They brought a young donkey to Jesus; then Jesus mounted it and rode to Jerusalem with people shouting and praising him as they went along.

1When they came near to Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany villages near Olive Tree Hill. Then Jesus summoned two of his disciples.

2He said to them, “Go to that village just ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey that no one has ever ridden, that has been tied {people have tied} up. Untie it, and then bring it to me.

3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing that?’, say, ‘Jesus, our Lord, needs to use it. He will send it back here with someone as soon as he no longer needs it.’”

4So the two disciples went and they found the young donkey. It was tied close to the door of a house, which was beside the street. Then they untied it.

5Some of the people who were there said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”

6They told them what Jesus had said. So the people permitted them to take the donkey.

7They brought the donkey to Jesus. The disciples put some of their clothes on it in order to make something for him to sit on.

8Many people spread their cloaks on the road to honor him as a king. Others, in order to honor him, spread along the road branches that they cut from palm trees in the fields beside the road.

9The people who were going in front of him and behind him were all shouting things like, “Praise God!” “May God bless this one who comes ◄with his authority/as his representative► [MTY].”

10“May you be blessed {May God bless you} when you rule like our ancestor King David ruled!” “Praise God who is in the highest heaven!”

11He entered Jerusalem with them, and then he went into the Temple courtyard. After he looked around at everything there, he left the city because it was already late in the afternoon. He returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples and slept there.

Jesus cursed a fig tree as a sign of what would happen to the people of Israel.

12The next day, as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

13He saw from a distance a fig tree with all its leaves, so he went to it to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves on it. This was because it was not yet time when normal fig trees have ripe figs.

14But to illustrate how God would punish the nation of Israel, he said to the tree, “No one shall ever eat from you again because you will no longer bear figs.” The disciples heard what he said.

Jesus expelled those who were buying and selling goods in the Temple, and taught that the Temple was to be a place of prayer. These actions angered the priests and scribes who, then, looked for a way to kill Jesus.

15Jesus and his disciples went back to Jerusalem. He entered the Temple courtyard. He saw people who were selling and buying animals for sacrifices. They were spoiling the place of worship. He chased those people from the Temple courtyard. He also overturned the tables of those who were giving Temple tax money in exchange for Roman coins. He overturned the seats of the men who were selling doves for sacrifices,

16and he would not allow anyone who was carrying anything to sell to go through the Temple area.

17Then as he taught those people, he said to them, “It is written {One of the prophets wrote} in the Scriptures that God said, ‘I want my house to be called {people to call my house} a house where people from all nations may pray’, but you bandits have made it like a cave where you can hide! ◄You know that!/Do you not know that?► [RHQ]”

18The chief priests and the men who taught the Jewish laws later heard about what he had done. So they planned how they might kill him, but they knew that it would be difficult, because they realized that the crowd was amazed at what he was teaching and they feared that the people would soon decide that Jesus had more authority over the Temple than they did (OR, feared what the people would do if they tried to arrest Jesus).

19That evening, Jesus and his disciples left the city and again slept in Bethany.

When Jesus and his disciples passed the fig tree that Jesus had cursed, they saw that it had withered. Jesus used this as an illustration for trusting that God would answer prayer.

20The next morning, while they were going along the road toward Jerusalem, they saw that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed had withered completely.

21Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the fig tree and he exclaimed to Jesus, “Teacher, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered!”

22Jesus replied, “You should not be surprised that God did what I asked! You must trust that God will do whatever you ask him to do!

23Also note this: If anyone says to this hill, ‘Be raised up {Rise up} and then be thrown {throw yourself} into the lake!’ and if he does not doubt that what he asks for will happen, that is, if he believes that what he asks for will happen, God will do it for him.

24So I tell you, whenever you ask God for something when you pray, believe that you will receive it, and, if you do, God will do it for you.

25Now, I tell you this also: Whenever you are praying, if you have a grudge against people because they have harmed you, forgive them, in order that your Father in heaven will likewise forgive your sins.”

The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus by what authority he was doing these things. He, then, asked them a question that they would not answer; so he did not answer theirs.

27Jesus and his disciples arrived in the Temple courtyard in Jerusalem again. While Jesus was walking there, a group consisting of chief priests, some men who taught the Jewish laws, and elders came to him and they said to him,

28“By what authority are you doing these things? Who authorized you to do things like those you did here yesterday?”

29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you who authorized me to do those things.

30Did God [MTY] or people authorize John to baptize those who came to him?”

31They debated among themselves as to what they should answer. They said to each other, “If we say that it was God who authorized him, he will say to us, ‘Therefore, ◄you should have believed what John said!/why did you not believe what John said?► [RHQ]’

32On the other hand, if we say that it was people who authorized John, then what will happen to us?” They were afraid to say that about where John got his authority, because they knew that the people would be very angry with them. They knew that all the people truly believed that John was a prophet whom God had sent.

33So they answered Jesus, “We do not know where John got his authority.” Then Jesus said to them, “Because you did not answer my question, I will not tell you who authorized me to do those things here yesterday.”