The Gospel of John

God
When you look at your watch, you know that an intelligent person designed it. It didn't just come into existence by itself. What about your wrist - isn't it more complicated than your watch? Didn't an intelligent person design your wrist too? We call the One who designed these things God, our Creator, the One who spoke the word and created the universe.

God has spoken to us in terms we can understand. The Bible is the record of his revelation - what he wants us to know about himself. God also became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is 100 percent human and 100 percent God. Want to know what God is like? Study the life of Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus
Jesus was born approximately 5 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, to a virgin named Mary, who was descended from King David. Raised in Nazareth by Mary and her husband, Joseph, Jesus lived the ordinary life of a carpenter's son. Those who knew him didn't yet know that he was also God's Son. At age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by the devil into the desert. He then began healing, teaching and performing miracles throughout Judea. He called people to believe in him as the only way to God.

Judas
Judas may be best known for a kiss––the kiss by which he betrayed Jesus, the Son of God, to his enemies. Jesus chose Judas Iscariot as one of his 12 disciples even though he knew Judas would betray him. The Old Testament prophesied that there would be a man who would "sell" Jesus' life for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was that man. He agreed to hand Jesus over to the chief priests, who were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus and kill him.

Lazarus
Lazarus deeply loved Jesus Christ. One day Lazarus grew sick. While he was dying, his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus. Jesus knew that Lazarus' death would end in hundreds of people believing in him, so he didn't hurry to visit Lazarus but waited before traveling to Lazarus' house. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days, and his body was wrapped and in a tomb. Jesus Christ called Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus walked out alive and well. Many people who witnessed this miracle believed that Jesus is the Son of God.

Martha
Martha wholeheartedly believed in Jesus Christ, who was a friend of her family. Jesus wept when her brother, Lazarus, died-then Jesus raised him from the dead. Martha's sister, Mary, loved to sit at Jesus' feet, soaking up his teaching. But Martha had a different personality. With a servant's heart and an eagerness to be hospitable, she had difficulty understanding that the most important thing was to listen to Jesus-not to cook for him. Martha easily became distracted by all she thought she needed to do, and thus she forgot to sit still and listen.

Mary
In the New Testament, the name Mary is just about as common as the names John and Amy are today. There are three notable Marys in the Bible, all of whom were dedicated to Jesus Christ and recognized that he was God. These three women also modeled lives of faith. the first Mary we encounter is Jesus' mother. A virgin, she was chosen by God to have a child-Jesus-through the Holy Spirit. When an angel told her of her pregnancy, she replied, "I am the Lord's servant...may it be to me as you have said" (Luke 2:38). Later, Mary became one of Jesus' followers and was part of the group who received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Believe
Beliefs dictate who we are and how we live our lives. To believe in something is to have faith in it. Though it may seem feeble to accept something on faith rather than fact, we all believe many things on different levels without being experts through experience or knowledge. A Christian's life is a demonstration of grounded belief in action.

Merely "believing" in God does not make someone a Christian any more than believing in exercise keeps one in shape; a person must actually exercise to stay in shape. Demons "believe" in God (James 2:19). They know he exists, but they don't choose to follow him. Believing that Jesus Christ is your Savior means believing that Jesus' death pays the penalty for your sin. As a result of this belief you repent-you turn away from your sin-and obey Jesus Christ.

Blessing
A blessing is much more profound than a polite response to someone's sneeze. When the Bible talks about blessing someone, it generally means giving good things that result in a state of happiness. Sometimes these blessings are material possessions, but more often they are intangible gifts such as love, faith and peace.

In the Old Testament, God promised to bless Abraham and make Abraham and his descendants a blessing to all people. God intended for the Israelites to bless all people by revealing God and his nature to the surrounding nations. The Israelites, however failed to fulfill that role. They disobeyed God and received punishment instead.

Children
Do you like kids? If so, you probably delight in watching them discover their world. Their minds and eyes are wide open as they accept your words as truth. Jesus Christ taught that people should have faith in him like a child has faith in a parent.

When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become children of God. He disciplines us as children because he loves us as his children (see Hebrews 12:7-11). Children of God will go to live with him when they die or when Christ comes again.

Death
Death has many faces in our culture, most of them ugly. There's a reason for that: Death was not part of God's plan. When God created us, he intended for us to live forever in perfect harmony with him. But when Adam and Eve sinned, death became a fact of life because the consequence of sin is death. Sin and death separate us from God because God's holiness cannot permit even the smallest imperfection to enter his presence. Those who don't know God are alienated from his love, guidance and spiritual protection all their lives. Physical death seals the sentence of permanent separation from him.

