Matthew 21:8-17

Then an exceptionally large crowd gathered and carpeted the road before him with their cloaks and prayer shawls. Others cut down branches from trees to spread in his path. Jesus rode in the center of the procession—crowds going before him and crowds coming behind him, and they all shouted, “Bring the victory, Lord, Son of David! He is the blessed one sent from the Lord YAHWEH! We celebrate with praises to God in the highest!” As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people went wild with excitement—the entire city was thrown into an uproar! Some asked, “Who is this man?” And the crowds shouted back, “This is Jesus! He’s the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee!” Upon entering Jerusalem Jesus went directly into the temple area and drove away all the merchants who were buying and selling their goods. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the stands of those selling doves. And he said to them, “My dwelling place will be known as a house of prayer, but you have made it into a hangout for thieves!” Then the blind and the crippled came into the temple courts, and Jesus healed them all. And the children circled around him shouting out, “Blessings and praises to the Son of David!” But when the chief priests and religious scholars heard the children shouting and saw all the wonderful miracles of healing, they were furious. They said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear what these children are saying? This is not right!” Jesus answered, “Yes, I hear them. But have you never read the Scripture, ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” Jesus then left at once for the nearby village of Bethany, where he spent the night.