ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version
Matthew 21:12-46
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 e And Jesus entered the temple [1] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of f the money-changers and the seats of those who sold g pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, h ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but i you make it a den of robbers.”
14 j And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 k But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, x “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; l have you never read,
17 And o leaving them, he p went out of the city to q Bethany and lodged there.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
18 r In the morning, as he was returning to the city, s he became hungry. 19 t And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, u “Truly, I say to you, v if you have faith and w do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, x ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And v whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, y if you have faith.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 z And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him a as he was teaching, and said, b “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, c from where did it come? d From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, e ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ f we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was g a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 h “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in i the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he j changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, k the tax collectors and l the prostitutes go into m the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you n in the way of righteousness, and o you did not believe him, but p the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward j change your minds and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants
33 q “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted r a vineyard s and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and t leased it to tenants, and u went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants [2] to the tenants t to get his fruit. 35 v And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and w stoned another. 36 x Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, y ‘This is the heir. Come, z let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and a threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 b When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, c “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and d let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, e “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
f “‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; [3]
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God g will be taken away from you and given to a people h producing its fruits. 44 And i the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and j when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” [4]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And l although they were seeking to arrest him, m they feared the crowds, because they held him to be n a prophet.
My Notes
- Sign in or register to save your personal notes.
ESV Study Bible Notes
Sign in or register to access ESV Study Bible notes or save your personal notes and highlights.
Enjoy this free preview of the ESV Study Bible notes.
Matt. 21:1–23:39 The Messiah Asserts His Authority over Jerusalem. Jesus' authority over Jerusalem is revealed in his triumphal entry (21:1–11), actions in the temple (21:12–17), cursing the fig tree (21:18–22), debates with religious leaders (21:23–22:46), and woes pronounced on the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (23:1–39).
Matt. 21:12–17 The Temple Actions: Jesus' Pronouncement on the Temple Establishment. John's Gospel records a similar cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry (John 2:13–17). Interpreters have proposed two explanations: (1) there was only one cleansing, but John narrated the action at the beginning for thematic/theological purposes, while the Synoptic Gospels narrate the actual historical chronology; (2) there were indeed two similar but distinctly different temple cleansings. The differences of detail seem to indicate the latter, for while the initial action is similar, Jesus' statement (Matt. 21:13) and the challenge from the Jewish leaders (vv. 15–16) are entirely different from what John records. In addition, John places the event so early in his Gospel that it would be difficult to think he wanted readers to take it as anything but an event that happened early in Jesus' ministry. Thus Jesus cleansed the temple at the beginning as a warning, and at the end of his ministry as a statement of judgment on the leadership of Israel.
Matt. 21:12 And Jesus entered the temple might seem to suggest that this cleansing of the temple took place immediately after Christ's entry into Jerusalem on Sunday (vv. 1–11), but Mark clearly places the incident on Monday morning (Mark 11:12–19). At times Matthew condenses some of the narrative of Jesus' activities during Holy Week and arranges it topically, which is the case here. Once Matthew tells readers that Jesus entered Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1–11), he recounts what else Jesus did in Jerusalem (vv. 12–17) without specifying that it was the next day. all who sold and bought. Within the temple was a sort of market where commercial activity enabled pilgrims from throughout the Diaspora (see note on John 7:35) to participate in temple activities, exchange their own currency for temple currency (Matt. 17:24–27; cf. Ex. 30:11–16), and purchase animals and other items for sacrifices.
Matt. 21:13 Jesus compares the temple and its keepers to a den of robbers. Thieves often used caves to store their ill-gotten wealth and to plot future crimes.
Matt. 21:15–16 Hosanna to the Son of David! Jesus acknowledges the children's praise and links it to Ps. 8:2, which the religious leaders should have known applied such praise to God, thus confirming Jesus as the divine Messiah.
Matt. 21:17 to Bethany. A village about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Perhaps Jesus lodged at the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, with whom he had close association (Luke 10:38–42; John 11:1–44; 12:1–3).
Matt. 21:18–22 Cursing the Fig Tree: Jesus' Judgment of the Nation. Matthew discusses the cursing of the fig tree and the disciples' reaction together, treating the events topically just as he did the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple (see note on v. 12). Mark gives the probable chronological order, while Matthew gives a literary compression of the account. Thus the tree was cursed most likely on Monday morning on the way into the city, and on Tuesday morning the disciples react to the withering on their way back to Jerusalem (cf. Mark 11:12–14, 20–26).
Matt. 21:19 found nothing on it but only leaves. Since the fruit of the fig tree begins to appear about the same time as the leaves (or a little thereafter), the appearance of leaves in full bloom should have indicated that fruit (in the form of green figs) was already growing. Jesus' actions here have symbolic importance, signifying the hypocrisy of all who have the appearance that they are bearing fruit but in fact are not (cf. Hos. 9:10–17).
Matt. 21:21–22 if you have faith . . . say to this mountain. See note on 17:20.
Matt. 21:23–22:46 Controversies in the Temple Court over Jesus' Authority. On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus presents three extended parables showing God's judgment on the leaders for not encouraging the people to accept Jesus' invitation to the kingdom of heaven (21:28–22:14). This is followed by a series of four interactions as the religious leaders try to trap Jesus, who in turn reveals his true identity as the Son of God (22:15–46).
Matt. 21:23 These things most likely refers to Jesus' disrupting of the commercial activities of the temple the previous day (vv. 12–13), and also to his authority to heal (vv. 14–16) and to teach in the temple (v. 23), because he is neither an official priestly nor scribal authority.
Matt. 21:25–27 From heaven or from man? The leaders' refusal to answer this question shows their dishonesty, but Jesus also traps them, for as religious leaders they must now profess their ignorance. And if they do not know whether John was from God, how can they judge whether Jesus is?
Matt. 21:28–32 The parable of the two sons demonstrates the religious leaders' failure to respond rightly to John the Baptist's prophetic ministry. They hypocritically did not live up to their talk. The fruit of one's life ultimately proves whether or not one is obedient to God's message. A person's actions ultimately prove whether or not he is obedient to God.
Matt. 21:33–46 The parable of the wicked tenants continues the vineyard metaphor to show that God is taking away the kingdom from Israel.
Matt. 21:33 master of a house. Large farming estates owned either by foreigners or by wealthy Jews were common in Palestine (see note on Mark 12:1). The landowners frequently rented their vineyards to farmers so they could attend to other interests.
Matt. 21:34–37 beat, killed, stoned. The treatment of the servants brings to mind what God's prophets had experienced throughout OT history (e.g., 1 Kings 18:4; Jer. 20:1–2). son. An unmistakable allusion to the Father sending his own Son, Jesus. The parable publicly declares Jesus' divine Sonship.
Matt. 21:42 cornerstone (cf. Ps. 118:22). The rejected Son will receive the position of ultimate prominence and importance.
Matt. 21:43 kingdom of God will be taken away. The leaders have failed to carry out their obligations to God both in their personal lives and in leading the nation of Israel. Their privileged role in caring for God's vineyard/kingdom is now being taken away and given to a people producing its fruits. The church will be a new “people” (Gk. ethnos, “nation, people”) consisting of disciples, both Jews and Gentiles, gathered out of many “nations” (28:19; plural of Gk. ethnos) and brought together as one new “nation” (1 Pet. 2:9; singular of Gk. ethnos) in the unfolding of God's kingdom in the present age.
