The Triumphal Entry

1 ^oNow when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus¹ sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The ^pLord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought ^qthe colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many ^rspread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ^s“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the ^tcoming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 ^uOn the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a ^vfig 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 it 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 ^wAnd 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 the ^xmoney-changers and the seats of those who sold ^ypigeons. 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, ^z‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a ^aden of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way ^bto destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was ^castonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they² went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 ^dAs they passed by in the morning, they saw the ^efig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, ^f“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, ^gwhatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received³ it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, ^hif you have anything against anyone, ⁱso that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”⁴

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^jAnd 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, “By what ^kauthority 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 from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you ^lnot believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a ^mprophet. 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.”

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

1 ^aSix days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^bwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. ^cMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound¹ of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred ^ddenarii² and ^egiven to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^{3 f}for the day of my burial. 8 For ^gthe poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus⁴ was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death ^has well, 11 because on account of him ⁱmany of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

12 ^jThe next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of ^kpalm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^l“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the ^mKing of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was ^oglorified, then they ^premembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 ^qThe crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^rthe world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^sGreeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, ^t“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, ^uunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it ^vbears much fruit. 25 ^wWhoever loves his life loses it, and whoever ^xhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must ^yfollow me; and ^zwhere I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

27 ^a“Now is my soul ^btroubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, ^csave me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a ^dvoice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 ^eThe crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. ^fOthers said, ^g“An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come ^hfor your sake, not mine. 31 Now is ⁱthe judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am ^jlifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 ^kHe said this ^lto show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains ^mforever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The ⁿlight is among you ^ofor a little while longer. Walk ^pwhile you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who ^qwalks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^rsons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 ^sThough he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be ^tfulfilled:

39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of ^xthe authorities believed in him, but ^yfor fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be ^zput out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the ^aglory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

44 And Jesus cried out and said, ^b“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And ^cwhoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as ^dlight, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, ^eI do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but ^fto save the world. 48 The one who ^grejects me and ^hdoes not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not ⁱspoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—^jwhat to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. ^kWhat I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”