Matthew 21:12–27

The Cleansing of the Temple

¹²And Jesus entered the temple courts^* and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. ¹³And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^e but you have made it a cave of robbers!”

¹⁴And the blind and the lame came up to him in the temple courts^* and he healed them. ¹⁵But when^* the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts^* and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant. ¹⁶And they said to him, “Do you hear what these children^* are saying?” So Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing babies you have prepared for yourself praise’?”^{f 17}And leaving them, he went outside of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

A Barren Fig Tree Cursed

¹⁸Now early in the morning, as he^* was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹And seeing a single fig tree by the road, he went to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And he said to it, “May there be no more fruit from you forever,^g and the fig tree withered at once. ²⁰And when they^* saw it,^* the disciples were astonished, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹And Jesus answered and^* said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will do not only what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen! ²²And whatever you ask in prayer, if you^* believe, you will receive.”

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

²³And after^* he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he^* was teaching, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” ²⁴And Jesus answered and^* said to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell the answer^* to me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss^* this^* among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.” ²⁷And they answered and^* said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.