As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
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Luke 19:36-38 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and sat Jesus on them. As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
Parallel Translations
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As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road.
As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
-
And as he wet they spredde their clothes in the waye.
And when he was now come wheare he shuld goo doune from the moute olivete the whole multitude of the disciples began to reioyce and to lawde God with a loude voyce for all the miracles that they had sene
sayinge: Blessed be the kynge that cometh in the name of the Lorde: peace in heaven and glory in the hyest.
Show all 3 translations
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And as he went, they spred their clothes in the way.
And when he was nowe come neere to the going downe of the mount of Oliues, the whole multitude of the disciples began to reioyce, and to prayse God with a loude voyce, for all the great workes that they had seene,
Saying, Blessed be the King that commeth in the Name of the Lord: peace in heauen, and glory in the highest places.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (38)
- Zechariah 9:9 (v38) Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation;…
- Luke 13:35 (v38) Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the…
- Psalms 118:22-26 (v38) The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that…
- Matthew 21:9 (v38) The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in…
- Mark 11:9-10 (v38) Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the…
Show all 38 cross-references
- Psalms 72:17-19 (v38) His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. Praise be…
- 1 Timothy 1:17 (v38) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Peter 1:12 (v38) To them it was revealed, that they served not to themselves, but to you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through…
- Revelation 19:1-6 (v38) After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory…
- Matthew 25:34 (v38) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- Luke 2:10-14 (v38) The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born…
- Romans 5:1 (v38) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
- Ephesians 1:6 (v38) to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,
- Ephesians 1:12 (v38) to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ.
- Revelation 5:9-14 (v38) They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your…
- Ephesians 2:14-18 (v38) For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law…
- Ephesians 3:10 (v38) to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the…
- Ephesians 3:21 (v38) to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
- Colossians 1:20 (v38) and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through…
- Ezra 3:10-13 (v37) When the builders laid the foundation of Yahweh’s temple, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, with the Levites the sons…
- John 12:12-13 (v37) On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took the branches of the…
- 2 Kings 9:13 (v36) Then they hurried, and each man took his cloak, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king.”
- Matthew 21:1 (v37) When they came near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
- Exodus 15:1-18 (v37) Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has…
- Judges 5:1-31 (v37) Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, “Because the leaders took the lead in Israel, because the people…
- 2 Samuel 6:2-6 (v37) David arose, and went with all the people who were with him, from Baale Judah, to bring up from there God’s ark, which is called by the…
- 1 Kings 8:55-56 (v37) He stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel,…
- 1 Chronicles 15:28 (v37) Thus all Israel brought the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up with shouting, with sound of the cornet, with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding…
- 1 Chronicles 16:4-7 (v37) He appointed some of the Levites to minister before Yahweh’s ark, and to commemorate, to thank, and to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel:…
- 2 Chronicles 29:28-30 (v37) All the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. When…
- 2 Chronicles 29:36 (v37) Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced, because of that which God had prepared for the people; for the thing was done suddenly.
- Psalms 106:12-13 (v37) Then they believed his words. They sang his praise. They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,
- Matthew 21:8 (v36) A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut branches from the trees, and spread them on the road.
- Mark 14:26 (v37) When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
- Luke 7:16 (v37) Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
- Luke 18:43 (v37) Immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.
- Mark 13:3 (v37) As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
- Luke 19:20 (v37) Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv36–38 Saying, blessed be the King,.... The King Messiah, the…
Saying, blessed be the King,.... The King Messiah, the King of Israel, the son of David, the Christ of God; so the Ethiopic version adds, "blessed be the King of Israel"; they sung their "Hosannas" to him, as the other evangelists say:
that cometh in the name of the Lord; See Gill on Mat 21:9.
