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Matthew 21

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The Triumphal Entry 1–11

1
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ​
2
saying unto them, Go into the village that is over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. ​
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And if any one say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
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Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, ​
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Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. ​
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And the disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed them,
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and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and he sat thereon.
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And the most part of the multitude spread their garments in the way; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the way.
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And the multitudes that went before him, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. ​
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And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this? ​
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And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.

Cleansing the Temple 12–17

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And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; ​
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and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers. ​
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And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
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But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation, ​
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and said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? ​
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And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

The Fig Tree Withered 18–22

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Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered.
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And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. ​
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And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away?
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And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. ​
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And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Questioning Jesus' Authority 23–27

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And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? ​
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And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one question, which if ye tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
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The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why then did ye not believe him? ​
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But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.
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And they answered Jesus, and said, We know not. He also said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. ​

Parable of the Two Sons 28–32

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But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in the vineyard.
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And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went.
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And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
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Which of the two did the will of his father? They say, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. ​
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For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him.

Parable of the Wicked Tenants 33–46

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Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country. ​
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And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits. ​
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And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
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Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them in like manner.
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But afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. ​
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But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance. ​
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And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. ​
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When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
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They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons. ​
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Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvellous in our eyes? ​
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Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ​
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And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust. ​
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And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
46
And when they sought to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Matthew 21

Verse 1

the mount of Olives — Bethphage (Bethphage, 'fig-house') is named with Bethany at the mount of Olives (Mark 11:1). The mount is the one of which Zechariah wrote, 'his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east' (Zech 14:4); here Jesus approaches the city from it.

Verse 2

an ass tied, and a colt with her — Matthew names both animals; Mark and Luke mention only the colt, 'whereon yet never man sat' (Luke 19:30). The disciples are to 'loose' (luo) them and bring them. Luke records the result: 'found even as he had said unto them' (Luke 19:32).

Verse 4

that it might be fulfilled — The same formula opens Matthew's first fulfilment, 'Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet' (Matt 1:22). Pleroo is to fill up. The prophet here is Zechariah, quoted in v.5; John cites the same passage (John 12:15).

Verse 5

meek, and sitting upon an ass — This is from Zech 9:9, where the King is 'lowly, and riding upon an ass'. The opening words echo Isa 62:11, 'Say ye to the daughter of Zion'. The next verse promises 'I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem' and that he 'shall speak peace unto the heathen' (Zech 9:10).

Verse 9

Hosanna — Hosanna is Hebrew for save, I pray. 'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord' is Ps 118:26. 'Son of David' is the royal title. Jesus later says Jerusalem will not see him 'till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord' (Matt 23:39).

Verse 10

all the city was moved — Seio is to shake, rock to and fro. The city's question, 'Who is this?', is answered by the multitude in v.11, 'Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee'. The Pharisees say among themselves, 'behold, the world is gone after him' (John 12:19).

Verse 12

cast out all them that sold and bought — Hieron is the whole temple precinct, not the sanctuary itself. Doves were among the offerings (Lev 1:14), and the poor's substitute for a lamb (Lev 5:7); the moneychangers (kollybistes, coin-dealers) sat at tables. John records an earlier cleansing at the first Passover (John 2:14–17).

Verse 13

It is written — Two prophets are joined: the 'house of prayer' is Isa 56:7 (Mark 11:17 adds 'of all nations'), and 'den of thieves' is from Jer 7:11, 'Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?' The Greek leistes is a brigand.

Verse 15

the wonderful things — Thaumasios, a wondrous deed, occurs only here in the KJV New Testament. The children repeat the cry of v.9, 'Hosanna to the Son of David'. 'Sore displeased' is aganakteo, to be indignant; the chief priests object to the children's praise of him (v.16, 'Hearest thou what these say?').

Verse 16

babes and sucklings — This is quoted from Ps 8:2, where God 'ordained strength' out of their mouths; here the wording is 'perfected praise' (katartizo, to fit completely). Jesus names babes again elsewhere, thanking the Father who 'hast revealed them unto babes' (Matt 11:25). The question 'have ye never read' addresses readers of Scripture.

Verse 19

leaves only — The tree showed foliage but no fruit; Jesus says, 'Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.' Xeraino, to dry up; Mark notes it was 'dried up from the roots' (Mark 11:20). The image of a fig tree sought for fruit and found barren is in Luke 13:6–9.

