Jesus enters Jerusalem

The day after the dinner in Bethany, Jesus and his disciples walked to Jerusalem. He sent two disciples to a village nearby. “You will find a donkey there,” he said. “Bring it back to me. If someone asks about it, tell them the Lord needs the donkey.” The disciples found the donkey and took it to Jesus. They put their coats on the donkey’s back, and Jesus rode into the city on the donkey’s back. A large crowd that had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. The people were excited because they thought he was going to free them from the Romans. They took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They laid the branches on the road and praised God. The crowd shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus was sad when he saw the people. He knew that soon there would be times of great trouble for the Jews. They believed that Jesus was a great prophet, sent by God to help them against their enemies. The Pharisees and chief priests didn’t like to see the people honouring Jesus. It made them hate him even more.

And Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand what was happening. Later, they realised that Jesus was their King, and that the prophets from the past had written about how Jesus would enter the city. Jesus went to the temple. The people weren’t worshipping God. They were selling animals for sacrifices. People from other countries were also exchanging foreign money for Jewish money. Jesus turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. He forced these people to leave. He said, “The temple is the house of God. It’s supposed to be a peaceful place where people come to pray. Instead you have made it a den of robbers!” Jesus healed the sick people who came to him at the temple. He taught the people, and they were amazed when they heard his words. That made the chief priests and the teachers of the law determined to kill Jesus. That evening, Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went back to Bethany.

Matthew 21:1–17 Mark 11:1–11 Luke 19:28–46 John 12:12–18