Matthew Chapter Twenty-One Poem by Day Williams

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came
To Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus
Sent two disciples,2 saying to them, "Go

To the next village, and at once you'll find
A donkey tied there, with her colt by her.
Untie them; bring them here.3 If anyone

Says anything to you, tell him the Lord
Needs them, and he will send them right away."
4 This happened to fulfill the prophet's words:

5 "Tell Zion's Daughter, ‘See, your king has come
To you, meek, riding on a donkey, on
A colt, a donkey's foal.'" 6 The followers

Went out and did as Jesus had advised
Them,7 so they brought the donkey and the colt,
Placed their cloaks upon them, and Jesus sat

On them.8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks
Along the road, while others cut down branches
From trees and spread them in his path.9 The crowds

That went ahead of him and those that followed
Shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the Lord's name! "

Hosanna in the highest! " 10 As he entered
Jerusalem, a shock ran through the city
And people asked, "Who is this? " 11 And the crowds

Replied, "This is the prophet Jesus, who's
From Nazareth in Galilee, " 12 then Jesus
Went in the temple area and drove

Out all the buyers and the sellers there.
He overturned the tables of the money-
Changers and benches of those selling doves.

13 "The Scriptures say my Temple is a place
Of prayer, " he said, "but you've made it a den
Of thieves." 14 The blind and lame came up to him

There at the temple, and he healed them,15 but
When the chief priests and teachers of the law
Saw the fantastic miracles he did

And children shouting in the temple yard,
"Hosanna to the Son of David, " they
Were aggravated.16 "Do you hear what these

Children are saying? " they asked him. "Yes, " replied
Jesus, "have you not read the Scriptures, "‘From
The lips of children you've perfected praise'? "

17 Then he returned to Bethany and spent
The night there.18 Early in the morning, as
He was returning to Jerusalem,

Jesus was hungry.19 Seeing a fig tree
Beside the road, he went to it but found
That nothing grew on it but leaves. Then he

Said to it, "No more fruit will ever grow
On you! " Immediately the fig tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this occur, they

Were shocked. "How did the fig tree wither so
Quickly? " they asked.21 "Believe me, " Jesus said,
If you have faith and do not doubt, you can

Do things like this and more, for you can tell
This mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into
The sea, ' and it will happen.22 Everything

You pray for, you'll receive, if you believe."
23 When Jesus went to teach in temple courts,
The chief priests and the Jewish elders came

To him. "By what authority are you
Doing these things? " they asked. "Who gave you this
Authority? " 24 And Jesus answered, "I'll

Also ask you one question. If you reply,
I will tell you by what authority
I do these things.25 Now, John's baptism−where

Did it come from? Was it from heaven, or
From men? " Among themselves they talked it over,
Concluding, "If we say, ‘From heaven, ' he

Will ask, ‘Why didn't you believe him? ' 26 But
If we tell him, ‘From men'−we are afraid
That we'll be mobbed because the crowd all think

He was a prophet,27 so they answered Jesus,
"We don't know." Then he replied, "Then I won't
Tell you by what authority I do

These things.28 What do you think? There was a man
Who had two sons. He went out to the first
And said, ‘Son, go and work out on the farm

Today.' 29 "‘I won't, ' he said, but later changed
His mind and went; 30 and then the father went
To see the other son and said the same

To him. He answered, ‘I will, sir, ' but he
Did not go.31 Which of them did what his father
Wanted? " "The first, " they answered. Jesus said

To them, "In truth, the tax collectors and
The prostitutes are entering God's kingdom
Ahead of you,32 for John the Baptist came

To you to show the way of righteousness,
And you did not believe him, but the tax
Collectors and the prostitutes believed.

And even after you saw this, you still would not
Repent and trust him.33 Listen to another
Parable: There was once a man, a land-

Owner, who sowed a vineyard, put a wall
Around it, dug a winepress in it, built
A watchtower, then rented it to some

Farmers, and went abroad.34 When harvest time
Approached, he sent his servants to the tenants
To gather up his share,35 but tenants seized

His servants, beat one, killed another, stoned
A third,36 and so he sent another group
Of servants out to them, more than at first,

And yet the tenants treated them the same.
37 At last, he sent his son to them. ‘They will
Respect my son, ' he said,38 but when they saw

The son, they told each other, ‘He's the heir.
Come on, let's kill him and we will get all
He has, ' 39 and so they took him, threw him from

The vineyard, then they killed him.40 Therefore, when
The owner of the vineyard comes, what will
He do to them? " 41 "He will bring those scoundrels

To an appalling end, " they said, "and he
Will rent the vineyard to some other tenants,
Who'll give him the produce at harvest time."

42 Then Jesus asked them, "Have you never read
In Scripture how: ‘The stone the builders have
Rejected has become the capstone; this

The Lord has done, and to our eyes it is
Amazing'? 43 Therefore I tell you God's kingdom
Will be removed from you and given to

A people who'll produce its fruit.44 He who
Falls on this stone will be demolished, but
Those that it falls on will be crushed." 45 Now when

The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus'
Parables, they knew that he spoke of them.
46 They wanted to arrest him, but were cowed,

For he was held a prophet by the crowd.