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The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors
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took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! 1
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord !
Hail to the King of Israel!” 2
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Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
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“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. 3
Look, your King is coming,
riding on a donkey’s colt.” 4
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His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
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Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others 5 about it.
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That was the reason so many went out to meet him - because they had heard about this miraculous sign.
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Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone 6 has gone after him!”