1. When they drew near Jerusalem and arrived at Bethphage, on the mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,

2. saying, "Go to the village in front of you, and there you will find a donkey tied up with its colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.

3. If anyone says something to you, say: The Lord needs them but he will send them back immediately."

4. This happened in fulfillment of what the prophet said:

5. Say to the daughter of Zion: See, your king comes to you in all simplicity, riding on a donkey, a beast of burden, with its colt.

6. The disciples went as Jesus had instructed them,

7. and they brought the donkey with its colt. Then they threw their cloaks on its back, and Jesus sat on them.

8. Many people also spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9. The people who walked ahead of Jesus and those who followed him began to shout: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, glory in the highest!"

10. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was disturbed. The people asked, "Who is this man?"

11. And the crowd answered, "This is the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee."

12. So Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple area. He overturned the tables of the money changers, and the stools of those who sold pigeons.

13. And he said to them, "It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a den of thieves."

14. The blind and the lame also came to him in the Temple and Jesus healed them.

15. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law saw the wonderful things Jesus had just done, and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

16. They became indignant and said to Jesus, "Do you hear what they say?" Jesus answered them, "Yes. Have you never read this text: From the mouths of children and infants you have got perfect praise?"

17. So leaving them he went out of the city and came to Bethany where he spent the night.

18. While returning to the city early in the morning, Jesus felt hungry.

19. He noticed a fig tree by the road, went up to it and found nothing on it but leaves. Then he said to the tree, "Never again bear fruit!" And immediately, the fig tree withered.

20. When the disciples saw this, they were astonished and they said, "How did the fig tree suddenly dry up!"

21. Jesus told them, "Truly, I say to you: if you had faith and did not doubt, not only could you do what I have done with the fig tree, but you could even say to that mountain: 'Go and throw yourself into the sea!' and it would be done.

22. Whatever you ask for in prayer full of faith, you will receive."

23. Jesus had entered the Temple and was teaching when the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities came to him and asked, "What authority have you to act like this? Who gave you authority to do all this?"

24. Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you a question, only one. And if you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. When John began to baptize, was it a work of God, or was it merely something human?"

25. They reasoned out among themselves, "If we reply that it was a work of God, he will say: Why, then, did you not believe him?

26. And if we say: The baptism of John was merely something human, beware of the people: since all hold John as a prophet."

27. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what right I do these things."

28. Jesus went on to say, "What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him: 'Son, today go and work in my vineyard.'

29. And the son answered: 'I don't want to.' But later he thought better of it and went.

30. Then the father went to the second and gave him the same command. This son replied: 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go.

31. Which of the two did what the father wanted?" They answered, "The first." And Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you: the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven.

32. For John came to show you the way of goodness but you did not believe him, yet the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.

33. Listen to another example: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants and then went to a distant country.

34. When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest.

35. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned another.

36. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.

37. Finally, he sent his son, thinking: 'They will respect my son.'

38. But when the tenants saw the son, they thought: 'This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and his inheritance will be ours.'

39. So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40. Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?"

41. They said to him, "He will bring those evil to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him in due time."

42. And Jesus replied, "Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone. This was the Lord's doing; and we marvel at it.

43. Therefore I say to you: the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you and given to a people who will yield a harvest.

44. (Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will ground to dust on whom it falls.)"

45. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realized that Jesus was referring to them.

46. They would have arrested him, but they were afraid of the crowd who regarded him as a prophet.





“O demônio é forte com quem o teme, mas é fraquíssimo com quem o despreza.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina