All four of the gospels make mention of the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus on the back of a colt. Matthew and John quote Zechariah 9:9, which was the prophesy fulfilled by it:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Yes, please pass over the jokes about the antiquated language. People who had seen and heard about the works of Jesus made quite a procession that day. Mark recounts that this happened the day before Jesus ran the entrepreneurs out of the temple, while calling them thieves. Other tellings leave out the spacing of the days or put different details together in ways that help with reading the story. One of those caught my attention last night. Sandwiched in between the triumphal entry and running people out of the temple is a strange story. Here is how Mark records the events after Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Mark 11:11-26):

And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even was come, he went out of the city.
And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

What I find to be interesting here is that Jesus cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit, and it occurred while he was dealing with men who were in the temple that were not bearing fruit. Go ahead and read the rest of the chapter (and/or Matthew 21). I don’t think I’m taking these verses out of context. The answers that Jesus gives to the religious leaders show that he is very confident in who he is in God (and, yes, even as God). That confidence was a part of the reason he acted on others. Who are you in God? How is it affecting your actions today?