Perception & Expectation

Expectation flows from Perception

MARK 11

1 WHEN THEY were getting near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent ahead two of His disciples

2 And instructed them, Go into the village in front of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; unfasten it and bring it [here].

3 If anyone asks you, Why are you doing this? answer, The Lord needs it, and He will send it back here presently.

4 So they went away and found a colt tied at the door out in the [winding] open street, and they loosed it.

5 And some who were standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt?

6 And they replied as Jesus had directed them, and they allowed them to go.

7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their outer garments upon it, and He sat on it.

8 And many [of the people] spread their garments on the road, and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

9 And those who went before and those who followed cried out [with a cry of happiness], Hosanna! [Be graciously inclined and propitious to Him!] Praised and blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! [Ps. 118:26.]

10 Praised and blessed in the name of the Lord is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna (O save us) in the highest [heaven]!

11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and entered the temple [enclosure]; and when He had looked around, surveying and observing everything, as it was already late, He went out to Bethany together with the Twelve [apostles].

12 On the day following, when they had come away from Bethany, He was hungry.

13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree [covered] with leaves, He went to see if He could find any [fruit] on it [for in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. But when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come.

14 And He said to it, No one ever again shall eat fruit from you. And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple [area, the porches and courts] and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the [four-footed] tables of the money changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves;

16 And He would not permit anyone to carry any household equipment through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane].

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 turned it into a den of robbers. [Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11.]

18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard [of this] and kept seeking some way to destroy Him, for they feared Him, because the entire multitude was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

19 And when evening came on, He and His disciples, as accustomed, went out of the city.

20 In the morning, when they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree was withered [completely] away to its roots.

21 And Peter remembered and said to Him, Master, look! The fig tree which You doomed has withered away!

22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].

23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.

24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.

26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And when Jesus was walking about in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,

28 And they kept saying to Him, By what [sort of] authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do them?

29 Jesus told them, I will ask you a question. Answer Me, and then I will tell you by what [sort of] authority I do these things.

30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer Me.

31 And they reasoned and argued with one another, If we say, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?

32 But [on the other hand] can we say, From men? For they were afraid of the people, because everybody considered and held John actually to be a prophet.

33 So they replied to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus said to them, Neither am I going to tell you what [sort of] authority I have for doing these things.

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