Verse 21

If ye have faith, and doubt not — Diakrino, to be divided in mind, is James's 'nothing wavering' (Jas 1:6). The word to 'this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea' is repeated in Mark 11:23; Matt 17:20 has 'faith as a grain of mustard seed' and 'Remove hence to yonder place'; Paul speaks of faith that could 'remove mountains' (1 Cor 13:2).

Verse 23

By what authority — Exousia is right or power to act. The question follows the cleansing of the temple and the healing and teaching there. The chief priests and elders ask it as he teaches; the apostles later face the same inquiry: 'By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?' (Acts 4:7).

Verse 25

from heaven, or of men — 'Heaven' stands for God. John's baptism (Matt 3:1) was his whole ministry of preaching and baptizing. The rulers 'reasoned' (dialogizomai) among themselves; Luke gives the same reasoning (Luke 20:5). Either answer exposes them: if from heaven, they had not believed him.

Verse 27

We cannot tell — Literally 'we know not' (oida). Their answer is governed by the fear stated in v.26, not by ignorance. Jesus' reply, 'Neither tell I you', is repeated in Mark 11:33. The same fear of the multitude restrains them again in v.46.

Verse 31

The first — The rulers themselves give the answer. 'Go… before you' renders proago, the verb used of the multitudes 'that went before' in v.9. Luke records that 'the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John' (Luke 7:29), while the Pharisees and lawyers refused it (Luke 7:30).

Verse 33

planted a vineyard — The vineyard is Israel: 'the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel' (Isa 5:7). The householder (oikodespotes) plants, hedges, builds a tower and leases it to husbandmen (georgoi), then goes abroad. Mark 12:1 and Luke 20:9 also record the parable.

Verse 34

he sent his servants — The servants are the prophets: 'my servants the prophets' (Zech 1:6). 'Time of the fruit' is kairos, the due season. Scripture records the pattern: the LORD 'sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending' (2 Chr 36:15).

Verse 37

his son — 'Last of all' marks the end of the sending of servants. Mark adds 'one son, his wellbeloved' (Mark 12:6). Entrepo ('reverence') is to regard with respect. The letter to the Hebrews sets the pattern: God spoke by the prophets, then 'hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son' (Heb 1:1–2).

Verse 38

This is the heir — Kleronomos; Christ is the Son 'whom he hath appointed heir of all things' (Heb 1:2). The tenants' words, 'come, let us kill him', echo those of Joseph's brothers, 'Come now therefore, and let us slay him' (Gen 37:20). They recognise the heir and act to seize the inheritance.

Verse 39

cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him — Luke gives the same order (Luke 20:15); Mark reverses it (Mark 12:8). Christ 'suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:12). Peter says the people took him and 'by wicked hands have crucified and slain' him, yet 'by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God' (Acts 2:23).

Verse 41

miserably destroy those wicked men — The Greek plays on one root: kakous kakos, wicked men wickedly. The leaders pass sentence on themselves. The vineyard is let 'unto other husbandmen', as Isa 5:5 had said the hedge would be taken away; Paul turns to the Gentiles in Acts 28:28.

Verse 42

the head of the corner — This is from Ps 118:22–23, the psalm of the crowd's cry in v.9. Peter applies it to Christ before the rulers: 'This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders' (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:4). Paul calls him 'the chief corner stone' (Eph 2:20). Gonia is the angle of the building.

Verse 43

a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof — Ethnos, a nation, matches 'other husbandmen' in v.41. Peter calls believers 'an holy nation' (1 Pet 2:9). The kingdom is taken from those who held it, as 'the children of the kingdom shall be cast out' (Matt 8:12); fruit, not descent, is the test.

Verse 44

fall on this stone… grind him to powder — Two images are joined: stumbling on the stone ('many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken', Isa 8:15) and the stone falling, as in Dan 2:34–35, where it smote the image so that it became 'like the chaff'. Likmao is to winnow, scatter as with a winnowing fan.

Verse 46

they took him for a prophet — The rulers wanted to seize him ('lay hands', krateo) but feared the multitude, the same fear that governed their answer in v.26. Of John too, Herod 'feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet' (Matt 14:5). The crowd's own verdict is in v.11.