Matthew 21:23-26:16

New International Version

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(B) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(C)

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’^(D)

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors^(E) and the prostitutes^(F) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(G) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(H) and the prostitutes^(I) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(J) and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants^(K)

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted^(L) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.^(M) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.^{(N) 34} When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants^(O) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.^{(P) 36} Then he sent other servants^(Q) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.^(R) Come, let’s kill him^(S) and take his inheritance.’^{(T) 39} So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”^(U) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,^(V) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

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

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you^(X) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[b](Y)

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.^(Z)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet^(AA)

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like^(AB) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants^(AC) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants^(AD) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers^(AE) and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners^(AF) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,^(AG) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend^(AH)?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(AI)

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(AJ)

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar^(AK)

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.^(AL) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax^[c](AM) to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,^(AN) and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.^(AO)

Marriage at the Resurrection^(AP)

²³ That same day the Sadducees,^(AQ) who say there is no resurrection,^(AR) came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.^{(AS) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures^(AT) or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;^(AU) they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[d]?^(AV) He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.^(AW)

The Greatest Commandment^(AX)

³⁴ Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,^(AY) the Pharisees got together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law,^(AZ) tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[e](BA) 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[f](BB) 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”^(BC)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(BD)

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,”^(BE) they replied.

⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(BG)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy^(BH)(BI)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law^(BJ) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^(BK)

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see:^(BL) They make their phylacteries^[h](BM) wide and the tassels on their garments^(BN) long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^{(BO) 7} they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.^(BP)

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(BQ) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(BR) 12} For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(BS)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(BT) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(BU) [14] [i]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(BV) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(BW) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(BX) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(BY) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(BZ) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(CA) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(CB) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(CC)

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth^(CD) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.^(CE) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides!^(CF) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,^(CG) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.^{(CH) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(CI) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets^(CJ) and decorate the graves of the righteous. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.^{(CK) 32} Go ahead, then, and complete^(CL) what your ancestors started!^(CM)

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers!^(CN) How will you escape being condemned to hell?^{(CO) 34} Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify;^(CP) others you will flog in your synagogues^(CQ) and pursue from town to town.^{(CR) 35} And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel^(CS) to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah,^(CT) whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.^{(CU) 36} Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.^(CV)

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,^(CW) how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(CX) and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.^{(CY) 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’^[j]”^(CZ)

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times^(DA)

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;^(DB) every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,^(DC) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming^(DD) and of the end of the age?”^(DE)

⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.^{(DF) 5} For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.^{(DG) 6} You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.^(DH) There will be famines^(DI) and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted^(DJ) and put to death,^(DK) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.^{(DL) 10} At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets^(DM) will appear and deceive many people.^{(DN) 12} Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^{(DO) 14} And this gospel of the kingdom^(DP) will be preached in the whole world^(DQ) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place^(DR) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^[k](DS) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop^(DT) go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{(DU) 20} Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.^(DV)

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect^(DW) those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^{(DX) 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^(DY) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning^(DZ) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming^(EA) of the Son of Man.^{(EB) 28} Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.^(EC)

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[m] will mourn^(EE) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,^(EF) with power and great glory.^{[n] 31} And he will send his angels^(EG) with a loud trumpet call,^(EH) and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[o] is near, right at the door.^{(EI) 34} Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.^{(EJ) 35} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.^(EK)

The Day and Hour Unknown^(EL)(EM)

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[p] but only the Father.^{(EN) 37} As it was in the days of Noah,^(EO) so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,^(EP) up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.^{(EQ) 40} Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.^{(ER) 41} Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.^(ES)

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.^{(ET) 43} But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,^(EU) he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready,^(EV) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,^(EW) whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.^{(EX) 47} Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.^{(EY) 48} But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.^{(EZ) 50} The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(FA)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like^(FB) ten virgins who took their lamps^(FC) and went out to meet the bridegroom.^{(FD) 2} Five of them were foolish and five were wise.^{(FE) 3} The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.^(FF)

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’^(FG)

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.^(FH) And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’^(FI)

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.^(FJ)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold^(FK)

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,^(FL) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[q] each according to his ability.^(FM) Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.^{(FN) 20} The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(FO) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(FP) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(FQ) 30} And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(FR)

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes^(FS) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.^{(FT) 32} All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate^(FU) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.^{(FV) 33} He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom^(FW) prepared for you since the creation of the world.^{(FX) 35} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,^{(FY) 36} I needed clothes and you clothed me,^(FZ) I was sick and you looked after me,^(GA) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’^(GB)

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’^(GC)

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,^(GD) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire^(GE) prepared for the devil and his angels.^{(GF) 42} For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’^(GG)

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.^(GH)”^(GI)

The Plot Against Jesus^(GJ)

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,^(GK) he said to his disciples, ² “As you know, the Passover^(GL) is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled^(GM) in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,^{(GN) 4} and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.^{(GO) 5} “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot^(GP) among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany^(GQ)(GR)

⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany^(GS) in the home of Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹ “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you,^[r](GT) but you will not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.^{(GU) 13} Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus^(GV)

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot^(GW)—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.^{(GX) 16} From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.