Part 8

The mother of the sons of Zebedee and her sons, James and John, approached Jesus. She praised Him, desiring something of Him. He said to her, What wilt thou? She replied, Grant that my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

They said to Him, We are able. And Jesus said, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give. It shall be given to them for whom it is prepared by my Father.

When the remaining ten heard this they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them to Him and said, Ye know that the princes of worldliness and ambition influence them. But it shall not be so among you. Whoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. Whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Likewise, the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

As they were leaving Jericho a great multitude followed. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, two blind men, who were sitting by the wayside, cried out, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. The multitude told them to keep quiet. But they cried more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

Jesus stood still and said to them, What shall I do for you? They answered, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and they followed Him.

21 As they drew close to Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage by the mount of Olives. Jesus sent two disciples ahead and said, Go into the village and ye shall find tied there an ass with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If a man says anything to you, say, The Lord has need of them and, straightway, he will send them. All this was done so this saying of the prophet might be fulfilled: Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon a colt, the foal of an ass.

The disciples did as Jesus directed. They brought the ass and the colt and set Jesus thereupon. A multitude spread out their garments and others cut down tree branches and lined the way. They cried out, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. When Jesus came into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred. They asked, Who is this? The multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.

Jesus went into the temple and cast out all who bought and sold. He overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, it is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them. When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things Jesus did and heard the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David; they were greatly displeased. They said to Him, Hear thou what they are saying? Jesus answered, Yea. Have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes comes perfect praise? Then He left them and went into Bethany where He lodged that night.

In the morning Jesus, being very hungry, started out to return to the city. On His way He saw a fig tree. As He came to it He found nothing on it but leaves. He said, Let no fruit ever grow on thee. The fig tree withered away.

When the disciples saw this, they marvelled and said, How quickly the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this that was done to the fig tree, but also, if ye shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed and cast into the sea; it shall be done. Those things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

Then He went into the temple. The chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and asked, By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?

Jesus replied, I, in turn, will ask you one thing, which, if ye can tell me, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven or from man?

They reasoned among themselves and said, If we say, From heaven; He will ask us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we say, From man; we fear the people for they hold John as a prophet.

Finally they said to Jesus, We cannot tell. Jesus responded, Neither, then, do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Hear this. A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, Son, today go to work in my vineyard. The son answered, I will not. But, afterward he repented and went to work. Then the man went to the second son and said the same thing. The second son said, I will go, sir; but he did not go. Which of these two did the will of his father? They answered, The first son.

Jesus said, Verily I say, The publicans and the harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. John came to you in the way of righteousness and ye believed him not. But the publicans and the harlots believed him. And yet, even after you had seen, you did not repent that you believed him.

Hear another parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard. He hedged it all around, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to husbandsmen and went abroad. When the time of the harvest drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandsmen to receive the fruits of it. The husbandsmen took his servants, beat one, stoned one, and killed another. Next, he sent more servants than the first time. They did to them the same thing.

Finally, he sent his son, saying, They will respect my son. But when the husbandsmen saw the son, they said, This is the heir. Let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they caught him, cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When, therefore, the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these husbandsmen?

They said to Jesus, He will destroy these miserable and wicked men and he will rent out his vineyard to others who will render him the fruits in their seasons.

Jesus said, Did ye never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected is the same that has become the cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes?

I tell you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that brings forth its fruits. Whoever falls on this stone shall be broken. On whomever this stone falls, he will be ground into powder.

When the chief priests and Pharisees heard these parables, they saw that Jesus spoke about them. But when they thought of laying hands on Him, they feared the multitude because they took Jesus for a prophet.

22 Jesus related more parables. He said, The kingdom of heaven is like a king who arranged a marriage feast for his son. He sent his servants forth to call those who were invited to the wedding but they did not come. He sent other servants to say, Dinner is prepared. The king's oxen and fatlings are killed. Everything is ready. Come to the marriage. Those who were invited made light of it and went their ways. One went out to his farm. Another attended to his merchandise. The others took the king's servants, treated them spitefully, and then slew them.

When the king heard this he was outraged. He sent out his armies to destroy the murderers and burn their city. Then he said to his servants, The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, invite them to the marriage feast. These servants went out and gathered together all those they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Then, the king came in to greet the guests. He spotted a man who did not wear the wedding garment that was provided. The king said to him, Friend, why did you come in here without the wedding garment? The man made no answer. So the king told his servants, Bind him hand and foot. Then take him away and cast him into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are invited, but few are chosen.

Then the Pharisees met to discuss how they might trap Jesus in His words. They sent some of their people along with the Herodians to question Jesus. They said, Master, we know that thou art true and teach the way of God in truth. Tell us, therefore, what thou think. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?

Jesus, perceiving their wicked motive, said, Why test me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. They brought a coin to Him. Jesus asked, Whose image and superscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Jesus said, Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's. When they heard these words, they marvelled, and left Him to go their way.