The King Comes to Jerusalem^(A)

21 When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Yeshua sent two disciples ahead of him. ² He said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them. That person will send them at once.”

⁴ This happened so that what the prophet had said came true:

⁶ The disciples did as Yeshua had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put their coats on them for Yeshua to sit on. ⁸ Most of the people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowd that went ahead of him and that followed him was shouting,

¹⁰ When Yeshua came into Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar. People were asking, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowd answered, “This is the prophet Yeshua from Nazareth in Galilee.”

²⁹ When he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives (as it was called), Yeshua 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 Yeshua 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 Yeshua, put their coats on it, and helped Yeshua 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 Yeshua, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”

⁴⁰ Yeshua 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 Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took palm branches and went to meet him. They were shouting,

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

¹⁶ At first Yeshua’s disciples didn’t know what these prophecies meant. However, when Yeshua 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 Yeshua when he called Lazarus from the tomb and brought him back to life reported what they had seen. ¹⁸ Because the crowd heard that Yeshua 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!”