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peace in heaven; all heavenly peace and prosperity attend him; or let peace be made with God in heaven, by the Prince of Peace on earth, for sinful men:
and glory in the highest; glory be given to God for peace, life, and salvation by his son; and that in the highest heavens, by the angels there, as well as by men on earth, and in the highest notes and strains.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv37–38 The whole multitude began to praise God - Speaking…
The whole multitude began to praise God - Speaking at once, as it seems, from a Divine impulse, words which most of them did not understand.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v38 Verse 38. Glory in the highest.] Mayst thou receive…
Verse 38. Glory in the highest.] Mayst thou receive the uttermost degrees of glory! See Clarke on Mt 21:9.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv37–38 whole multitude, &c.--The language here is very grand, intended…
whole multitude, &c.--The language here is very grand, intended to express a burst of admiration far wider and deeper than ever had been witnessed before.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv36–38 36. spread their clothes in the way] as well…
36. spread their clothes in the way] as well as leaves of trees and branches of the palms, which they tore off and kept strewing as they went along (Mat_21:8), as in the reception of Mordecai (Targum on Esther x. 15) and of the Maccabees (2Ma_10:7). The very same mode of shewing honour was adopted when Mr Farran, the consul at Damascus, visited Jerusalem in 1834, at a time of great distress.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv36–38 (36) They spread their clothes in the way.—Better, garments,…
(36) They spread their clothes in the way.—Better, garments, the word being the same as in the preceding verse, and in both cases meaning the outer garment or cloak. (See Note on Mat_5:40.) St. Luke, it may be noticed, does not mention the “branches of trees” of which St. Matthew and St. Mark speak. The verb implies the constantly repeated act of casting down the garments as the Lord rode on.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv36–37 And as he went, they spread their clothes in…
And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. A common act of homage to a king or royal personage. So in the case of Jehu, the officers of the army offered him this tribute. (2Ki_9:13) So Agamemnon walked on costly carpets and tapestry when he entered his palace at Mycenae. Clytemnestra, in the" Agamemnon" of Aeschylus, says"But, my loved lord, Leave now that car; nor on the bare ground set That royal foot, beneath whose mighty tread Troy trembled. Haste, ye virgins, to whose care This pleasing office is entrusted, spread The streets with tapestry; let the ground be covered With richest purple, leading to the palace, That honour with just state may grace his carry. (905-911)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v37 Luk 19:37 - Luk 19:48.
Luke
A NEW KIND OF KING
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Luk 19:37 - Luk 19:48.
‘He went on before.’ What concentrated determination, and almost eagerness, impelled His firm and swift steps up the steep, weary road! Mark tells that the disciples followed, ‘amazed’-as they well might be-at the unusual haste, and strange preoccupation on the face, set as a flint.
Luke takes no notice of the stay at Bethany and the sweet seclusion which soothed Jesus there. He dwells only on the assertion of royalty, which stamped an altogether unique character on the remaining hours of Christ’s life.
I. The narrative brings into prominence Christ’s part in originating the triumphal entry {Luk 19:30 - Luk 19:34}. He sent for the colt with the obvious intention of stimulating the people to just such a demonstration as followed.
As to the particulars, we need only note that the most obvious explanation of His knowledge of the circumstances that the messengers would encounter, is that it was supernatural. Only one other explanation is possible; namely, that the owners of the animal were secret disciples, with whom our Lord had arranged to send for it, and had settled a sign and countersign, by which they would know His messengers. But that is a less natural explanation.
Note the remarkable blending of dignity and poverty in ‘The Lord hath need of him.’ It asserts sovereign authority and absolute rights, and it confesses need and penury. He is a King, but He has to borrow even a colt to make His triumphal entry on. Though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor.
Jesus then deliberately brought about His public entry. He thereby acts in a way perfectly unlike His whole previous course. And He stirs up popular feelings at a time when they were specially excitable by reason of the approaching Passover and its crowds. Formerly He had avoided the danger which He now seems to court, and had gone up to the feast ‘as it were in secret.’ But it was fitting that once, for the last time, He should assert before the gathered Israel that He was their King, and should make a last appeal. Formerly He had sought to avoid attracting the attention of the rulers; now He knows that the end is near, and deliberately makes Himself conspicuous, though-or we might say because-He knew that thereby He precipitated His death.
The nature of His dominion is as plainly taught by the humble pomp as is its reality. A pauper King, who makes His public entrance into His city mounted on a borrowed ass, with His followers’ clothes for a saddle, attended by a shouting crowd of poor peasants, for weapons or banners had but the branches plucked from other people’s trees, was a new kind of king.
We do not need Matthew’s quotation of the prophet’s vision of the meek King coming to Zion on an ass, to understand the contrast of this kingdom with such a dominion as that of Rome, or of such princes as the Herods. Gentleness and peace, a sway that rests not on force nor wealth, are shadowed in that rustic procession and the pathetic poverty of its leader, throned on a borrowed colt, and attended, not by warriors or dignitaries, but by poor men unarmed, and saluted, not with the blare of trumpets, but with the shouts of joyful, though, alas! fickle hearts.
II. We have the humble procession with the shouting disciples and the background of hostile spies.
The disciples eagerly caught at the meaning of bringing the colt, and threw themselves with alacrity into what seemed to them preparation for the public assertion of royalty, for which they had long been impatient. Luke tells us that they lifted Jesus on to the seat which they hurriedly prepared, while some spread their garments in the way-the usual homage to a king:
‘Ride on triumphantly; behold, we lay
Our lusts and proud wills in Thy way.’
