Debates in the temple and the Olivet Discourse
Mark 11:20–13:37; Matthew 21:18–25:46; Luke 20–21
Religious leaders tested Jesus with question after question: his authority, taxes to Caesar, the resurrection, and the greatest commandment. That evening on the Mount of Olives he foretold the temple's destruction.
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37–39 (World English Bible)
“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's,” he answered the question about taxes (Mark 12:17). He praised a poor widow who gave two small coins, all she had. Looking across at the temple from the Mount of Olives, he told his disciples that not one stone would be left on another, a prophecy fulfilled when Rome destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.
Places
JerusalemJudeaHoly PlaceMount of Olives
Dating notes
Mark 11:20 places the withered fig tree and these debates on the following morning, Tuesday, 31 March in Ussher's reckoning. Ussher's dates put the crucifixion on Friday, 3 April AD 33; many scholars prefer Friday, 7 April AD 30, which would move all of Holy Week three years earlier.