Mark 11

¹As they approached Jerusalem, coming to Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ²and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there that no human has ever sat upon. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

⁴So they went away and found a young donkey tied at a door, outside on the street, and they untied it. ⁵Some of those standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that donkey?” ⁶They answered just as Jesus had told them, and the people let them go. ⁷They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields. ⁹Those walking in front and those following behind were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heavens!”

¹¹He entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple complex. After looking around at everything, since the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

¹²The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if by any chance he would find something on it. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again, into the age.” And his disciples were listening.

¹⁵Then they came to Jerusalem. Entering the Temple, he began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the Temple courts. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the chairs of those selling doves, ¹⁶and he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple. ¹⁷He began to teach them, saying, “Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a ‘cave of bandits.’”

¹⁸The chief priests and the biblical scholars heard this and began looking for a way to destroy him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. ¹⁹When evening came, they went out of the city.

²⁰Passing by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. ²¹Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.” ²²Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³Amen, I tell you: whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not waver in their heart but believes that what they say is happening, it will be done for them. ²⁴For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in the heavens may also forgive you your deviations.”

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem. While he was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the biblical scholars, and the elders came to him ²⁸and said, “By what kind of authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰Was the baptism of John from heaven or from a human source? Answer me.”

³¹They argued among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From a human source’—” (They were afraid of the crowd, for everyone held that John truly was a prophet.) ³³So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what kind of authority I do these things.”