Matthew 21:1-22

Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem. As they were getting close, they came to the village of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two disciples on ahead, telling them, “Go into the village. Right there you'll find a donkey tied up with a colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks you what you're doing, just tell them, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and they will send them right away.” This was to fulfill what the prophet said: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, and rides a donkey, and a colt, the offspring of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed. They brought back the donkey and the colt. They placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. Many people in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and laid them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed were all shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar. “Who is this?” they were asking. “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee,” the crowds replied. Jesus went into the Temple, and threw out all the people buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the chairs of the dove-sellers. He told them, “Scripture says, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you've turned it into a den of thieves.” The blind and the lame came to Jesus in the Temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and religious teachers saw the wonderful miracles he did, and the children shouting in the Temple, “Hosanna to the son of David,” they were offended. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven't you ever read the Scripture that says, ‘You arranged for children and infants to give you perfect praise’?” Jesus left them and went out of the city to stay at Bethany. The next morning as he walked back into the city, he was hungry. He saw a fig tree at the side of the road, so he went over to it but didn't find any fruit, only leaves. He told the fig tree, “May you never ever produce fruit again!” Immediately the fig tree withered. The disciples were amazed to see this. “How did the fig tree wither so suddenly?” they asked. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “If you really trust in God, and don't doubt him, you could not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even more. If you said to this mountain, ‘Get up and throw yourself into the sea,’ it would happen! You will receive everything you ask for in prayer, as long as you trust in God.”