The Triumphal Entry

11 (A)Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to (B)Bethphage and Bethany, at (C)the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent (D)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, (E)on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many (F)spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, (G)“Hosanna! (H)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is (I)the coming (J)kingdom of (K)our father (L)David! (M)Hosanna (N)in the highest!”

11 (O)And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, (P)he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 (Q)On the following day, when they came from Bethany, (R)he was hungry. 13 (S)And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for (T)it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 (U)And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of (V)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold (W)pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, (X)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But (Y)you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and (Z)were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because (AA)all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 (AB)And when evening came they[b] went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 (AC)As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, (AD)“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have (AE)faith in God. 23 (AF)Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, (AG)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not (AH)doubt in his heart, but (AI)believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, (AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, (AK)believe that you (AL)have received[c] it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever (AM)you stand praying, (AN)forgive, (AO)if you have anything against anyone, so that (AP)your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”[d]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 (AQ)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, (AR)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John (AS)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, (AT)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—(AU)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was (AV)a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 11:1 Greek he
  2. Mark 11:19 Some manuscripts he
  3. Mark 11:24 Some manuscripts are receiving
  4. Mark 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses

Ben-David Enters Jerusalem

11 Now as they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, to the Mount of Olives, Yeshua sends two of His disciples and says to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. Right away as you enter it, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever sat upon.[a] Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Master needs it.’ And right away he will send it back here.”[b]

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a door. And they untied it. Some people standing there began saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

They answered just as Yeshua had told them, and the people let them go. And they brought the colt to Yeshua and laid their cloaks on it, and He sat on it. Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread branches cut from the fields. [c] Those going before and those following kept shouting,

Hoshia-na! Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hoshia-na in the highest!”[d]

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

The Fruit of the Faithful

12 The next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find any fruit on it. When He came up to it, He found nothing except leaves, because it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the Temple and started to drive out those selling and buying in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those selling doves, 16 and He wouldn’t let anyone carry goods through the Temple. 17 And He began to teach them, saying, “Is it not written,

‘My house shall be called
a house of prayer for all the nations’?[e]
But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”[f]

18 The ruling kohanim and Torah scholars heard this and began looking for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. 19 Whenever evening came, Yeshua and His disciples would leave the city.

20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree shriveled from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Yeshua, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree You cursed has shriveled up!”

22 And Yeshua answered, saying to them, “Have faith in God! 23 Amen, I tell you, if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says is happening, so shall it be for him. 24 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your transgressions.” (26) [g]

A Question for a Question

27 Again they come to Jerusalem. While Yeshua was walking in the Temple, the ruling kohanim, Torah scholars, and elders come up to Him. 28 And they start saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”

29 Yeshua said to them, “I will put one question to you. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The immersion of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me!”

31 They began to dialogue among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’. . .?” They were afraid of the crowd, for all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So answering Yeshua, they say, “We don’t know.”

And Yeshua tells them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 11:2 cf. Zech. 9:9.
  2. Mark 11:3 cf. Gen. 49:10-11.
  3. Mark 11:9 Lit. garments, clothing.
  4. Mark 11:10 cf. Ps. 118:25-26.
  5. Mark 11:17 Isa. 56:7.
  6. Mark 11:17 Jer. 7:11.
  7. Mark 11:26 Some mss. add: But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.