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MARK 11
III. The Preparation of the Slave-Savior
for His Redemptive Service
A. Entering into Jerusalem
and Lodging in Bethany

1. And when they drew near to Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,
2. And said to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately upon entering into it, you will find a colt tied, on which no man 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 will immediately send it here again.
4. And they went away and found a colt tied by a door, outside on the street, and they untied it.
5. And some of the ones standing there said to them, What are you doing untying the colt?
6. And they spoke to them even as Jesus had said. And they let them do it .
7. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it, and He sat on it.
8. And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread layers of branches full of tender leaves, having cut them out of the fields.
9. And those who went before and those who followed cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
10. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!
11. And He entered into Jerusalem, into the temple; and when He had looked around at all things, since the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

B. Cursing the Fig Tree
and Cleansing the Temple

12. And on the next day, when they had gone out from Bethany, He became hungry.
13. And seeing at a distance a fig tree having leaves, He came to see if perhaps He would find anything on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14. And He answered and said to it, May no one eat fruit from you forever! And His disciples heard it .
15. And they came to Jerusalem. And He entered into the temple and began to cast out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling the doves;
16. And He would not let anyone carry a vessel through the temple.
17. And He taught and said 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 den of robbers.
18. And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they sought how they might destroy Him, for they feared Him, for all the crowd was astounded at His teaching.
19. And every day when evening fell, they went outside the city.
20. And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
21. And Peter remembered and said to Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.
22. And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.
23. Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says happens, he will have it.
24. For this reason I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
25. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in the heavens may also forgive you your offenses.
26. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in the heavens forgive your offenses.

C. Being Tested and Examined
1. By the Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders

27. And 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 said to Him, By what authority do You do these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?
29. And Jesus said to them, I will question you about one thing; answer Me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.
31. And they reasoned with one another saying, If we say, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?
32. But should we say, From men? they feared the crowd, for all held that John was really a prophet.
33. And they answered Jesus and said, We do not know. And Jesus said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.