The King Comes to Jerusalem^(A)

11 When they came near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. ² He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. ³ If anyone asks you what you are doing, say that the Lord needs it. That person will send it here at once.”

⁴ The disciples found the young donkey in the street. It was tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, ⁵ some men standing there asked them, “Why are you untying that donkey?” ⁶ The disciples answered them as Jesus had told them. So the men let them go.

⁷ They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and he sat on it. ⁸ Many spread their coats on the road. Others cut leafy branches in the fields and spread them on the road. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed him were shouting,

¹¹ Jesus came into Jerusalem and went into the temple courtyard, where he looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out with the twelve apostles to Bethany.

²⁹ When he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives (as it was called), Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him. ³⁰ He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. ³¹ If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say that the Lord needs it.”

³² The men Jesus sent found it as he had told them. ³³ While they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”

³⁴ The disciples answered, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵ They brought the donkey to Jesus, put their coats on it, and helped Jesus onto it. ³⁶ As he was riding along, people spread their coats on the road. ³⁷ By this time he was coming near the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives. Then the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God for all the miracles they had seen. ³⁸ They shouted joyfully,

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”

⁴⁰ Jesus replied, “I can guarantee that if they are quiet, the stones will cry out.”

⁴¹ When he came closer and saw the city, he began to cry. ⁴² He said, “If you had only known today what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden, so you cannot see it. ⁴³ The time will come when enemy armies will build a wall to surround you and close you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will level you to the ground and kill your people. One stone will not be left on top of another, because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to help you.”

The King Comes to Jerusalem^(A)

¹² On the next day the large crowd that had come to the Passover festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting,

¹⁴ Jesus obtained a donkey and sat on it, as Scripture says:

¹⁶ At first Jesus’ disciples didn’t know what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling the prophecies.

¹⁷ The people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen. ¹⁸ Because the crowd heard that Jesus had performed this miracle, they came to meet him.

¹⁹ The Pharisees said to each other, “This is getting us nowhere. Look! The whole world is following him!”