Gospel Reading – Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,  2  saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.  3  If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” [a]   4  This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
5  “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6  The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;  7  they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.  8  A very large crowd [b]  spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  9  The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10  When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”  11  The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Gospel Reading – John 12:20-33

Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus
20  Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.  21  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  22  Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  23  Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  24  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.  25  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  26  Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

Jesus Speaks about His Death
27  “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.  28  Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”  29  The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”  30  Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.  31  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  32  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people [a]  to myself.”  33  He said this to
indicate the kind of death he was to die.” Amen.

Gospel Reading – John 2:13-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹³ The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. ¹⁵ Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” ¹⁸ The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Amen.

Gospel Reading – Luke 4:1-13

The Testing of Jesus

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,  where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

“ Then the devil [a]  led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God,   and serve only him.’ ”

Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,  10  for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.