Matthew 21:1–22

The King Comes to Jerusalem—Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:29–44; John 12:12–19

¹When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead of him. ²He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them. That person will send them at once.” 

⁴This happened so that what the prophet had said came true: 

⁵“Tell the people of Zion, 

‘Your king is coming to you. 

He’s gentle, 

riding on a donkey, 

on a colt, a young pack animal.’ ” 

⁶The disciples did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and put their coats on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸Most of the people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowd that went ahead of him and that followed him was shouting, 

“Hosanna to the Son of David! 

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 

¹⁰When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar. People were asking, “Who is this?” 

¹¹The crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” 

Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers—Mark 11:15–19; Luke 19:45–48

¹²Jesus went into the temple courtyard and threw out everyone who was buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He told them, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you’re turning it into a gathering place for thieves!” 

¹⁴Blind and lame people came to him in the temple courtyard, and he healed them. 

¹⁵When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings saw the amazing miracles he performed and the children shouting in the temple courtyard, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were irritated. ¹⁶They said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” 

Jesus replied, “Yes, I do. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of little children and infants, you have created praise’?” 

¹⁷He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there. 

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree—Mark 11:12–14, 20–25

¹⁸In the morning, as Jesus returned to the city, he became hungry. ¹⁹When he saw a fig tree by the road, he went up to the tree and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to the tree, “May fruit never grow on you again!” At once the fig tree dried up. 

²⁰The disciples were surprised to see this. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” 

²¹Jesus answered them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to the fig tree. You could also say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. ²²Have faith that you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”