1. After this, He left to go to Jerusalem, and as they drew near they reached a village on the outskirts.
2. He sent two of His disciples, Peter and Andrew, ahead saying, "Go into the village and there as you enter, you will find an untamed donkey that no one has ever ridden tied to a post.
3. "Untie it, and bring it to Me, and if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to them, 'The Lord has need of it, and will return it straight away.'"
4. So, Peter and Andrew went away and found the donkey just as Jesus had told them they would. And as they were untying it, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you untying our donkey?"
5. And Peter said to them, "The Lord has need of it." So the owners gave their permission.
6. Then they brought it to Jesus and threw their coats on it for a saddle and put Jesus on it. And as He was traveling toward the village, many believers came to Him and spread their coats on the ground in front of Him, or cut palm leaves and laid those down before Him.
7. Many at that time began to praise Him for all the miracles they had seen, shouting: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of God! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
8. Now some of the Pharisees in the multitude heard this and said among themselves, "See how this is getting us nowhere; the whole world has gone after Him."
9. And they came up to Him and said, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. They should not honor You this way."
10. But Jesus answered them: "Truly I tell you, if they were to stop, the very stones on the ground would cry out!"
11. Now, when Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and He wept over it saying, "If you, even you, had known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.
12. "The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
13. "They will level you to the ground, you and your children within your walls. They will not leave one stone upon another. For you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
14. And as they continued, they came near a fig tree, and Jesus was hungry. When He saw that the fig tree had no fruit (for the season for figs was not at hand), He said to the tree, "May no one ever eat your fruit again." And His disciples heard Him say this.
15. When they entered the city they went to the temple, and Jesus found many there who were buying and selling.
16. Therefore, He made a whip out of lengths of rope, and began driving the merchants out of the temple. He overturned their tables and spilled their money and coins about the floor, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise inside the temple.
17. And He shouted at them saying, "My Father's house is a house of prayer. You have made it into a den of thieves!"
18. And many blind and lame came to Him in the temple that day, and He healed them.
19. And the people asked Him, "What sign do You give to show You have authority to do this?"
20. So Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up."
21. But they said to Him, "It took forty years to build this temple, how will You raise it up in three days?"
22. But He was speaking to them about the temple of His body.
23. The religious leaders, therefore, began to seek how they could destroy Him, for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was cheering Him.
24. And the religious leaders became indignant at the crowd that was praising Jesus for His actions, and that they were calling Him "God on Earth," and they said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying? Why do You not stop them?"
25. But Jesus said, "Do you not know that out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies, the Father has prepared praise for Himself?"
26. And Jesus sat down and began to teach in the temple, and the people hung on His every word.
27. Though many believed in Jesus after He disrupted the selling in the temple, He did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew what people were like in their heart, and He did not require their testimony about Him.
28. That evening He and His disciples left Jerusalem and slept in the outer gardens.
29. In the morning, as they were returning to the Holy City, they passed the fig tree that Jesus had cursed the previous day, and they found it shriveled to the root.
30. Seeing this, His disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?"
31. And Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, but rather believe in your heart that what you say is going to happen, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but again I tell you, if you say to a mountain, 'Be cast into the ocean,' it will be done as well.
32. "Have faith in God. And when you pray, believe that you have received what you ask for, and it will be granted to you.
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