Blended Account of Palm Sunday (NIV)

Highlight:

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

After Jesus had said this,The next day he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As theyhe approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany aton the hill called the Mount of Olives, Jesushe sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her,tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie themit and bring themit to me.here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’untying it?’ says anything to you, say,say that ‘The Lord needs them,it and he will send themit back here shortly.’”right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:as it is written:

Do not be afraid,Say to Daughter Zion,

See, your king comes to you,is coming,

gentle and ridingseated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

The disciplesThey · Those who were sent ahead went and found a coltit did outside in the street, tied at a doorway, just as Jesushe had toldinstructed them.

As they were untyinguntied the colt,it, its ownerssome people standing there asked them, “What are you doing,“Why are you untying thatthe colt?”

They replied,answered “The Lord needs it,”as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

They broughtWhen they brought · Jesus found the donkey and the coltit · a young donkey to Jesus and threwplaced their cloaks onover themit, · the colt for Jesus to sit on.he sat on it. · and put Jesus on it. · and sat on it,

The great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. As he went along, many peopleA very large crowd · They spread their cloaks on the road, while others tookcut palm branches they had cut in the fieldsfrom the trees and spread them on the road.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowdThe crowds · Those of disciples whothat went ahead of him and those whothat followed and went out to meet him, began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen,shouted, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”