lord's name!
God in the highest Heavens save Him!"
021:010 When He thus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown
into commotion, every one inquiring, "Who is this?"
021:011 "This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee,"
replied the crowds.
021:012 Entering the Temple, Jesus drove out all who were buying
and selling there, and overturned the money-changers'
tables and the seats of the pigeon-dealers.
021:013 "It is written," He said, "`My House shall be called the House
of Prayer', but you are making it a robbers' cave."
021:014 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple,
and He cured them.
021:015 But when the High Priests and the Scribes saw the wonderful
things that He had done and the children who were crying
aloud in the Temple, "God save the Son of David," they were
filled with indignation.
021:016 "Do you hear," they asked Him, "what these children are saying?"
"Yes," He replied; "have you never read, `Out of the mouths
of infants and of babes at the breast Thou hast brought forth
the praise which is due'?"
021:017 So He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and passed
the night there.
021:018 Early in the morning as He was on His way to return to the city
He was hungry,
021:019 and seeing a fig-tree on the road-side He went up to it,
but found nothing on it but leaves. "On you," He said,
"no fruit shall ever again grow." And immediately
the fig-tree withered away.
021:020 When the disciples saw it they exclaimed in astonishment,
"How instantaneously the fig-tree has withered away!"
021:021 "I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an
unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle
as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to
this mountain, `Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,'
it shall be done;
021:022 and everything, whatever it be, that you ask for in your prayers,
if you have faith, you shall obtain."
021:023 He entered the Temple; and while He was teaching,
the High Priests and the Elders of the people came to Him
and asked Him, "By what authority are you doing these things?
and who gave you this authority?"
021:024 "And I also have a question to ask *you*," replied Jesus,
"and if you answer me, I in turn will tell you by what authority
I do these things.
021:025 John's Baptism, whence was it?--had it a heavenly or a
human origin?" So they debated the matter among themselves.
"If we say `a heavenly origin,'" they argued, "he will say,
`Why then did you not believe him?'
021:026 and if we say `a human origin' we have the people to fear,
for they all hold John to have been a Prophet."
021:027 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Nor do I tell you,"
He replied, "by what authority I do these things."
021:028 "But give me your judgement. There was a man who had two sons.
He came to the elder of them, and said, "`My son, go and work
in the vineyard to-day.'
021:029 "`I will not,' he replied. "But afterwards he was sorry, and went.
021:030 He came to the second and spoke in the same manner.
His answer was, "`I will go, Sir.' "But he did not go.
021:031 Which of the two did as his father desired?" "The first," they said.
"I solemnly tell you,' replied Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers
and the notorious sinners are entering the Kingdom of God
in front of you.
021:032 For John came to you observing all sorts of ritual, and you put
no faith in him: the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners did
put faith in him, and you, though you saw this example set you,
were not even afterwards sorry so as to believe him.
021:033 "Listen to another parable. There was a householder who planted
a vineyard, made a fence round it, dug a wine-tank in it,
and built a strong lodge; then let the place to vine-dressers,
and went abroad.
021:034 When vintage-time approached, he sent his servants to the
vine-dressers to receive his share of the grapes;
021:035 but the vine-dressers seized the servants, and one they
cruelly beat, one they killed, one they pelted with stones.
021:036 Again he sent another party of servants more numerous than the first;
and these they treated in the same manner.
021:037 Later still he sent to them his son, saying, "`They will
respect my son.'
021:038 "But the vine-dressers, when they saw the son, said to
one another, "`Here is the heir: come, let us kill him
and get his inheritance.'
021:039 "So they seized him, dragged him out of the vineyard,
and killed him.
021:040 When then the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do
to those vine-dressers?"
021:041 "He will put the wretches to a wretched death," was the reply,
"and will entrust the vineyard to other vine-dressers who will
render the produce to him at the vintage season."
021:042 "Have you never read in the Scriptures," said Jesus, "`The Stone
which the builders rejected has been made the Cornerstone:
this Cornerstone came from the Lord, and is wonderful
in our eyes'?
021:043 "That, I tell you, is the reason why the Kingdom of God will be
taken away from you, and given to a nation that will exhibit
the power of it.
021:044 He who falls on this stone will be severely hurt; but he on
whom it falls will be utterly crushed."
021:045 After listening to His parables the High Priests and the Pharisees
perceived that He was speaking about them;
021:046 but though they were eager to lay hands upon Him, they were afraid
of the people, for by them He was regarded as a Prophet.
022:001 Again Jesus spoke to them in figurative language.
022:002 "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "may be compared
to a king who celebrated the marriage of his son,
022:003 and sent his servants to call the invited guests to the wedding,
but they were unwilling to come.
022:004 "Again he sent other servants with a message to those who
were invited. "`My breakfast is now ready," he said, `my bullocks
and fat cattle are killed, and every preparation is made:
come to the wedding.'
022:005 "They however gave no heed, but went, one to his home in the country,
another to his business;
022:006 and the rest seized the king's servants, maltreated them,
and murdered them.
022:007 So the king's anger was stirred, and he sent his troops
and destroyed those murderers and burnt their city.
022:008 Then he said to his servants, "`The wedding banquet is ready,
but those who were invited were unworthy of it.
022:009 Go out therefore to the crossroads, and everybody you meet
invite to the wedding.'
022:010 "So they went out into the roads and gathered together all
they could find, both bad and good, and the banqueting hall
was filled with guests.
022:011 "Now the king came in to see the guests; and among them
he discovered one who was not wearing a wedding-robe.
022:012 "`My friend,' he said, `how is it that you came in here without
a wedding robe?'
022:013 "The man stood speechless. Then the king said to the servants,
"`Bind him hand and foot and fling him into the darkness outside:
there will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth.'