MarkChapter 11

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¹They came near Jerusalem. They reached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent out two of his disciples. ²He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you go in, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it and bring it here.a ³If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it. He will send it back here soon.'" ⁴So they went. They found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it. ⁵Some people standing there asked, "Why are you untying the colt?" ⁶The disciples answered the way Jesus had told them. And the people let them go. ⁷Then they led the colt to Jesus. They threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. ⁸Many people in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others spread branches they had cut from the fields. ⁹Some people went ahead of him, and some followed. They were all shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"b ¹⁰"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!" ¹¹Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. He went into the temple courts and looked around at everything. But it was already late. So he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. ¹²The next day they left Bethany. Jesus was hungry. ¹³Far off he saw a fig tree with leaves on it. He went to see if it had any fruit. But when he got to it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. ¹⁵They came to Jerusalem. Jesus went into the temple courts. He began to drive out the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the money changers. He turned over the seats of the people selling doves. ¹⁶And he would not let anyone carry goods for sale through the temple courts. ¹⁷Then Jesus began to teach them. He said, "Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" ¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard this. They began to look for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. ¹⁹When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. ²⁰In the morning they were walking back. They saw the fig tree. It had dried up all the way to its roots. ²¹Peter remembered and said, "Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has dried up." ²²"Have faith in God," Jesus said to them. ²³"I tell you the truth. Someone may say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea.' If he has no doubt in his heart, but believes it will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴So I tell you, whatever you ask for when you pray, believe that you have received it. Then it will be yours. ²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive it. Do this so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too." ²⁶—c ²⁷They went back to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in the temple courts. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came up to him. ²⁸"What right do you have to do these things?" they asked. "And who gave you the right to do them?"d ²⁹"I will ask you one question," Jesus answered. "If you answer me, I will tell you what right I have to do these things. ³⁰John's baptism, was it from heaven or from men? Answer me!" ³¹They talked it over with each other. What should they answer? "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' ³²But what if we say, 'From men'..." They were afraid of the people. Everyone believed that John really was a prophet. ³³So they answered, "We don't know." And Jesus said, "Then I won't tell you what right I have to do these things either."