Triumphal entry

The triumphal entry was Jesus' entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey as crowds spread their garments and palm branches on the road and cried Hosanna, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. Many churches remember it on Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week.

Foretold

• Zechariah 9:9
  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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• Psalm 118:25-26
  ²⁵Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.O LORD, save us, we pray. We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper! ²⁶Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
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• Psalm 8:2
  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
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The entry into Jerusalem

• Matthew 21:1-11
  ¹And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, ²Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. ³And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” ⁴All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ⁶And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” ¹¹And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
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• Mark 11:1-11
  ¹And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples ²And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’” ⁴And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it, ⁵And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” ⁶And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.The disciples answered as Jesus had instructed them, and the people gave them permission. ⁷And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.Then they led the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and He sat on it. ⁸And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. ⁹And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” ¹⁰Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” ¹¹And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
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• Luke 19:28-40
  ²⁸And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples, ³⁰Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’” ³²And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them. ³³And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴And they said, The Lord hath need of him.“The Lord needs it,” they answered. ³⁵And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it. ³⁶And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: ³⁸Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” ⁴⁰And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”
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• John 12:12-19
  ¹²On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,The next day the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” ¹⁴And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written: ¹⁵Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.” ¹⁶These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him. ¹⁷The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.Meanwhile, many people continued to testify that they had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead. ¹⁸For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.That is also why the crowd went out to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. ¹⁹The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
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Jesus weeps over the city

• Luke 13:34-35
  ³⁴O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! ³⁵Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
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• Luke 19:41-44
  ⁴¹And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it ⁴²Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.They will level 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 your visitation from God.”
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The temple and the children's praise

• Matthew 21:12-13
  ¹²And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. ¹³And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
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• Matthew 21:14-16
  ¹⁴And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” ¹⁶And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”
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See also

• Jesus Christ
• Jerusalem
• Messianic prophecy
• Crucifixion of Jesus
• Praise

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.