THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

11 Whenaj they approached Jerusalem,ak at Bethphage and Bethanyal near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’ ”

4 So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, 5 and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.

7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their clothes on the road,am and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.C 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes

in the namean of the Lord!D,ap

10 Blessed is the coming kingdomaq

of our father David!ar

Hosannaas in the highest heaven!

11 He went into Jerusalemat and into the temple.au After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethanyav with the Twelve.

THE BARREN FIG TREE IS CURSED

12 Theaw next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a figax tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruitay from you again!”az And his disciplesba heard it.

CLEANSING THE TEMPLE

15 They came to Jerusalem,bb and he went into the templebc and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changersbd and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written,be My housebf will be called a house of prayerbg for all nations?E But you have made it a den of thieves!”F,bh

18 The chief priests and the scribesa heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraidb of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.

THE BARREN FIG TREE IS WITHERED

20 Earlyc in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peterd remembered and said to him, “Rabbi,e look! The fig tree that you cursedf has withered.”

22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.g 23 Truly I tell you,h if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubti in his heart, but believesj that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.k 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you prayl and ask form—believe that you have receivedA,n it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stando praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgivep him, so that your Fatherq in heavenr will also forgives you your wrongdoing.”*

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHALLENGED

27 Theyt came again to Jerusalem.u As he was walking in the temple,v the chief priests, the scribes,w and the eldersx came 28 and asked him, “By what authorityy are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;z then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptismaa from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believeab him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.ac 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

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

THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD OWNER

12 He began to speak to them in parables:ad “A man planted a vineyard,ae put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sentaf a servantag to the farmers to collect some of the fruitah of the vineyard from them. 3 But they took him, beatai him, and sent him away empty-handed.aj 4 Again he sent another servant to them, and theyC hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.D 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one to send, a belovedak son. Finallyal he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the ownerE,am of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:an

Theao stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.ap

11 This came about from the Lordaq

and is wonderful in our eyes?”F

12 They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they left him and went away.

GOD AND CAESAR

13 Thenar they sent some of the Phariseesas and the Herodiansat to Jesus to trap him in his words.au 14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partialityav but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxesaw to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

15 But knowing their hypocrisy,ax he said to them, “Why are you testingay me? Bring me a denariusG,az to look at.” 16 They brought a coin. “Whose imageba and inscriptionbb is this?” he asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”bc And they were utterly amazedbd at him.

THE SADDUCEES AND THE RESURRECTION

18 Sadducees,be who say there is no resurrection,bf came to him and questioned him: 19 “Teacher,a Mosesb wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child,c that man should take the wifed and raise up offspring for his brother.A,e 20 There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 None of the sevenB left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise,C whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”

24 Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scripturesf or the powerg of God?h 25 For when they risei from the dead,j they neither marry nor are given in marriagek but are like angelsl in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: Im am the God of Abrahamn and the God of Isaaco and the God of Jacob?D,p 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”

THE PRIMARY COMMANDS

28 Oneq of the scribesr approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The most importantE is Listen, Israel! The Lords our God, the Lordt is one.F 30 Loveu the Lord your Godv with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,w and with all your strength.G,H,x 31 The second is, Love your neighbory as yourself.I,z There is no other commandaa greater than these.”

32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no oneab else except him.ac 33 And to lovead him with all your heart, with all your understanding,j and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”ae

34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”af And no one daredag to question him any longer.

THE QUESTION ABOUT THE MESSIAH

35 Whileah Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,ai “How can the scribesaj say that the Messiahak is the son of David?al 36 Davidam himself says by the Holy Spirit:an

The Lordao declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right handap

until I put your enemies under your feet.’K,aq

37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

WARNING AGAINST THE SCRIBES

38 Hear also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robesas and who want greetings in the marketplaces,at 39 the best seatsau in the synagogues,av and the places of honoraw at banquets.ax 40 They devouray widows’az houses and say long prayersba just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

THE WIDOW’S GIFT

41 Sittingbb across from the temple treasury,bc he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many richbd people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poorbe widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples,bf he said to them, “Truly I tell you,bg this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.bh 44 For they all gave out of their surplus,bi but she out of her povertybj has put in everything she hadbk—all she had to live on.”bl

DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE PREDICTED

13 Asbm he was going out of the temple,bn one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher,bo look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!”bp

2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings?bq Not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down.”

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE

3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olivesbr across from the temple,bs Peter,bt James,bu John,bv and Andrewbw asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

5 Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name,a saying, ‘I am he,’b and they will deceivec many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,d don’t be alarmed;e these things must take place,f but it is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.g There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.A These are the beginningh of birth pains.i

PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED

9 “But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts,B,j and you will be floggedk in the synagogues.l You will stand before governors and kingsm because of me,n as a witnesso to them.p 10 And it is necessary that the gospelq be preached to all nations. 11 So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

12 “Brother will betrayr brother to death,s and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name,t but the one who endures to the end will be saved.u

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

14 “When you see the abomination of desolationC,v standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judeaw must flee to the mountains. 15 A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house,x 16 and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.y 17 Woez to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

18 “Prayaa itD won’t happen in winter. 19 For those will be days of tribulation,ab the kind that hasn’t been from the beginningac of creationad until now and never will be again. 20 If the Lordae had not cut those days short,af no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect,ag whom he chose.ah

21 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is the Messiah!ai See, there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wondersaj to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation:ak The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; 25 the starsal will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.am 26 Then they will see the Son of Manan comingao in cloudsap with great poweraq and glory.ar 27 He will send out the angelsas and gather his electat from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.au

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

28 “Learnav this lessonaw from the figax tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.ay 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognizeE that heF is near—at the door.

30 “Truly I tell you,az this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earthab will pass away,bb but my words will never pass away.bc

NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR

32 “Now concerning that daybd or hour no one knows—neither the angelsbe in heaven nor the Sonbf—but only the Father.bg

33 “Watch! Be alert!G For you don’t know when the timebh is coming.bi

34 “It is likebj a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants,bk gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. 35 Therefore be alert,bl since you don’t know when the masterbm of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. 36 Otherwise, when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping.bn 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”