Matthew 21:18-46; Matthew 22; Matthew 23:1-38

Matthew 21:18-46

18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry.

19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you 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 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

23 When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

24 “I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

25 What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

27 So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

28 But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29 ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.

30 Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first, ” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

33 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

34 When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.

35 But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.

37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’

39 So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit 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 that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. ”

45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them.

46 Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.

Matthew 22

1 Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:

2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

3 He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

4 Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business.

6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

7 The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.

8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy.

9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’

10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes.

12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

15 Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.

16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

17 So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius.

20 “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him.

24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother.

26 The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh.

27 And last of all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”

29 Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

30 In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you:

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

34 And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them:

42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.

43 Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says:

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

45 So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”

46 No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.

Matthew 23:1-38

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples:

2 “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,

7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.

8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’

17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’

19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?

20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.

21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.

22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.

23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.

33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town.

35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.