37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 ^oso that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

39 Therefore they ^qcould not believe. For again Isaiah said,

41 Isaiah said these things because ^the saw his glory and ^uspoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, ^vmany even of the authorities believed in him, but ^wfor fear of the Pharisees they did not ^xconfess it, so that they would not be ^xput out of the synagogue; 43 ^yfor they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

44 And Jesus cried out and said, ^z“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ^ain him who sent me. 45 And ^bwhoever ^csees me sees him who sent me. 46 ^dI have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone ^ehears my words and does not keep them, ^fI do not judge him; for ^gI did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 ^hThe one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ⁱthe word that I have spoken will judge him ^jon the last day. 49 For ^kI have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father ^lwho sent me has himself given me ^ma commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^wOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^xhe was hungry. 13 ^yAnd seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^zit was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 ^aAnd they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^bthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^cpigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^d‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^fwere seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^gall the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 ^hAnd when evening came they¹ went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ⁱAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^j“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have ^kfaith in God. 23 ^lTruly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ^m‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not ⁿdoubt in his heart, but ^obelieves that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^pwhatever you ask in prayer, ^obelieve that you ^qhave received² it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever ^ryou stand praying, ^sforgive, ^tif you have anything against anyone, so that ^uyour Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”³

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^vAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, ^w“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John ^xfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^y‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^zthey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^aa prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 ^eAnd Jesus entered the temple¹ and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^fthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^gpigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ^h‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ⁱyou make it a den of robbers.”

14 ^jAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 ^kBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^x“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^lhave you never read,

17 And ^oleaving them, he ^pwent out of the city to ^qBethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 ^rIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^she became hungry. 19 ^tAnd seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, ^u“Truly, I say to you, ^vif you have faith and ^wdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^x‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And ^vwhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^yif you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ^zAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^aas he was teaching, and said, ^b“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, ^cfrom where did it come? ^dFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^e‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^fwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^ga prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 ^cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ^d‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but ^eyou have made it a den of robbers.”

47 ^fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. ^gThe chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

1 ^hOne day, ⁱas Jesus¹ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^jthe chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us ^kby what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John ^lfrom heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^m‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ⁿa prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”