Matthew 21:1-27 ▼

1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 saying to them: Go into the village opposite to you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them to me.

3 And if any one say any thing to you, you shall reply: The Lord has need of them: and he will immediately send them.

4 All this was done, that the word might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 Say you to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king comes to you, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them;

7 and brought the ass and the colt, and put their mantles on them, and caused him to sit upon them.

8 And a very great multitude spread their mantles in the road: and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the road.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed after, cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

10 And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was moved, and said: Who is this?

11 And the multitude said: This is Jesus the prophet, that is from Nazareth of Galilee.

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and drove out all that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold doves,

13 and said to them: It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.

15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, their anger was aroused,

16 and they said to him: Do you not hear what these say? And Jesus said to them: Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

17 And he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and there spent the night.

18 Now in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry:

19 and seeing a fig-tree on the road, he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves; and he said to it: Let no fruit grow on you henceforth forever. And the fig-tree immediately withered.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they were astonished, and said: How soon has the fig-tree withered!

21 Jesus answered and said to them: Verily I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall do, not only what is done to the fig-tree, but even if you shall say to this mountain, Be taken up, and be thrown into the sea, it shall be done.

22 And all things that you ask for in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

23 And after he had come into the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said: By what authority do you these things? And who gave you this authority?

24 Jesus answered and said to them: I also will ask you one thing, which if you will tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The immersion of John, whence was it? from heaven, or from men? But they reasoned among themselves, and said, If we reply, From heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him?

26 But if we reply, From men, we fear the multitude; for all regard John as a prophet.

27 And they answered and said to Jesus: We know not. And he said to them: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.