Chronological

Jesus at Jerusalem—The Break with Judaism^[a]

Chapter 11

The Entry into Jerusalem.^{[b] 1} When they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent off two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village directly ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find tied there a colt on which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say: ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back immediately.’ ”

⁴ The two went off and found a colt tied beside a door outside on the street. As they were untying it, ⁵ some of them said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had instructed them, and they allowed them to take it. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and spread their cloaks on its back. And he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed kept crying out:

¹¹ He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, where he looked around at everything. Then, since the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

¹² Jesus Curses a Sterile Fig Tree.^[d] On the next day, as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. ¹³ Noticing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he reached it, he found nothing except leaves, since it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then he said to it, “May no one ever again eat fruit from your branches.” And his disciples heard him say this.

¹⁵ Jesus Cleanses the Temple.^[e] Then they came to Jerusalem. He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were engaged there in buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶ Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷ Then he taught them, saying: “Is it not written:^[f]

¹⁸ When the chief priests and the scribes heard about this, they plotted to do away with him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. ¹⁹ And when evening came, they left the city.

²⁰ The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree.^[g] Early the next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹ Then Peter, recalling what had happened, said to Jesus: “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered away.”

²² Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be accomplished for him. ²⁴ So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

²⁵ “And whenever you stand in prayer, forgive whatever grievance you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your wrongs too. [ ²⁶ But if you do not forgive others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive you your transgressions.]”^[h]

²⁷ The Authority of Jesus Questioned.^[i] They returned once again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him ²⁸ and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you the authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Give me an answer, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Did John’s baptism originate from heaven or from men? Tell me!”

³¹ They argued among themselves, “If we say: ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But how can we say, ‘From men’?”—for they were afraid of the people, who all regarded John as a true prophet.

³³ Therefore, they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Then neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Chapter 12

The Anointing at Bethany. ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ² They gave a dinner there for him. Martha served the meal, and Lazarus was among those at table with him.

³ Mary brought in a pint^[a] of very costly ointment, made from pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and dried them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. ⁴ Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the one who was about to betray him, said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[b] and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this not because he had any concern for the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag, and he used to steal from it.

⁷ Jesus said in response, “Leave her alone! Let her keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

⁹ Meanwhile, a large number of Jews learned that he was there, and they came not only because of Jesus but also because they wanted to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ The chief priests then decided to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹ since it was because of him that many of the Jews were leaving and putting their faith in Jesus.

¹² The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.^[c] The next day the great crowd of people who had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ Thus, they went out to meet him, carrying branches of palm^[d] and shouting,

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and rode it, as it is written,

¹⁶ At first, his disciples did not understand this, but later, when Jesus had been glorified, they recalled that these things had been written about him and had happened to him.

¹⁷ Now the people who had been present when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify about this.^{[f] 18} Because the crowd had heard that he had performed this sign, they went out to meet him. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “As you see, we are getting nowhere. The entire world has gone after him.”

²⁰ The Glory of the Cross.^[g] Among those who had come up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.^{[h] 21} They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus. ²² Philip went to tell Andrew of this, and Philip and Andrew informed Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them,

Then a voice came from heaven,

²⁹ The crowd that was present heard this, and some of them said that it was thunder, while others asserted, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered,

³³ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

³⁴ The crowd answered, “Our Law^[j] teaches that the Christ will remain forever. How then can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ Jesus replied,

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from their sight.

³⁷ The Choice To Believe in the Light.^[k] Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of the prophet Isaiah,

³⁹ They therefore could not believe for as Isaiah said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw his glory, and his words referred to him.

⁴² Nevertheless, there were many, even among the authorities, who believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess their faith in him, for fear of being banned from the synagogue.^{[m] 43} For they valued human glory more highly than the glory that comes from God.

⁴⁴ The Choice To Believe in Jesus.^[n] Then Jesus cried out,