When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
World English Bible
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When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
World English Bible
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
John 2 places Jesus' violent cleansing of the temple at the very beginning of his public ministry, right after the Cana wedding miracle and years before his arrest. The Synoptics place it at the very end of his ministry: Luke 19 has him doing it the same day as the triumphal entry, Matthew 21 and Mark 11 have him doing it the day after.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Chronology
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Matthew 21:1-7 has Jesus dispatch two disciples to fetch *an ass and her colt*, and the disciples bring back both animals; Matthew even depicts Jesus sitting on the garments laid across both. Mark 11:1-7 and Luke 19:28-35 mention only a single colt.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Mark 11:1 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/mark/11/1?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).