11:7,8
There are obvious allusions to Zechariah 9:9. See 2 Kings 9:12,13 for an example of how the use of cloaks was a sign of declaring that someone was king. Palm branches were a national symbol of Israel. So Jesus is being welcomed as king. The Zech 9:9 reference refers to the king coming “humble and mounted on a donkey”, but the people were probably thinking more in terms of a political/military saviour.
11:9,10
The cry of the crowd is from Psalm 118:25,26. The Old Testament had built up a hope and an expectation of salvation in the heart of the nation, but they never appreciated what it really meant, that rebellion against the Lord, their sin, was the biggest problem that they had. We will do anything to avoid facing up to that reality. In their ignorance the people were still proclaiming the truth.
11:11
The temple mount accounted for about a quarter of Jerusalem. It seems that Jesus spent every night until Thursday at Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Jesus came to the temple, looked around and went away again. Why did He do this? Was He just looking at the scene, knowing the events that were going to unfold over the next few days, and possibly the destruction that was going to occur about forty years hence?
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