11 When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the [a]village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a [donkey’s] [b]colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’; and immediately he will send it here.” 4 So they went away [to the village] and found a colt tied outside at a gate in the street, and they untied it. 5 Some of the people who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They replied to them just as Jesus had directed, and they allowed them to go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many [of the people] spread their coats on the road [as an act of tribute and homage before a new king], and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields [honoring Him as Messiah]. 9 Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise],

“Hosanna ([c]Save, I pray)!
Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple [enclosure]; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve [disciples], because it was already late [in the day].

12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He was hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find anything on it. But He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were [d]selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry [e]merchandise orhousehold wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. 17 He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and His disciples would leave the city.

20 In the morning, as they were passing by, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered away from the roots up. 21 And remembering, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi (Master), look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered!” 22 Jesus replied, “Have faith in God[constantly]. 23 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and [f]does not doubt in his heart[in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. 24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you. 25 Whenever you [g]stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions andwrongdoings [against Him and others]. 26 [h][But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the [i]chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him, 28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.30 Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven[that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.”31 They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But [j]shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. 33 So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

12 Jesus began to speak to them [the chief priests, scribes and elders who were questioning Him] in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a[k]wall around it, and dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; and he rented it out to tenant farmers and left the country. 2 When the harvestseason came he sent a [l]servant to the tenants, in order to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant, and they [threw stones and] wounded him in the head, and treated him disgracefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others—some they beat and some they killed. 6 He still had one man left to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to each other, ‘This man is the heir! Come on, let us kill him [and destroy the evidence], and his inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders regarded as unworthy and rejected,
This [very stone] has become the chief Cornerstone
11 
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous and wonderful in our eyes’?”

12 And they were looking for a way to seize Him, but they were afraid of the crowd; for they knew that He spoke this parable in reference to [and as a charge against] them. And so they left Him and went away.

13 Then they sent some of the [m]Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus in order to trap Him into making a statement [that they could use against Him]. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances orsocial status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the [n]poll-tax to [[o]Tiberius] Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay [the tax] or should we not pay?” But knowing their hypocrisy, He asked them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [p]coin (denarius) to look at.” 16 So they brought one. Then He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at Him.

18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Him, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us [a law] that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, his brother is to [q]marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.20 There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second brother married her, and died leaving no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven [married her and died, and] left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven [brothers] were married to her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not why you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures [that teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [who is able to raise the dead]? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they do not marry nor are they given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken and you are deceiving yourselves!”

28 Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first andmost important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ 31 This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] [r]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

35 Jesus began to say, as He taught in [a portico or court of] the temple, “[s]How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said[when inspired] by the Holy Spirit,

‘The Lord (the Father) said to my Lord (the Son, the Messiah),
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

37 David himself calls Him (the Son, the Messiah) ‘Lord’; so how can it be that He is [t]David’s Son?” The large crowd enjoyed hearing Jesus and listened to Him with delight.

38 In [the course of] His teaching He was saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes [displaying their prominence], and like to receive respectful greetings in the market places,39 and [they love] the [u]chief seats in the synagogues and the places of distinction and honor at banquets,40 [these scribes] who devour (confiscate) widows’ houses, and offer long prayers for appearance’s sake[to impress others]. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

41 And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the [v]treasury. And many rich people were putting in [w]large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a [x]mite. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”

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