Mark 11

1 And when they draw nigh unto Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth two of his disciples,2 and saith unto them, Go your way into the village that is over against you: and straightway as ye enter into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat; loose him, and bring him.3 And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither.4 And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door without in the open street; and they loose him.5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go.7 And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him.8 And many spread their garments upon the way; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields.9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:10 Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest.11 And he entered into Jerusalem, into the temple; and when he had looked round about upon all things, it being now eventide, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.12 And on the morrow, when they were come out from Bethany, he hungered.13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs.14 And he answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And his disciples heard it.15 And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves;16 and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple.17 And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers.18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, for all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.19 And every evening he went forth out of the city.20 And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.23 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.25 And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders;28 and they said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee this authority to do these things?29 And Jesus said unto them, I will ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? answer me.31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; He will say, Why then did ye not believe him?32 But should we say, From men--they feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet.33 And they answered Jesus and say, We know not. And Jesus saith unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Mark 11

The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem

(Mt 21.1–11; Lk 19.28–40; Jn 12.12–19)

1 As they approached Jerusalem, near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, they came to the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead 2 with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

3 And if someone asks you why you are doing that, tell him that the Mastert needs it and will send it back at once.”
4 So they went and found a colt out in the street, tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it,

5 some of the bystanders asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”
6 They answered just as Jesus had told them, and the bystanders let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the animal, and Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches in the fields and spread them on the road. 9 The people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, “Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord!t

10 God bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise God!”

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked round at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

(Mt 21.18–19)

14 Jesus said to the fig tree, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!”
And his disciples heard him.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

(Mt 21.12–17; Lk 19.45–48; Jn 2.13–22)

17 He then taught the people: “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”t

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city.

The Lesson from the Fig Tree

(Mt 21.20–22)

21 Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus, “Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has died!”
22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 I assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and throw itself in the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.t 24 For this reason I tell you: when you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.

25 And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done.”tt

The Question about Jesus' Authority

(Mt 21.23–27; Lk 20.1–8)

28 and asked him, “What right have you to do these things? Who gave you this right?”
29 Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things.

30 Tell me, where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”
31 They started to argue among themselves: “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From human beings… ’ ” (They were afraid of the people, because everyone was convinced that John had been a prophet.)

33 So their answer to Jesus was, “We don't know.”
Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.”