John 12:12-19

The next day the news that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem swept through the massive crowd gathered for the feast. So they took palm branches and went out to meet him. Everyone was shouting, “Lord, be our Savior! Blessed is the one who comes to us sent from YAHWEH, the King of Israel!” Then Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it to fulfill what was prophesied: “People of Zion, have no fear! Look—it’s your king coming to you riding on a young donkey!” Now Jesus’ disciples didn’t fully understand the importance of what was taking place, but after he was raised and exalted into glory, they understood how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies in the Scriptures that were written about him. All the eyewitnesses of the miracle Jesus performed when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead kept spreading the news about Jesus to everyone. The news of this miracle of resurrection caused the crowds to swell as great numbers of people welcomed him into the city with joy. But the Pharisees were disturbed by this and said to each other, “We won’t be able to stop this. The whole world is going to run after him!”