Mark 11–12

The Triumphal Entry

Matt. 21:1–11; Luke 19:29–40

11Now ^awhen they drew near Jerusalem, to ¹Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; ²and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. ³And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”

⁴So they went their way, and found ²the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. ⁵But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”

⁶And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. ⁷Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. ^8bAnd many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna!

^c‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

¹⁰Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes ³in the name of the Lord!

^dHosanna in the highest!”

^11eAnd Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

A Fig Tree is Cursed

Matt. 21:18, 19

^12fNow the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. ^13gAnd seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it.

The Temple is Cleansed

Matt. 21:12, 13; Luke 19:45, 46

^15hSo they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold ⁱdoves. ¹⁶And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. ¹⁷Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ^j‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ^k‘den of thieves.’ ”

¹⁸And ^lthe scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because ^mall the people were astonished at His teaching. ¹⁹When evening had come, He went out of the city.

Power of Faith

Matt. 21:20–22

²⁰ⁿNow in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²²So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³For ^oassuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴Therefore I say to you, ^pwhatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Necessity of Forgiveness

²⁵“And whenever you stand praying, ^qif you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. ²⁶⁴But ^rif you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Question of Authority

Matt. 21:23–27; Luke 20:1–8

²⁷Then they came again to Jerusalem. ^sAnd as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. ²⁸And they said to Him, “By what ^tauthority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”

²⁹But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: ³⁰The ^ubaptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

³¹And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for ^vall counted John to have been a prophet indeed. ³³So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vineyard Owner

Matt. 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19

12Then ^aHe began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to ¹vinedressers and went into a far country. ²Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. ³And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴Again he sent them another servant, ²and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. ⁵And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, ^bbeating some and killing some. ⁶Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷But those ³vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸So they took him and ^ckilled him and cast him out of the vineyard.

⁹“Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you not even read this Scripture:

^d‘The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

¹¹This was the Lord’s doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

^12eAnd they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

Question of Taxes

Matt. 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26

^13fThen they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. ¹⁴When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and ⁴care about no one; for You do not ⁵regard the person of men, but teach the ^gway of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their ^hhypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” ¹⁶So they brought it.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

¹⁷And Jesus answered and said to them, ⁶“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to ⁱGod the things that are God’s.”

And they marveled at Him.

Question of the Resurrection

Matt. 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40

^18jThen some Sadducees, ^kwho say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: ¹⁹“Teacher, ^lMoses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. ²¹And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. ²²So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. ²³Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”

²⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore ⁷mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but ^mare like angels in heaven. ²⁶But concerning the dead, that they ⁿrise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ^o‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly ⁸mistaken.”

Question of the Greatest Commandment

Matt. 22:34–40

^28pThen one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, ⁹perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the ¹first commandment of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered him, “The ²first of all the commandments is: ^q‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰And you shall ^rlove the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³This is the first commandment. ³¹And the second, like it, is this: ^s‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than ^tthese.”

³²So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, ^uand there is no other but He. ³³And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, ⁴with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^vis more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

^wBut after that no one dared question Him.

Jesus Questions the Leaders

Matt. 22:41–45; Luke 20:41–44

^35xThen Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶For David himself said ^yby the Holy Spirit:

^z‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

³⁷Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his ^aSon?”

And the common people heard Him gladly.

Jesus Condemns the Leaders

Matt. 23:1–14; Luke 20:45–21:4

³⁸Then ^bHe said to them in His teaching, ^c “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, ^dlove greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹the ^ebest seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, ^40fwho devour widows’ houses, and ⁵for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

^41gNow Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money ^hinto the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴²Then one poor widow came and threw in two ⁶mites, which make a ⁷quadrans. ⁴³So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I…