Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^uOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a ^vfig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 ^wAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the ^xmoney-changers and the seats of those who sold ^ypigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^z‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a ^aden of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way ^bto destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was ^castonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they¹ went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ^dAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the ^efig tree withered away to its roots.

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

21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^f“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^gwhatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received¹ it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, ^hif you have anything against anyone, ⁱso that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”²

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^jAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what ^kauthority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you ^lnot believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a ^mprophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “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.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the ^wtax collectors and the prostitutes ^xgo into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For ^yJohn came to you in the ^zway of ^arighteousness, 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.

The Parable of the Tenants

33 ^b“Hear another parable. ^cThere 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 and leased it to tenants, and ^dwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants¹ to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, ^ekilled another, and stoned another. 36 ^fAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 ^gFinally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the ^hheir. Come, let us ⁱkill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^jlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

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

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be ^mtaken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who ⁿfalls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”³

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a ^oprophet.