Mark 11–12

11TH CHAPTER

The King Comes to Jerusalem—Matthew 21:1–11; Luke 19:29–44; John 12:12–19

¹When they came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. ²He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. ³If anyone asks you what you are doing, say that the Lord needs it. That person will send it here at once.” 

⁴The disciples found the young donkey in the street. It was tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, ⁵some men standing there asked them, “Why are you untying that donkey?” ⁶The disciples answered them as Jesus had told them. So the men let them go. 

⁷They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and he sat on it. ⁸Many spread their coats on the road. Others cut leafy branches in the fields and spread them on the road. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed him were shouting, 

“Hosanna! 

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

¹⁰Blessed is our ancestor David’s kingdom that is coming! 

Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 

¹¹Jesus came into Jerusalem and went into the temple courtyard, where he looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out with the twelve apostles to Bethany. 

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree—Matthew 21:18–19

¹²The next day, when they left Bethany, Jesus became hungry. ¹³In the distance he saw a fig tree with leaves. He went to see if he could find any figs on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. ¹⁴Then he said to the tree, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” His disciples heard this. 

Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers—Matthew 21:12–17; Luke 19:45–48

¹⁵When they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶He would not let anyone carry anything across the temple courtyard. 

¹⁷Then he taught them by saying, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.” 

¹⁸When the chief priests and experts in Moses’ Teachings heard him, they looked for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because he amazed all the crowds with his teaching. 

¹⁹(Every evening Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.) 

The Fig Tree Dries Up—Matthew 21:20–22

²⁰While Jesus and his disciples were walking early in the morning, they saw that the fig tree had dried up. ²¹Peter remembered ⸤what Jesus had said⸥, so he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up.” 

²²Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God! ²³I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him. ²⁴That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours. ²⁵Whenever you pray, forgive anything you have against anyone. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your failures.”^a

Jesus’ Authority Challenged—Matthew 21:23–27; Luke 20:1–8

²⁷Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple courtyard, the chief priests, the experts in Moses’ Teachings, and the leaders came to him. ²⁸They asked him, “What gives you the right to do these things? Who told you that you could do this?” 

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I’ll ask you a question. Answer me, and then I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. ³⁰Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans? Answer me!” 

³¹They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘from humans,’ ⸤then what will happen⸥?” They were afraid of the people. All the people thought of John as a true prophet. ³³So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” 

Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you why I have the right to do these things.” 

12TH CHAPTER

A Story about a Vineyard—Matthew 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19

¹Then, using this illustration, Jesus spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip. 

²“At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. ³The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing. ⁴So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed. 

⁶“He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’ 

⁷“But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 

⁹“What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you never read the Scripture passage: 

‘The stone that the builders rejected 

has become the cornerstone. 

¹¹The Lord has done this, 

and it is amazing for us to see’?” 

¹²They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away. 

A Question about Taxes—Matthew 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26

¹³The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod’s followers to Jesus. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing. ¹⁴When they came to him, they said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?” 

¹⁵Jesus recognized their hypocrisy, so he asked them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so that I can look at it.” 

¹⁶They brought a coin. He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?” 

They told him, “The emperor’s.” 

¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.” 

They were surprised at his reply. 

The Dead Come Back to Life—Matthew 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40

¹⁸Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him, ¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ ²⁰There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. ²¹The second married her and died without having children. So did the third. ²²None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died. ²³When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.” 

²⁴Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? ²⁵When the dead come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven. ²⁶Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ ²⁷He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!” 

Love God and Your Neighbor—Matthew 22:34–40

²⁸One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings went to Jesus during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Jesus answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?” 

²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. ³⁰So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 

³²The expert in Moses’ Teachings said to Jesus, “Teacher, that was well said! You’ve told the truth that there is only one God and no other besides him! ³³To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 

³⁴When Jesus heard how wisely the man answered, he told the man, “You’re not too far from God’s kingdom.” 

After that, no one dared to ask him another question. 

How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?—Matthew 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he asked, “How can the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that the Messiah is David’s son? ³⁶David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said, 

‘The Lord said to my Lord: 

“Take the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne— 

until I put your enemies under your control.” ’ 

³⁷David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?” 

Jesus Disapproves of the Example Set by the Experts in Moses’ Teachings—Matthew 23:1–12; Luke 20:45–47

The large crowd enjoyed listening to him. ³⁸As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the experts in Moses’ Teachings! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹and to have the front seats in synagogues and the places of honor at dinners. ⁴⁰They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The experts in Moses’ Teachings will receive the most severe punishment.” 

A Widow’s Contribution—Luke 21:1–4

⁴¹As Jesus sat facing the temple offering box, he watched how ⸤much⸥ money people put into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. ⁴²A poor widow dropped in two small coins, worth less than a cent. 

⁴³He called his disciples and said to them, “I can…