^aWhen they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and ^bBethany near ^cthe Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, Matt 21:1-9; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15 2 saying to them, “Go into the ¹village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a donkey’s ²colt 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 ^aThey 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. 2+@Kin 9:13 9 Those who went in front and those who were following Him were shouting in joy and praise,“Hosanna (¹Save, I pray) !^aBLESSED (praised, glorified) IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! Ps 118:26

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

12 ^aOn the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry. Matt 21:18-22 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.

15 ^aThen they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple grounds and began driving out with force the people who were ¹selling 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; Matt 21:12-16; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-16 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry ¹merchandise 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, ‘^aMY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? ^bBut you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.” Is 56:7; Jer 7:11 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this and ^abegan searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since ^bthe entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

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

20 ^aIn 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, “^aRabbi (Master) , look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!” 22 Jesus replied, “^aHave faith in God constantly. 23 ^aI assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and ¹does 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. Matt 17:20; Luke 17:6; 1+@John 5:14 24 For this reason I am telling you, ^awhatever 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 ^1astand praying, if you have anything against anyone, ^bforgive 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 [^1aBut if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

27 They came again to Jerusalem. ^aAnd as Jesus was walking in the courts and porches of the temple, the ¹chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him, Matt 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8 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 ¹shall 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.”

^aAnd as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and ^bBethany, near ^cthe Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, 2 and *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. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he ¹will send it back here.” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 ^aAnd they *brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:“Hosanna!^aBLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE ¹LORD;

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

12 ^aAnd on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 And 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. 14 And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

15 ^aThen 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 ¹doves; 16 and He was not permitting anyone to carry ¹merchandise through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘^aMY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? ^bBut you have made it a ROBBERS’ ¹DEN.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and ^abegan seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for ^bthe whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

19 ^aAnd when evening came, ¹they were going out of the city.

20 ^aAnd as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “^aRabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and *said to them, “^aHave faith in God. 23 ^aTruly 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 ¹is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24 For this reason I say to you, ^aall things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25 And whenever you ^astand praying, ^bforgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26 ¹[^aBut if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

27 Then they *came again to Jerusalem. ^aAnd as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and 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 And 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 from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 31 And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for everyone was regarding John to have been a real prophet. 33 And answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither ¹will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”