Matthew 21:1-22

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King^(A)

21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into town. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey with her colt. Untie them both, and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell them, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’”

⁴ This showed the full meaning of what the prophet said:

⁶ The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the mother donkey and the young donkey to him. They covered the donkeys with their coats, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ On the way to Jerusalem, many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. They all shouted,

¹⁰ Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. All the people in the city were confused. They asked, “Who is this man?”

¹¹ The crowds following Jesus answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Goes to the Temple^(D)

¹² Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹³ Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’^[c] But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’^[d]”

¹⁴ Some blind people and some who were crippled came to Jesus in the Temple area. Jesus healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he was doing. And they saw the children praising him in the Temple area. The children were shouting, “Praise to the Son of David.” All this made the priests and the teachers of the law angry.

¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

He answered, “Yes. The Scriptures say, ‘You have taught children and babies to give praise.’^[e] Have you not read that Scripture?”

¹⁷ Then Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Shows the Power of Faith^(E)

¹⁸ Early the next morning, Jesus was going back to the city. He was very hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a fig tree beside the road and went to get a fig from it. But there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again produce fruit!” The tree immediately dried up and died.

²⁰ When the followers saw this, they were very surprised. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up and die so quickly?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “The truth is, if you have faith and no doubts, you will be able to do the same as I did to this tree. And you will be able to do more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. ²² If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”