Division 19:28–21:38
Jesus ministered in Jerusalem
In this division Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and was greeted by the crowds as the Messiah. The rulers would not accept Jesus as Messiah as some of the people did. When Jesus forced people to stop selling animals and changing money in the temple courtyard, the rulers questioned his authority. Jesus used the parable of the tenants (20:9–19) to show that the Jewish leaders refused to believe that God had sent him. They did not believe that God had given him the authority to do and say what he did. Through the parable Jesus warned the leaders that if they rejected his authority, they would be killed and God would give their authority to other leaders.
Section 19:28–44
Jesus approached Jerusalem
As Jesus approached Jerusalem in this section, his many disciples were very excited. He came riding on a donkey. This fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 that he would come as a gentle, humble king. The crowd of disciples praised him in a way that showed that they were welcoming him as their king (19:38). They believed that he was the Messiah whom the Jews had been awaiting for many generations.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other examples of headings for this section are:
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Many people celebrate as Jesus enters Jerusalem
-or-
People of Jerusalem greeted Jesus as king
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, and John 12:12–19.
Paragraph 19:28–31
19:28a
After Jesus had said this: This clause refers to the end of Jesus’ parable about the king and his servants. It also introduces a new section in which Jesus entered Jerusalem. Other ways to translate the clause are:
having said these things
-or-
When Jesus had finished saying all this (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
After Jesus had given this illustration (God’s Word)
19:28b
He went on ahead: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He went on ahead probably indicates that Jesus walked in front of his disciples as they went together to Jerusalem. He walked ahead of them. Here is another way to translate this:
walking ahead of his disciples (New Living Translation (2004))
See the parallel account in Mark 10:32. Be sure that your translation does not imply that Jesus left the disciples and went on without them.
went on…going up: The Greek verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as went on and going up refer to Jesus going on toward Jerusalem. In some languages it may be more natural to use only one verb to express this. For example:
he went on ahead ⌊of them⌋ to/toward Jerusalem
going up to Jerusalem: The city of Jerusalem was higher than most parts of the land of Israel. It was also much higher than Jericho. So, when people were traveling to Jerusalem, they usually said that they were going up to Jerusalem. In some languages, it is more natural to use a more general expression. For example:
going to Jerusalem
See how you translated this same expression in 18:31.
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