But Christians never have to experience death as the world does. Christ came to take upon himself the penalty for our sins and to remove the barrier between God and us by dying in our place. If we believe and trust our lives to him, we can experience a relationship with God here on earth. The Bible says that when Christ comes into our lives, our sinful self dies., and we immediately receive a new life. We receive a new identity as a child of God. And because Christ overcame death by coming back to life, we too can live with him after death. For followers of Christ, death is no longer a defeating end, but the victorious beginning of life in the physical presence of God.

Desert
Have you ever been really hot and thirsty? Then you will understand why the desert was such a vivid metaphor to the Israelites and appears so frequently in the Bible. The Holy Land, the location where most of the action in the Bible takes place, is surrounded by deserts. Moses fled into the desert after killing an Egyptian. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years after God led them out of Egypt. David stayed in the desert when he was hiding from King Saul. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days.

Disciples
Does disciple sound uncomfortably like "discipline"? It is. A disciple is a person who adheres to the teaching of another - not just believing a certain philosophy, but also applying it to his or her life.

In the Bible, the word "disciple" can apply to followers of John the Baptist, students of the Pharisees or the broader circle of people who believed Jesus' teachings. But it most often refers to the twelve disciples whom Jesus asked to follow him. They lived with him night and day and learned from his teaching and lifestyle. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus' followers were not perfect, but they knew enough to recognize that leaving everything they had in order to follow Jesus was worth the price.

Faith
Faith is essential to eternal life; it is the way we have a relationship with God. First, when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we are exercising faith that he is the way to heaven, the one who makes us God's child. Second, because we cannot see God now, we live our lives by faith. We make our decisions and follow desires based on God's character and his promises.

Fear
Fear is not merely the fright caused by a horror film. Critics may praise the thrill of a scary movie, but no one recommends feeling truly afraid. The only reason a person should experience true fear is if he or she rejects Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior or defies God's commands. The Bible defines fear in two basic, but radically different ways: fear caused by lack of trust (see trust) in the Lord and fear caused by reverence, awe (see awe) and humble obedience to God.

Feet
Feet make us mobile; we'd have trouble walking without them. Feet also need a brain to guide them; they only go where they're told. If people have a good head on their shoulders, their feet won't likely lead them into trouble.

Glory
Millionaires, Olympic athletes and superstars excel in shrewdness, strength, talent, beauty, discipline and sometimes just plain good luck. Thus they enjoy the kind of adoration many people crave. But the Bible reminds us that even the greatest human honor and splendor will fade away. Alexander the Great's conquests are legendary, but only crumbling artifacts remain of his empire. God alone is perfectly and eternally glorious by his very nature. Scripture calls him the "King of glory" (Psalm 24:7-10). He is, and always has been, magnificent, powerful and holy. Everything he does demonstrates his glory, and nothing can detract from it.

Grave
Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain - each of these young lives ended with a tombstone. Likewise, Jesus Christ was about 33 years old when he was crucified. He was a popular religious leader and reformer who was adored by the common people. But Jesus was more than a popular icon; he was God's Son. And unlike the graves of these rock stars, Jesus' grave is empty because he came back to life after being dead three days. God had this planned for a long time. Prophets of old, given visions by the Holy Spirit, talked about Christ's coming death and his triumph over death.

Christians have eternal life, but it doesn't mean we'll never die a physical death. We all have to leave this life sometime. But Jesus' empty grave means we don't have to fear death anymore. In fact, we're told that he defeated death and Hades (another name for hell). His resurrection means that we can have life even after our bodies die and that one day our bodies will be raised anew. We can live in peace with the Lord forever.

Greatness
The Bible teaches us that God thwarts those who try to raise themselves up to greatness in people's eyes. It also teaches that those who humble themselves before God will be raised up by God to true greatness. You might think of God's path toward greatness as similar to the law of gravity, except in reverse: "Whoever goes up must first come down".

Home
The concept of a home - a place where we belong and from which we gain our identity - is prominent in the Bible. People are often identified in the Bible by their ancestry, such as "Lot son of Haran" (Genesis 11:31), or according to their hometown such as "Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). The word "house" frequently indicates the collective relatives and descendants of an individual, such as "the house of David" (1 Samuel 20:16).

