Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King^(A)

21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into town. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey with her colt. Untie them both, and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell them, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’”

⁴ This showed the full meaning of what the prophet said:

⁶ The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the mother donkey and the young donkey to him. They covered the donkeys with their coats, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ On the way to Jerusalem, many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. They all shouted,

¹⁰ Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. All the people in the city were confused. They asked, “Who is this man?”

¹¹ The crowds following Jesus answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King^(A)

11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers to do something. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a young donkey that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, tell them, ‘The Master needs it. He will send it back soon.’”

⁴ The followers went into the town. They found a young donkey tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and saw this. They asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that donkey?” ⁶ The followers answered the way Jesus told them, and the people let them take the donkey.

⁷ The followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. ⁹ Some of them were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. Everyone shouted,

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked at everything in the Temple area, but it was already late. So he went to Bethany with the twelve apostles.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King^(A)

²⁸ After Jesus said these things, he continued traveling toward Jerusalem. ²⁹ He came near Bethphage and Bethany, towns near the hill called the Mount of Olives. He sent out two of his followers. ³⁰ He said, “Go into the town you can see there. When you enter the town, you will find a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it here to me. ³¹ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, you should say, ‘The Master needs it.’”

³² The two followers went into town. They found the donkey exactly like Jesus told them. ³³ They untied it, but its owners came out. They said to the followers, “Why are you untying our donkey?”

³⁴ The followers answered, “The Master needs it.” ³⁵ So the followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on its back. Then they put Jesus on the donkey. ³⁶ He rode along the road toward Jerusalem. The followers spread their coats on the road before him.

³⁷ Jesus was coming close to Jerusalem. He was already near the bottom of the Mount of Olives. The whole group of followers was happy. They were very excited and praised God. They thanked God for all the powerful things they had seen. ³⁸ They said,

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your followers not to say these things.”

⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if my followers didn’t say them, these stones would shout them.”