Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Triumphal Entry
21 Now[a] when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage,[b] at the Mount of Olives,[c] Jesus sent two disciples, 2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you.[d] Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’[e] and he will send them at once.” 4 This[f] took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:[g]
5 “Tell the people of Zion,[h]
‘Look, your king is coming to you,
unassuming and seated on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[i]
6 So[j] the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks[k] on them, and he sat on them. 8 A[l] very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting,[m] “Hosanna[n] to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord![o] Hosanna in the highest!” 10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar,[p] saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Cleansing the Temple
12 Then[q] Jesus entered the temple area[r] and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts,[s] and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[t] but you are turning it into a den[u] of robbers!”[v]
14 The blind and lame came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the experts in the law[w] saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children crying out in the temple courts,[x] “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing infants you have prepared praise for yourself’?”[y] 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.
The Withered Fig Tree
18 Now early in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. 19 After noticing a fig tree[z] by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” 21 Jesus[aa] answered them, “I tell you the truth,[ab] if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe,[ac] you will receive.”
The Authority of Jesus
23 Now after Jesus[ad] entered the temple courts,[ae] the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority[af] are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus[ag] answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?”[ah] They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 27 So[ai] they answered Jesus,[aj] “We don’t know.”[ak] Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you[al] by what authority[am] I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What[an] do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The boy answered,[ao] ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart[ap] and went. 30 The father[aq] went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered,[ar] ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”[as] Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,[at] tax collectors[au] and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although[av] you saw this, you did not later change your minds[aw] and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner[ax] who planted a vineyard.[ay] He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then[az] he leased it to tenant farmers[ba] and went on a journey. 34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves[bb] to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.[bc] 35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one,[bd] killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them,[be] saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 39 So[bf] they seized him,[bg] threw him out of the vineyard,[bh] and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.[bi]
This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?[bj]
43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people[bk] who will produce its fruit. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”[bl] 45 When[bm] the chief priests and the Pharisees[bn] heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds[bo] regarded him as a prophet.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke[bp] to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves[bq] to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready.[br] My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The[bs] rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The[bt] king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death[bu] and set their city[bv] on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.[bw] 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness,[bx] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees[by] went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.[bz] 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians,[ca] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.[cb] You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.[cc] 17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right[cd] to pay taxes[ce] to Caesar[cf] or not?”
18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So[cg] they brought him a denarius.[ch] 20 Jesus[ci] said to them, “Whose image[cj] is this, and whose inscription?” 21 They replied,[ck] “Caesar’s.” He said to them,[cl] “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[cm] 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned,[cn] and they left him and went away.
Marriage and the Resurrection
23 The same day Sadducees[co] (who say there is no resurrection)[cp] came to him and asked him,[cq] 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children[cr] for his brother.’[cs] 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 second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last[ct] of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”[cu] 29 Jesus[cv] answered them, “You are deceived,[cw] because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels[cx] in heaven. 31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,[cy] 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[cz] He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”[da] 33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
34 Now when the Pharisees[db] heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,[dc] they assembled together.[dd] 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law,[de] asked him a question to test[df] him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”[dg] 37 Jesus[dh] said to him, “‘Love[di] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[dj] 38 This is the first and greatest[dk] commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[dl] 40 All the law and the prophets depend[dm] on these two commandments.”
The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord
41 While[dn] the Pharisees[do] were assembled, Jesus asked them a question:[dp] 42 “What do you think about the Christ?[dq] Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.”[dr] 43 He said to them, “How then does David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘The Lord said to my lord,[ds]
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?[dt]
45 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”[du] 46 No one[dv] was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to question him any longer.
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