Luke 19:28-48

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸After Jesus had said this, he continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹Now when he approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” ³²So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” ³⁴They replied, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it. ³⁶As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷As he approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen: ³⁸“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem under Judgment

⁴¹Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. ⁴⁴They will demolish you – you and your children within your walls – and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Cleansing the Temple

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling things there, ⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of robbers!” ⁴⁷Jesus was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate him, ⁴⁸but they could not find a way to do it, for all the people hung on his words.