The Triumphal Entry

1And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he [†]will send it back here.” 4And they went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. 8And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. 9And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

“Hosanna!

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE [†]LORD;

10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;

Hosanna in the highest!”

11And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

The Barren Fig Tree

12And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13And seeing at a distance a fig tree that had leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Drives Merchants from the Temple

15Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [†]doves; 16and He was not permitting anyone to carry [†]merchandise through the temple. 17And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ [†]DEN.” 18And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

19And when evening came, [†]they were going out of the city.

20And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 22And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says [†]is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24For this reason I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26[[†]But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, 28and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 31And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32But if we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for everyone was regarding John to have been a real prophet. 33And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither [†]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”