With this in mind, the image of a home or house is often used symbolically. The temple was called the house of God. Although God is present everywhere, the temple represented his special relationship with the Israelites, his chosen people, and their identification with him. In the new testament, Christians are referred to as God's house because his Spirit lives in them, as the Spirit of God filled the temple (see Temple).

Honor
We set apart those whom we honor: red carpets are rolled out, flashy medals are given and achievements are celebrated. Honor is reserved for the worthiest individuals and organizations, and by honoring them, we openly demonstrate our respect and esteem for them.

As Christians, the most important person we can honor is God himself. He tells us that showing kindness to others and living a morally upright life are ways to honor him. We also honor God by humbly acknowledging his power and our dependence on him.

We also honor the Lord through honoring others - including our parents, a command that made God's "top ten list," the Ten Commandments.

World
World does not refer to the landmass represented by the globe of earth; it refers to people, perspectives and practices. When we say that God loves the whole world, we mean that God loves all people. However, God hates the perspectives and practices that belong to the "prince of this world" (John 12:31), who is Satan. That's why Christians are told not to love this world. The important thing to remember is that the people God loves and the perspectives and practices he hates are under his control.

Israel
The Israelites, known as God's "chosen people," were chosen before they ever became a nation. God chose one man, Abraham, and promised that he would become the nation's patriarch-though his elderly wife didn't have even one child. God miraculously provided a son, Isaac, to Abraham and his wife in their old age. Many years later, Isaac's son Jacob wrestled with God. That wrestling match resulted in God changing Jacob's name to Israel. Many years after that, Israel's descendants-the Israelites-settled in the land that became known as Israel. Eventually the nation split into two nations: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. The Assyrians later conquered Israel; the Babylonians carried off Judah.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel's capital, is first mentioned in Abraham's time; it was then called Salem. From that time forward, it has played a large role in Biblical history. David conquered the city and established royal rule there. His son Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, making the city the nation's civic and religious capital. After a long siege, Babylon's King, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city in 588 B.C. In 536 B.C. the Jews started to rebuild the city. During Jesus Christ's time on earth, Jerusalem was under Roman control. Jesus was crucified there. The Holy Spirit later came to believers in Jerusalem.

Jews
A yellow star stitched on a jacket declares a person's Jewish identity in Germany during World War II. It was not the fist time that being a Jew carried a death sentence, nor was it the first time that the Jews emerged victorious from a plot for their worldwide extermination.

Jews are the physical descendants of Abraham through his grandson Jacob, the father of the Israelites. The label "Jew" came into use after the Babylonian captivity. The stories of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther highlight God's protection of the people in the midst of great danger and opposition.

Life
Do you want to live forever? Jesus Christ says he's the only true way. He says he's the door to a life of abundant blessing. God is the giver of life, and his role as such started with the creation of our ancestors, Adam and Eve. When sin entered the world, we were blocked, not only from having eternal life with God, but also from a meaningful life on this planet. Both can be obtained through God himself.

This is where Jesus enters the picture. He came to give us abundant life. He tells us to give him our cares and stop worrying because worrying doesn't add a single hour to our lives. Jesus also tells us to stop selfishly hoarding our lives; instead, we are to freely give them away by serving him. In a strange paradox, it's only when we lose our lives to him that we gain them back. Jesus reminds us that if we get everything the world has to offer, yet lose our souls, we haven't really lived.

Look
Looking something over is a way of understanding it to a fuller extent. No one knows us more completely than God, who thoroughly examines our actions. Since he is perfect, only he can judge what things are truly done for him and what things are misdirected attentions.

Money
Is it wrong to have money? Is that why Jesus told the rich man to give away all his belongings and follow him (Mark 10:17-22)? Money's a big deal. For many people, accumulating wealth is their reason for living. We think we can't live without it, but can we live with it?

Jesus talked more than once about the difficulty of rich people getting into heaven. Yet the question isn't, "What do you own," but rather, "What owns you?" God tells us to give some of our money to the church for his use. But everything we own - houses, cars, coats - should be for God's use. God asks us to give up anything that we view as more important than him. And what we do have should be recognized as a gift from him. We can enjoy those blessings, but be ready to use them for service.

Passover
The night before the Israelites left Egypt, God instructed them to choose perfect lambs, slaughter them and use their blood to mark the doorframe of every hebrew dwelling. When the angel of Lord came to strike down all the firstborn males, he "passed over" the bloodstained doorframes, sparing the Israelite households.

