Matthew 21 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Triumphal Entry

(Mar 11:1–10; Luk 19:28–40; Jhn 12:12–19 )

When they approached Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples [ahead],

Mat 21:2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.

Mat 21:3

Mat 21:3“If anyone says anything to you, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and without delay the owner will send them [with you].”

Mat 21:4

Mat 21:4This happened so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, saying:

Mat 21:5

“TELL THE DAUGHTER OF ZION (the people of Jerusalem),

‘BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,

GENTLE AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,

EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”

Mat 21:6

Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them,

Mat 21:7

Mat 21:7and they brought the donkey and [fn]the colt, and [fn]placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats.

Mat 21:8

Mat 21:8Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.

Mat 21:9

Mat 21:9The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],

“[fn]Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah);

BLESSED [praised, glorified] IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;

Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”

Mat 21:10

When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?”

Mat 21:11

Mat 21:11And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

(Mar 11:15–19; Luk 19:45–48; Jhn 2:13–22 )

Mat 21:12

And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice].

Mat 21:13

Mat 21:13Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”

Mat 21:14

And the blind and the lame came to Him in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple area, and He healed them.

Mat 21:15

Mat 21:15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful and miraculous things that Jesus had done, and heard the [fn]boys who were shouting in [the porticoes and courts of] the temple [in praise and adoration], “Hosanna to the Son of David (the Messiah),” they became indignant

Mat 21:16

Mat 21:16and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus replied to them, “Yes; have you never read [in the Scripture], ‘OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED and PROVIDED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?”

Mat 21:17

Mat 21:17Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

The Barren Fig Tree

(Mar 11:12–14 )

Mat 21:18

Now early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry.

Mat 21:19

Mat 21:19Seeing a lone fig tree at the roadside, He went to it and found nothing but leaves on it; and He said to it, “Never again will fruit come from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

(Mar 11:20–24 )

Mat 21:20

When the disciples saw it, they were astonished and asked, “How is it that the fig tree has withered away all at once?”

Mat 21:21

Mat 21:21Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].

Mat 21:22

Mat 21:22“And whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Authority Challenged

(Mar 11:27–33; Luk 20:1–8 )

Mat 21:23

When He entered the temple area, the [fn]chief priests and elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what [kind of] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority [to exercise this power]?”

Mat 21:24

Mat 21:24Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:25

Mat 21:25“The baptism of John—from where did it come? From heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” And they began debating among themselves [considering the implications of their answer], saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe John?’

Mat 21:26

Mat 21:26“But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the [response of the] crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

Mat 21:27

Mat 21:27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”

Parable of Two Sons

Mat 21:28

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

Mat 21:29

Mat 21:29“And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went.

Mat 21:30

Mat 21:30“Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.

Mat 21:31

Mat 21:31“Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 21:32

Mat 21:32“For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you].

Parable of the Landowner

(Mar 12:1–12; Luk 20:9–19 )

Mat 21:33

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to tenant farmers and went on a journey [to another country].

Mat 21:34

Mat 21:34“When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit.

Mat 21:35

Mat 21:35“But the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.

Mat 21:36

Mat 21:36“Again he sent other servants, more than the first time; and they treated them the same way.

Mat 21:37

Mat 21:37“Finally he sent his own son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son and have regard for him.’

Mat 21:38

Mat 21:38“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This [man] is the heir; come on, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’

Mat 21:39

Mat 21:39“So they took the son and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Mat 21:40

Mat 21:40“Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?”

Mat 21:41

Mat 21:41They said to Him, “He will put those despicable men to a miserable end, and rent out the vineyard to other tenants [of good character] who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

Mat 21:42

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

‘THE [very] [fn]STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED and THREW AWAY,

HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE;

THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING,

AND IT IS MARVELOUS and WONDERFUL IN OUR EYES’?

Mat 21:43

“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to [another] people who will produce the fruit of it.

Mat 21:44

Mat 21:44“And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Mat 21:45

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

Mat 21:46

Mat 21:46And although they were trying to arrest Him, they feared the people, because they regarded Jesus as a prophet.

See the AMP Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

AMP Footnotes

(21:7)

A colt that had not been used was considered holy by the Jews and was fit to carry a king.

(21:7)

A sign of homage and recognition of Jesus’ kingship.

(21:9)

“Save now!” or “Save I pray!”

(21:15)

There would have been a large number of twelve year old boys in the temple preparing to celebrate their first Passover and their ceremonial entry into manhood.

(21:23)

I.e. the official delegation from the Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court.

(21:42)

This quotation from a Messianic psalm refers to the coming rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, and His resurrection as the Cornerstone of mankind’s redemption.

For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

Matthew Chapter 21 — Additional Translations:

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