Chronological
The King Enters Jerusalem(A)
11 When they came near Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus[a] sent two of his disciples on ahead 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you go into it, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it along. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?,’ say, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and he will send it back here at once.”
4 So they went and found the colt outside in the street tied up next to a doorway. While they were untying it, 5 some men standing there asked them, “What are you doing untying that colt?” 6 The disciples[b] told them what Jesus had said, and the men[c] let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their coats on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road, while others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed him were shouting,
“Hosanna![d]
How blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord![e]
10 How blessed is the coming kingdom[f]
of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[g]
11 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple and looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out with the Twelve to Bethany.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(B)
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus[h] became hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 So he told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Now his disciples were listening to this.
Confrontation in the Temple over Money(C)
15 When they came to Jerusalem, he went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were selling and those who were buying in the Temple. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold doves. 16 He wouldn’t even let anyone carry a vessel through the Temple. 17 Then he began to teach them: “It is written, is it not, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer for all nations’?[i] But you’ve turned it into a hideout[j] for bandits!” 18 When the high priests and elders heard this, they began to look for a way to kill him, because they were afraid of him, since the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples[k] would leave the city.
The Lesson from the Dried Fig Tree(D)
20 While they were walking along early the next morning, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots. 21 Remembering what Jesus had said,[l] Peter pointed out to him, “Rabbi,[m] look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up!”
22 Jesus told his disciples,[n] “Have faith in God! 23 I tell all of you[o] with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received[p] it and it will be yours.
25 “Whenever you stand up to pray, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins. 26 But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.”[q]
Jesus’ Authority is Challenged(E)
27 Then they went into Jerusalem again. While Jesus[r] was walking in the Temple, the high priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him 28 and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority to do them?”
29 Jesus told them, “I’ll ask you one question.[s] Answer me, and then I’ll tell you by what authority I’m doing these things. 30 Was John’s authority to baptize[t] from heaven or from humans? Answer me.”
31 They began discussing this among themselves. “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From humans’…?” They were afraid of the crowd, because everyone really thought John was a prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things.”
Mary Anoints Jesus(A)
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived,[a] the man whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a litron[b] of very expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the house became filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii[c] and the money[d] given to the destitute?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.
7 Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone so she can observe the day of my burial, 8 because you will always have the destitute with you, but you won’t always have me.”
The Plot against Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of Jews realized that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the high priests planned to kill Lazarus, too, 11 since he was the reason why so many of the Jews were leaving to believe in Jesus.
The King Enters Jerusalem(B)
12 The next day, the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
14 Then Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:
15 “Stop being afraid, people[g] of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting upon a donkey’s colt!”[h]
16 At first, his disciples didn’t understand these things. However, when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that people[i] had done these things to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify to what they had seen.[j] 18 The crowd was going out to meet Jesus[k] because they had heard that he had performed this sign. 19 Then the Pharisees told one another, “You see, there is nothing you can do. Look, the world has gone after him!”
Some Greeks Ask to See Jesus
20 Now some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. 21 They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus told them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, I tell all of you[l] emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain. 25 The one who loves his life will destroy it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Jesus Speaks about His Death
27 “Now my soul is in turmoil, and what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No! It was for this very reason that I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” 29 The crowd standing there heard this and said that it was thunder.
Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus replied, “This voice is for your benefit, not for mine. 31 Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin.[m] Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32 As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was about to die.
34 Then the crowd answered him, “We have learned[n] from the Law that the Messiah[o] remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus replied to the crowd,[p] “The light is among you only for a short time. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The person who walks in the darkness is in the darkness and does not know where he is going. 36 As long as you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus had said this, he went away and hid from them.
The Unbelief of the Jews
37 Although he had performed numerous signs in their presence, they did not believe in him, 38 so that what the prophet Isaiah spoke might be fulfilled when he said:
39 This is why they could not believe: Isaiah also said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they might not perceive with their eyes,
and understand with their mind[u] and turn,
and I would heal them.”[v]
41 Isaiah said this when[w] he saw his glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet many people, even some of the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not admit it so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.
Judgment by Jesus’ Word
44 Then Jesus said loudly, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me only, but also[x] in the one who sent me. 45 The one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I’ve come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me won’t remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep them, I don’t condemn him, because I didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.[y] 48 The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I’ve spoken will judge him on the last day, 49 because I haven’t spoken on my own authority. Instead, the Father who sent me has himself commanded me what to say and how to speak. 50 And I know that what he commands brings eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
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