Today, the Jewish people still celebrate Passover. Their delivery out of Egypt is a major focus of their faith and history. It is a reminder of God's concern for and intervention in, their lives.

Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples the night before crucifixion. He said that from that time on breaking bread and drinking wine was to be done in memory of his broken body and shed blood.

Pharisees
If you lived in the time of the Pharisees, you were in big trouble if you had a house fire on the Sabbath. Carrying your clothes out of the burning building was strictly against the law. But putting your clothes on before escaping was legal!

The Pharisees were the most influential Jewish leaders while Jesus was on earth. They tried to perfectly uphold the law, and they imposed that expectation on others. Yet as carefully as they defined the law, they went one step too far and made it the epicenter of their faith. Jesus was not impressed with their law - abiding ways; in fact he harshly criticized them for burdening people with unnecessary rules and forgetting how to love others.

Priest
Although ministers of pagan religions are mentioned in the Bible, the word priest is most often used of those who attend to activities and things that are devoted to the true God. Today, some Christians refer to their church officials as priests, while others refer to their leaders as pastors.

The two most important Biblical teachings on the subject of priesthood relate to all Christians. First, there is now only one high priest: jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, the priest with the highest God-given authority could enter the holiest part of the temple in order to make sacrifices on behalf of all the Israelites. When Jesus sacrificed himself for humanity's sins, he became our eternal high priest. Jesus is the only go-between for us with God. Second, all believers in Jesus Christ are priests who bring their worship to the very throne room of the holy one.

Refuge
What would you think if you saw a group of people running for shelter on a quiet, peaceful, sunny day? You would think they were crazy-or that they knew something you didn't. People don't run for shelter without cause. There must be something threatening them.

Resurrection
The resurrection was no hoax. When God raise Jesus from the dead, he gave new life to a dead and mangled body (see Crucify). That Jesus' resurrection was miraculous is evident from the amazement of every person who saw him. After his resurrection, Jesus could eat, speak and work, and his disciples could touch and see him, but his new body was perfectly immortal.

Seated
In the tales of King Arthur, his heroic knights were seated at a round table to prevent arguments about who had the higher ranking seat. Likewise, God also builds in safety features to help us get along with each other. Since there is no rank within the body of Christ, we are to live lives of humility, not "seating" ourselves ahead of others by assuming a higher rank or priority.

There is only one who deserves the highest rank, and that is God himself. Only he is seated on a heavenly throne. Because jesus is worthy to rule (see Rule), the Bible notes that he is seated next to God the Father in heaven.

Servants
"Serve people? You've got to be kidding!" We tend to associate servitude with oppressed people slaving for a cruel master. In the Bible, servants had a different job description, one more akin to our current-day employer-employee relationship. The servant's job was to loyally carry out his or her master's orders and act in the master's interest at all times. In return, the master was responsible for feeding and clothing the servants and looking after their needs.

Signs
When we see geese flying south in a V formation, it's a sign that winter is on the way. Almost every street corner and road we travel is marked with a sign telling us where we are and the direction we're headed. God gives signs-miracles or fulfilled prophecies-to show that his promises will come true. The rainbow in the sky after a storm is God's aerial billboard-his reminder to himself and us that he will never flood the earth again.

The Bible also gives us signs to help us understand what is happening in the world around us. The first believers saw many signs to confirm the truth of the message about Christ. Most of all, signs help explain how we can come into a relation with the true and living God. God expects us to pay attention to, and follow, his signs.

Temple
After Jesus' death and resurrection, god no longer dwelt in a building made by human hands, but in the believing human heart. Because the Holy Spirit lives in each believer our very own bodies are his temples. Today a church building is not the temple, but it is where many "temples" of the Holy Spirit gather to worship God weekly.

Time
Time governs our lives. Our day planners help us manage it. We eat by it. We sleep by it. We're upset if people don't respect it. God, however is not constrained by time. He created time, and - though it's hard for us to grasp - he exists outside of time. Because he contains time, he knows the future and is able to reveal it in prophecy.

God has a clear understanding of time. In the Bible, he warned that all people should live for him because the time is coming when he will return to the earth. While some believe they can delay serving God, we are commanded to serve God now. We are to take advantage of the moments God gives us to share the gospel.

Wages
"Equal pay for equal work." Everyone wants to get fair compensation - and a big bonus at Christmastime. Employment with even the best company can still leave us wanting more, but God's benefit plan is better than fair. Not only did Jesus pay our debt (death is the compensation we really deserve), but he also blesses us for our obedience to him. Unlike our current paychecks, which we can't take with us after we die, God's rewards will last forever.

