Chronological

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King

11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you see there. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him, ‘The Master needs the colt. He will send it back soon.’”

⁴ The followers went into the town. They found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” ⁶ The followers answered the way Jesus told them to answer. And the people let them take the colt.

⁷ The followers brought the colt to Jesus. They put their coats on the colt, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were following him. All of them were shouting,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. When he had looked at everything, and since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12 apostles.

¹² The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ He saw a fig tree in leaf. So he went to the tree to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves. It was not the right season for figs to grow. ¹⁴ So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Jesus’ followers heard him say this.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

¹⁵ Jesus returned to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He began to throw out those who were buying and selling things there. He overturned the tables that belonged to the men who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of the men who were selling doves. ¹⁶ Jesus refused to allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. ¹⁷ Then Jesus taught the people. He said, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be a house where people from all nations will pray.’^[b] But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”^[c]

¹⁸ The leading priests and the teachers of the law heard all this. They began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him because all the people were amazed at his teaching. ¹⁹ That night, Jesus and his followers^[d] left the city.

The Power of Faith

²⁰ The next morning, Jesus was passing by with his followers. They saw the fig tree, and it was dry and dead, even to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! Yesterday, you cursed the fig tree. Now it is dry and dead!”

²² Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. ²³ I tell you the truth. You can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that the thing you say will happen, then God will do it for you. ²⁴ So I tell you to ask for things in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours. ²⁵ When you are praying, and you remember that you are angry with another person about something, then forgive him. If you do this, then your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.” ²⁶ [But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.]^[e]

Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority

²⁷ Jesus and his followers went again to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in the Temple. The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders came to him. ²⁸ They said to him, “Tell us! What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “I will ask you one question. You answer it. Then I will tell you whose authority I use to do these things. ³⁰ Tell me: When John baptized people, was that from God or from man? Answer me!”

³¹ They argued about Jesus’ question. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe John?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From man,’ then the people will be against us.” (These leaders were afraid of the people. All the people believed that John was a prophet.)

³³ So the leaders answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Then I will not tell you what authority I use to do these things.”

Jesus with Friends in Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from death.) ² There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. ³ Mary brought in a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.

⁴ Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers, was there. (He was the one who would later turn against Jesus.) Judas said, ⁵ “This perfume was worth an entire year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” ⁶ But Judas did not really care about the poor. He said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money box, and he often stole money from it.

⁷ Jesus answered, “Let her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today—the day for me to be prepared for burial. ⁸ The poor will always be with you, but you will not always have me.”

The Plot Against Lazarus

⁹ A large crowd of Jews heard that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there to see not only Jesus but also Lazarus. Lazarus was the one Jesus raised from death. ¹⁰ So the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus, too. ¹¹ Because of Lazarus many Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

¹² The next day a great crowd in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming there. These were the people who had come to the Passover Feast. ¹³ They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus. They shouted,

¹⁴ Jesus found a colt and sat on it. This was as the Scripture says,

¹⁶ The followers of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was raised to glory, they remembered that this had been written about him. And they remembered that they had done these things to him.

People Tell About Jesus

¹⁷ There had been many people with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from death and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were telling others about what Jesus did. ¹⁸ Many people went out to meet Jesus, because they had heard about this miracle. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to each other, “You can see that nothing is going right for us. Look! The whole world is following him.”

Jesus Talks About His Death

²⁰ There were some Greek people, too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast. ²¹ They went to Philip. (Philip was from Bethsaida, in Galilee.) They said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. ²⁴ I tell you the truth. A grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die. Then it makes many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed. ²⁵ The person who loves his life will give up true life. But the person who hates his life in this world will keep true life forever. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.

²⁷ “Now I am very troubled. What should I say? Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, I came to this time so that I could suffer. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do it again.”

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard the voice. They said it was thunder.

But others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”

³⁰ Jesus said, “That voice was for you, not for me. ³¹ Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown down. ³² I will be lifted up from the earth. And when this happens, I will draw all people toward me.” ³³ Jesus said this to show how he would die.

³⁴ The crowd said, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will live forever. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus said, “The light will be with you for a little longer. So walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ So believe in the light while you still have it. Then you will become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.

Some Don’t Believe in Jesus

³⁷ Though Jesus had done many miracles before the people, they still did not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to make clear the full meaning of what Isaiah the prophet said:

³⁹ This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² But many people believed in Jesus, even many of the leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they did not say that they believed in him. They were afraid that they would be put out of the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved praise from men more than praise from God.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “He who believes in me is really believing in the One who sent me. ⁴⁵ He who sees me sees the One who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as light into the world. I came so that whoever believes in me would not stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who refuses to believe in me and does not accept my words. The word I have taught will be his judge on the last day. ⁴⁹ The things I taught were not from myself. The Father who sent me told me what to say and what to teach. ⁵⁰ And I know that eternal life comes from what the Father commands. So whatever I say is what the Father told me to say.”