⁹ Word spread of Jesus’ presence, and a large crowd was gathering to see Jesus and the formerly deceased Lazarus, whom He had brought back from the dead. ¹⁰ The chief priests were secretly plotting Lazarus’s murder since, ¹¹ because of him, many Jews were leaving their teachings and believing in Jesus.

¹² The next day, a great crowd of people who had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem; ¹³ so they gathered branches of palm trees to wave as they celebrated His arrival.

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey, sat on it, and rode through the crowds mounted on this small beast. The Scriptures foretold of this day:

¹⁶ The disciples did not understand any of this at the time; these truths did not sink in until Jesus had been glorified. As they reflected on their memories of Jesus, they realized these things happened just as they were written. ¹⁷ Those who witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus enthusiastically spoke of Jesus to all who would listen, ¹⁸ and that is why the crowd went out to meet Him. They had heard of the miraculous sign He had done.