Ephraim
Ephraim was one of Joseph's sons. He was born to an Egyptian mother, and his descendants became one of the 12 tribes of Israel when Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons and blessed them (see Genesis 48). Despite Joseph's protest, Jacob gave the preferential blessing to Ephraim instead of his older brother Manesseh. Within the territory of Ephraim was the town of Bethel, a central place of worship.

Account
If we squirmed while trying to convince our parents that we really didn't take the last cookie from the jar-try explaining a lifetime of secrets deeds to God Almighty.

Judgment day may seem unreal, but we will all stand before God himself and explain why we did what we did during our lives on earth. We will have to give account. Good deeds will be rewarded, and bad deeds will be punished. While eye-batting and sugarcoating may have worked with Mom and Dad, nobody will escape the judgment of our all-knowing God.

Clean
When God cleans us, he's not like Mr. Clean, sailing through our house like a white tornado. When God cleans us, we're clean all the way through to the depths of our being. We may not feel like we've been purified at times (especially if we've just given into temptation), but God does the cleaning in the house of our heart, and he doesn't miss a cobweb. As part of his forgiveness, God cleanses us from all our sin (see 1 John 1:9) and declares that, as far as he is concerned, we are now as white as snow.

Perseverance
Who can forget the story of the tortoise and the hare? Pitted against each other in a race, the conceited hare naps just short of the finish line, assured that he will beat the tortoise. To his shock, the tortoise perseveres, trudging over the finish line while the hare sleeps. How like our spiritual lives: We are racing to the finish line, where we will cross into eternity. Unfortunately, in our daily drudgery and complacency, we often forget what we're striving for...and we stop running.

Poor
The majority of people in the West have never experienced absolute poverty-a life with no hope of finding food, money or assistance. The Biblical authors, however, were well acquainted with it and wrote extensively about the social implications of poverty and wealth. Rich and poor, they said, are equal before God.

Pure
In nature, it is hard to find an element that is 100 percent free of flaws or contamination. Even gold has to be refined, separating the valued substance from its contaminates and impurities, giving it a higher quality, rarity and delicacy. Apply this concept to God's desire for us to lead pure lives by cultivating pure minds and bodies and by abstaining from thoughts of rebellion, lust and other wrongs. Purity shows the state of our hearts. Allowing impurities to continue in our lives makes us as useless to God as unrefined gold is to a jeweler. When we put our lifestyles, old habits and other desires ahead of serving God, we demonstrate our lack of commitment to him.

Rome
Rome conquered the Holy Land (see Philistia) in 63 B.C. The secular Roman leaders of the area influenced the course of Biblical events on a number of occasions. A Roman census required Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born, (fulfilling prophecy). The Jews expected Jesus to liberate them from Roman rule. It was the Romans who carried out Jesus' trial and crucifixion.

Whole
God is not half-hearted, and he doesn't do things halfway. What he promises, gives or makes, he does completely. Through the death of Christ, every last sin-past, present and future-has been paid for, and those who receive Christ as Savior are free from sin's power. Through the resurrection of Christ, all of humanity has been given the opportunity to accept the freely given gift of grace and eternal life. From a high mountaintop, Satan offered all of the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if only Jesus would bow down before him. The offering of the whole earth was not enough to distract the Lord from his mission.

Zion
While historians may dispute whether Zion refers to a fortress or a particular hill, the precise definition has probably changed over the millennia. It seems clear, however, that Old Testament writers applied the name "Zion" to Jerusalem, the religious center of Israel, where the temple was located. Jerusalem is also called "the City of David" and represents the seat of the government of King David and his descendants. "Zion" refers to various places and things in the Bible: Israel, Jerusalem, the temple, the Israelites and the mountain on which the temple (see Temple) was built.

44. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The plot to kill Jesus

45. Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48. If we let him go on like this, everyone will put his trust in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

49. Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up. “You know nothing at all 50. You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51. He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52. And not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

54. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

55. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” 57. But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

1. Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected.

5. “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was meant that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

9. Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11. For on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

The Triumphal Entry

12. The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna! "

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel!”

14. Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written says,

15. “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

16. At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

17. Now the crowd that was with him had continued to spread the word that he had called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead. 18. Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

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THE STARTING POINT STUDY BIBILE New International Version
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