He said to them, "Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a donkey tied up. Her colt will be with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
Some of the people went ahead of him, and some followed. They all shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" --(Psalm 118:26) "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
Jesus entered the temple area. He began chasing out all those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves.
He said to them, "It is written that the Lord said, 'My house will be called a house where people can pray.'--(Isaiah 56:7) But you are making it a 'den for robbers.' "--(Jeremiah 7:11)
The chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did. They also saw the children in the temple area shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" But when they saw all of this, they became angry.
"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus. "Haven't you ever read about it in Scripture? It says, " 'You have made sure that children and infants praise you.' " --(Psalm 8:2)
He saw a fig tree by the road. He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Right away the tree dried up.
Jesus replied, "What I'm about to tell you is true. You must have faith and not doubt. Then you can do what was done to the fig tree. And you can say to this mountain, 'Go and throw yourself into the sea.' It will be done.
Jesus entered the temple courtyard. While he was teaching there, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "Who gave you this authority?"
Where did John's baptism come from? Was it from heaven? Or did it come from men?" They talked to each other about it. They said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?'
"Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "What I'm about to tell you is true. Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you.
John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You saw this. But even then you did not turn away from your sins and believe him.
"Listen to another story. A man who owned some land planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress in it. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he went away on a journey.
"But the renters saw the son coming. They said to each other, 'This is the one who will receive all the owner's property someday. Come, let's kill him. Then everything will be ours.'
"He will destroy those evil people," they replied. "Then he will rent the vineyard out to other renters. They will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say, " 'The stone the builders didn't accept has become the most important stone of all. The Lord has done it. It is wonderful in our eyes'? --(Psalm 118:22,23)