Mark 11

1 And when they come near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sends two of his disciples 2 and says to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once as you go into it you will find a colt tied, on which no one of men has yet sat. Untie it and bring it. † 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’ — and he sends it back here at once.” [a]

4 And they went off and found a colt tied at a door outside on the street, and they untie it. 5 And some of those standing there were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them just as Jesus had said; and they let them go. 7 And they bring the colt to Jesus, and they throw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others leafy branches they had cut from the fields. 9 And those going ahead and those following were crying out: [b]

11 And he went into Jerusalem, into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, the hour already being late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. 12 And on the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing a fig tree from far off with leaves on it, he came to see whether he would find anything on it; and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he answered and said to it, “May no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And his disciples were listening.

15 And they come to Jerusalem. And he went into the temple and began to throw out those selling and those buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling doves, 16 and he would not allow anyone to carry a vessel through the temple. 17 And he was teaching and saying to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” [d] 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard, and they were looking for how they might destroy him; for they feared him, because all the crowd was astounded at his teaching. 19 And whenever it grew late, they would go out of the city.

20 And passing by early in the morning they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And Peter remembered and says to him, “Rabbi, look — the fig tree you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and says to them, “Have faith in God. [e] 23 Amen, I tell you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not waver in his heart but trusts that what he says happens — it will be his. 24 For this reason I tell you, everything you pray for and ask, trust that you received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in the heavens may also forgive you your transgressions.” [f] †

27 And they come to Jerusalem again. And as he was walking in the temple the chief priests and the scribes and the elders come to him 28 and were saying to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?” 29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one word; and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The immersion of John — was it from heaven or from men? Answer me.”

31 And they were reasoning among themselves, saying, “What are we to say? If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not trust him?’ [g] 32 But are we to say, ‘From men’?” They feared the crowd, for they all held that John really was a prophet. [h] 33 And they answered Jesus and say, “We do not know.” And Jesus says to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”