The Triumphal Entry

¹When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the ^[a]village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey’s] ^[b]colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’; and immediately he will send it here.” ⁴ So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it. ⁵ Some of the people who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go. ⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it. ⁸ And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah]. ⁹ Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise],

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

¹² On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³ Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ He said to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

Jesus Drives Moneychangers from the Temple

¹⁵ Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were ^[d]selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves; ¹⁶ and He would not permit anyone to carry ^[e]merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. ¹⁷ 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.” ¹⁸ The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

²⁰ In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up. ²¹ And remembering, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!” ²² Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. ²³ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and ^[f]does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. ²⁴ For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you. ²⁵ Whenever you ^[g]stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]. ^26 [h][But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²⁷ They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the ^[i]chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him, ²⁸ and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But ^[j]shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³ So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”