The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem^(A)

21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”

⁴ All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:

¹⁰ When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?”

¹¹ The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The Cleansing of the Temple^(B)

¹² Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’^[c] but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’^[d] ”

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely displeased ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

¹⁷ And He left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there.

The Cursing of the Fig Tree^(C)

¹⁸ Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. ¹⁹ When He saw a fig tree by the road, He went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Let no fruit ever grow on you again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away instantly?”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed, and be thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”