11 1 Christ entereth into Jerusalem riding on an ass. 13 The fruitless fig tree is cursed. 15 Sellers and buyers are cast out of the Temple. 23 The force of faith. 24 Faith in prayer. 25 The brother’s offenses must be pardoned. 27 The Priests ask by what authority he wrought those things that he did. 30 Whence John’s baptism was.

And (A)[a]when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany unto the mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples,

And said unto them, Go your ways into that town that is over against you, and as soon as ye shall enter into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat: loose him, and bring him.

And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say that the Lord hath need of him, and straightway he will send him hither.

And they went their way, and found a colt, tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met, and they loosed him.

Then certain of them, that stood there, said unto them, What do ye loosing the colt?

And they said unto them, as Jesus had commanded them: So they let them go.

(B)And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him, and he sat upon him.

And many spread their garments in the way: others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.

And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna: [b]blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

10 [c]Blessed be the kingdom that cometh in the Name of the Lord of our father David: Hosanna, O thou which art in the highest heavens.

11 (C)So Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the Temple: and when he had looked about on all things, and now it was evening, he went forth unto Bethany with the twelve.

12 (D)And on the morrow when they were come out from Bethany, he was hungry.

13 [d]And seeing a fig tree afar off, that had leaves, he went to see if he might find anything thereon: but when he came unto it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of figs was not yet.

14 Then Jesus answered, and said to it, Never man eat fruit of thee hereafter while the world standeth: and his disciples heard it.

15 [e]And they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.

16 Neither would he suffer that any man should carry a [f]vessel through the Temple.

17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, (E)Mine house shall be [g]called the house of prayer unto all nations? (F)but you have made it a den of thieves.

18 And the Scribes and high Priests heard it, and sought how to destroy him: for they feared him, because the whole multitude was astonied at his doctrine.

19 But when even was come, Jesus went out of the city.

20 (G)[h]And in the morning as they journeyed together, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

21 Then Peter remembered, and said unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst, is withered.

22 And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Have [i]the faith of God.

23 For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken away, and cast into the sea, and shall not waver in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith, shall come to pass, whatsoever he saith, shall be done to him.

24 (H)Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever ye desire when ye pray, believe that [j]ye shall have it, and it shall be done unto you.

25 (I)But when [k]ye shall stand, and pray, forgive, if ye have anything against any man, that your Father also which is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses.

26 For if you will not forgive, your Father which is in heaven, will not pardon you your trespasses.

27 (J)[l]Then they came again to Jerusalem: and as he walked in the Temple, there came to him the high Priests, and the Scribes, and the Elders,

28 And said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority, that thou shouldest do these things?

29 Then Jesus answered, and said unto them, I will also ask you a certain thing, and answer ye me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

31 And they thought with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

32 [m]But if we say, Of men, we fear the people: for all men counted John that he was a Prophet indeed.

33 Then they answered, and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 11:1 A lively image of the spiritual kingdom of Christ on earth.
  2. Mark 11:9 Well be it to him that cometh to us from God, or that is sent of God.
  3. Mark 11:10 Happy and prosperous.
  4. Mark 11:13 An example of that vengeance which hangeth over the heads of hypocrites.
  5. Mark 11:15 Christ showeth indeed, that he is the true King and high Priest, and therefore the revenger of the divine service of the Temple.
  6. Mark 11:16 That is, any profane instrument, of which those fellows had a number, that made the court of the Temple a marketplace.
  7. Mark 11:17 Shall openly be so accounted and taken.
  8. Mark 11:20 The force of faith is exceeding great, and charity is ever joined with it.
  9. Mark 11:22 The faith of God is that assured faith and trust which we have in him.
  10. Mark 11:24 Word for word, that you receive it speaking in the time that now is, to show the certainty of the thing and the performance indeed.
  11. Mark 11:25 When you shall appear before the altar.
  12. Mark 11:27 The Gospel hath been assaulted long time since, under the pretense of an ordinary successsion.
  13. Mark 11:32 A reward of an evil conscience to be afraid of those, of whom they should and might have been feared.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(A)(B)

11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany(C) at the Mount of Olives,(D) Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.(E) Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway.(F) As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna![a]

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b](G)

10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”(H)

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.(I)

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts(J)(K)(L)

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.(M) 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[c]?(N) But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d](O)

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him,(P) because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.(Q)

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples[e] went out of the city.(R)

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi,(S) look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.(T) 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.(U) 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”(V) [26] [g]

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(W)

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(X)

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 11:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 10
  2. Mark 11:9 Psalm 118:25,26
  3. Mark 11:17 Isaiah 56:7
  4. Mark 11:17 Jer. 7:11
  5. Mark 11:19 Some early manuscripts came, Jesus
  6. Mark 11:23 Some early manuscripts “If you have faith in God,” Jesus answered, 23 “truly
  7. Mark 11:26 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 6:15.