Mark Chapter 11

The Triumphal Entry

¹ When they got^p close to Jerusalem—to Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent^p two disciples, ²“Go in the village over there. Just inside, you’ll find a donkey colt tied that nobody has ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anybody says, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and he’ll send^p it here right away.”

            ⁴ They went and found the colt tied at the gate outside by the road and untied^p it. ⁵ Some of the ones standing there said, “What’re you doing, untying the colt?”

            ⁶ The disciples said what Jesus told them to say, and they let them take it. ⁷ They brought^p it to Jesus and put^p their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. ⁸ People spread their cloaks on the road and brought leafy branches they’d cut out of the fields. ⁹ The ones in front and behind started shouting,

                        “Hosanna!

                                    Blessed be the one that’s coming in the name of the LORD [Ps 118:25-26]!

                                    ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David.

Hosanna in the highest!”

¹¹ He entered the Temple in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. It was already evening, and he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 

Mk 11:1-11

Cursing the Fig Tree;

Second Cleansing of the Temple

            ¹² The next day, when they left Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ From a distance he saw a fig tree leafed out and went to see if he’d find anything on it. He didn’t find anything but leaves—it wasn’t the season for figs yet. ¹⁴ He said to it, “May nobody ever eat fruit from you again.” His disciples heard it.

            ¹⁵ They went^p into Jerusalem. In the Temple, he started putting out the buyers and sellers. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the chairs of men selling doves. ¹⁶ He wouldn’t let anybody carry a container through the Temple. ¹⁷ He began to teach, “Doesn’t scripture say,

‘Call my house a house of prayer for all the nations’? [Is 56:7]

You’ve made it ‘a den of thieves’!” [Jer 7:11]

¹⁸ The chief priests and scribes heard about it and kept looking for a way to destroy him. They were afraid of him, and the crowd was astonished at his teaching. ¹⁹In the evening, he and his disciples left the city.               

Mk 11:12-19

Discussing the Shriveled Fig Tree

            ²⁰ As they went by early the next morning, they saw the fig tree completely shriveled up. ²¹ Peter remembered, “Rabbi, the fig tree you cursed has shriveled up!”

²² Jesus said^p, “Trust God. ²³ Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be picked up and thrown into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt, it’ll happen. ²⁴ As many things as you ask for in prayer, believe you’ve as good as received it^aorist, and you will. ²⁵ When you stand praying, if you have anything against anybody, forgive hthem so your Father in heaven will forgive you.” [ ²⁶ ]^ms                   

Mk 11:20-26

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

            ²⁷ They went^p into Jerusalem again. While he was walking in the Temple, the Pharisees, scribes, and elders came^p, ²⁸ “What right do you have to do this? Who gave you that right?”

            ²⁹ Jesus said, “I’ll ask you something. Answer me and I’ll tell you what right I have to do this. ³⁰ Was John’s baptism from heaven or humans? Answer that.”

            ³¹ They consulted with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he’ll say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From humans’”—they were afraid of the crowd because they all certainly considered John a prophet. ³³ They answered^p, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said^p, “I won’t tell you either what right I have to do this.”                     

Mk 11:27-33