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When Jesus and His disciples had come near Jerusalem and had arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples

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with this message: “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me.

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And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

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This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

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“Say to the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your King is coming to you,
gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

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So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

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They brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and He sat on them.

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A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

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And the crowds that went before Him and those that followed Him were shouting, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”

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And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

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And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

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Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple courts. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves

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and said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you 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 crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,

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and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise’?”

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Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

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

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And seeing a fig tree by the road, He went to it and found nothing on it but leaves only. And He said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And at once the fig tree withered.

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When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

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And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

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And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

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And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

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Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

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The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

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But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold John to be a prophet.”

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So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

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“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

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And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.

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And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.

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Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

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For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

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“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went into another country.

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When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.

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And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

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Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.

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

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

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And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

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When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

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They said to Him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

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Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
a marvelous thing in our eyes.

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Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

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[And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.]”

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When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them.

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And although they were seeking to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him to be a prophet.

📖 Matthew 21 – Jesus the Prince of Peace, the Judgment of God’s House, and the Power of His Word

🧾 Summary of Matthew 21

This chapter marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus’ life before the crucifixion. It records Jesus entering Jerusalem as King, cleansing the temple, performing miracles, and giving judgment parables that rebuke the religious leaders.

Main Points:

1. Jesus Enters Jerusalem (verses 1–11):

   • Jesus rode on a donkey and entered Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.

   • The crowd welcomed Him with the cry:

     “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

   • This is called the “Triumphal Entry”.

2. Jesus Cleanses the Temple (verses 12–17):

   • Jesus was angry because the house of prayer had been turned into a den of robbers.

   • He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

   • He healed the blind and the lame in the temple.

   • Children cried out “Hosanna,” making the priests jealous.

   • Jesus affirmed: “Out of the mouth of infants and children, You have prepared praise.”

3. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (verses 18–22):

   • The fig tree, leafy but fruitless, was cursed and immediately withered.

   • Jesus taught that true faith can move mountains.

   • This symbolizes Israel appearing spiritual but bearing no fruit.

4. Jesus’ Authority Questioned (verses 23–27):

   • The chief priests and elders demanded that Jesus explain where His authority came from.

   • Jesus turned the question back to them with the question about John’s baptism — they could not answer.

   • So Jesus did not answer them either.

5. The Parable of the Obedient and Disobedient Son (verses 28–32):

   • A father asked two sons to work in the vineyard.

   • The first refused but later went. The second said yes but did not go.

   • Jesus declared that tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of God first because they repented.

6. The Parable of the Tenants (verses 33–46):

   • The owner of the vineyard sent his servants to collect the fruit, but they were beaten and killed.

   • He sent his son, but the tenants killed the son as well.

   • This is a picture of Israel rejecting the prophets and eventually rejecting the Son (Jesus).

   • Jesus said:

     “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

   • The priests realized that Jesus was speaking about them.

📘 Key Teachings of Matthew 21

1. Jesus is the Messianic King, but not in the world’s way — He comes in gentleness.
2. God’s house must be a place of prayer, not a place for personal gain.
3. The Lord seeks fruit in our spiritual lives — not just outward appearance.
4. Jesus’ authority comes from the Father and cannot be silenced by worldly power.
5. Repentance is more important than mere words or religious status.
6. Rejection of Jesus will result in judgment.
7. Jesus is the Cornerstone who will be rejected by people, but chosen by God.

✨ Spiritual Meaning of Matthew 21

• Do we truly welcome Jesus as King in our lives, or do we only cry “Hosanna” with our lips?
• True faith is not only about ritual, but about real action and a repentant heart.
• The temple (including our lives as temples of the Holy Spirit) must be cleansed of worldly interests.
• The Lord wants us to bear fruit — love, righteousness, and service.
• We cannot hide our hearts from God, like the priests who were full of hypocrisy.
• Jesus is worthy to be the center of our faith — He is the eternal Cornerstone.