The Triumphal Entry
(Zechariah 9:9–13; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:28–40; John 12:12–19)

1And when they had drawn near to Jerusalem, and had arrived at Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them: “Go into the town that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Release them, and lead them to me. 3And if anyone will have said anything to you, say that the Lord has need of them. And he will promptly dismiss them.” 4Now all this was done in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,

5“Tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king comes to you meekly, sitting on a donkey and on a colt, the son of one accustomed to the yoke.”

6Then the disciples, going out, did just as Jesus instructed them. 7And they brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their garments on them, and they helped him sit upon them. 8Then a very numerous crowd spread their garments on the way. But others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the way.

9And the crowds that preceded him, and those that followed, cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!”

10And when he had entered into Jerusalem, the entire city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11But the people were saying, “This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple
(Mark 11:15–19; Luke 19:45–48; John 2:12–25)

12And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and he cast out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of the vendors of doves. 13And he said to them: “It is written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer. But you have made it into a den of robbers.’ ”

14And the blind and the lame drew near to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15Then the leaders of the priests and the scribes became indignant, seeing the miracles that he wrought, and the children crying out in the temple, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” 16And they said to him, “Do you hear what these ones are saying?” But Jesus said to them, “Certainly. Have you never read: For out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have perfected praise?” 17And leaving them behind, he went out, beyond the city, into Bethania, and he lodged here.

The Barren Fig Tree
(Mark 11:12–14; Mark 11:20–25)

18Then, as he was returning to the city in the morning, he was hungry. 19And seeing a certain fig tree beside the way, he approached it. And he found nothing on it, except only leaves. And he said to it, “May fruit never spring forth from you, for all time.” And immediately the fig tree was dried up.

20And seeing this, the disciples wondered, saying, “How did it dry up so quickly?” 21And Jesus responded to them by saying: “Amen I say to you, if you have faith and do not hesitate, not only shall you do this, concerning the fig tree, but even if you would say to this mountain, ‘Take and cast yourself into the sea,’ it shall be done. 22And all things whatsoever that you shall ask for in prayer: believing, you shall receive.”

Jesus’ Authority Challenged
(Mark 11:27–33; Luke 20:1–8)

23And when he had arrived at the temple, as he was teaching, the leaders of the priests and the elders of the people approached him, saying: “By what authority do you do these things? And who has given this authority to you?” 24In response, Jesus said to them: “I also will question you with one word: if you tell me this, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, where was it from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” But they thought within themselves, saying: 26“If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we have the crowd to fear, for they all hold John to be a prophet.” 27And so, they answered Jesus by saying, “We do not know.” So he also said to them: “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28But how does it seem to you? A certain man had two sons. And approaching the first, he said: ‘Son, go out today to work in my vineyard.’ 29And responding, he said, ‘I am not willing.’ But afterwards, being moved by repentance, he went. 30And approaching the other, he spoke similarly. And answering, he said, ‘I am going, lord.’ And he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of the father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them: “Amen I say to you, that tax collectors and prostitutes shall precede you, into the kingdom of God. 32For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Yet even after seeing this, you did not repent, so as to believe him.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
(Mark 12:1–12; Luke 20:9–18)

33Listen to another parable. There was a man, the father of a family, who planted a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a press in it, and built a tower. And he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out to sojourn abroad. 34Then, when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, so that they might receive its fruits. 35And the farmers apprehended his servants; they struck one, and killed another, and stoned yet another. 36Again, he sent other servants, more than before; and they treated them similarly. 37Then, at the very end, he sent his son to them, saying: ‘They will revere my son.’ 38But the farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves: ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and then we will have his inheritance.’ 39And apprehending him, they cast him outside the vineyard, and they killed him. 40Therefore, when the lord of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those farmers?” 41They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and he will loan out his vineyard to other farmers, who shall repay to him the fruit in its time.”

42Jesus said to them: “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders have rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?’

43Therefore, I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and it shall be given to a people who shall produce its fruits. 44And whoever will have fallen on this stone shall be broken, yet truly, on whomever it shall fall, it will crush him.”

45And when the leaders of the priests, and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46And though they sought to take hold of him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.