How different the vision of the future in their minds and His! They dreamed of a throne; He knew it was a Cross. Round the southern shoulder of Olivet they came, and, as the long line of the Temple walls, glittering in the sunshine across the valley, burst on the view, and their approach could be seen from the city, they broke into loud acclamations, summoning, as it were, Jerusalem to welcome its King.
Luke’s version of their chant omits the Jewish colouring which it has in the other Gospels, as was natural, in view of his Gentile readers. Christ’s royalty and divine commission are proclaimed from a thousand throats, and then up swells the shout of praise, which echoes the angels’ song at Bethlehem, and ascribes to His coming, power to make peace in heaven with an else alienated world, and thus to make the divine glory blaze with new splendour even in the highest heavens.
Their song was wiser than they knew, and touched the deepest, sweetest mysteries of the unity of the Son with the Father, of reconciliation by the blood of His Cross, and of the new lustre accruing to God’s name thereby, even in the sight of principalities and powers in heavenly places. They meant none of these things, but they were unconscious prophets. Their shouts died away, and their faith was almost as short-lived. With many of them, it withered before the branches which they waved.
High-wrought emotion is a poor substitute for steady conviction. But cool, unemotional recognition of Christ as King is as unnatural. If our hearts do not glow with loyal love, nor leap up to welcome Him; if the contemplation of His work and its issues on earth and in heaven does not make our dumb tongues sing-we have need to ask ourselves if we believe at all that He is the King and Saviour of all and of us. There were cool observers there, and they make the foil to the glad enthusiasm. Note that these Pharisees, mingling in the crowd, have no title for Jesus but ‘Teacher.’ He is no king to them. To those who regard Jesus but as a human teacher, the acclamations of those to whom He is King and Lord always sound exaggerated.
People with no depth of religious life hate religious emotion, and are always seeking to repress it. A very tepid worship is warm enough for them. Formalists detest genuine feeling. Propriety is their ideal. No doubt, too, these croakers feared that this tumult might come to formidable size, and bring down Pilate’s heavy hand on them.
Christ’s answer is probably a quoted proverb. It implies His entire acceptance of the character which the crowd ascribed to Him, His pleasure in their praises, and, in a wider aspect, His vindication of outbursts of devout feeling, which shock ecclesiastical martinets and formalists.
III. We see the sorrowing King plunged in bitter grief in the very hour of His triumph.
Who can venture to speak of that infinitely pathetic scene? The fair city, smiling across the glen, brings before His vision the awful contrast of its lying compassed by armies and in ruins. He hears not the acclamation of the crowd. ‘He wept,’ or, rather, ‘wailed,’-for the word does not imply tears so much as cries. That sorrow is a sign of His real manhood, but it is also a part of His revelation of the very heart of God. The form is human, the substance divine. The man weeps because God pities. Christ’s sorrow does not hinder His judgments. The woes which wring His heart will nevertheless be inflicted by Him. Judgment is His ‘strange work,’ alien from His desires; but it is His work. The eyes which are as a flame of fire are filled with tears, but their glance burns up the evil.
Note the yearning in the unfinished sentence, ‘If thou hadst known.’ Note the decisive closing of the time of repentance. Note the minute prophetic details of the siege, which, if ever they were spoken, are a distinct proof of His all-seeing eye. And from all let us fix in our hearts the conviction of the pity of the judge, and of the judgment by the pitying Christ.
IV. We have Christ’s exercise of sovereign authority in His Father’s house.
Luke gives but a summary in verses 45-48, dwelling mainly on two points. First he tells of casting out the traders. Two things are brought out in the compressed narrative-the fact, and the Lord’s vindication of it. As to the former, it was fitting that at the end of His career, as at the beginning, He should cleanse the Temple. The two events are significant as His first and last acts. The second one, as we gather from the other Evangelists, had a greater severity about it than the first.
The need for a second purifying indicated how sadly transient had been the effect of the first, and was thus evidence of the depth of corruption and formalism to which the religion of priests and people had sunk. Christ had come to cleanse the Temple of the world’s religion, to banish from it mercenaries and self-interested attendants at the altar, and, in a higher application of the incident, to clear away all the degradations and uncleannesses which are associated with worship everywhere but in His Church, and which are ever seeking, like poisonous air, to find their way in thither also, through any unguarded chink.
The vindication of the act is in right royal style. The first cleansing was defended by Him by pointing to the sanctity of ‘My Father’s house’; the second, by claiming it as ‘My house.’ The rebuke of the hucksters is sterner the second time. The profanation, once driven out and returning, is deeper; for whereas, in the first instance, it had made the Temple ‘a house of merchandise,’ in the second it turned it into a ‘den of robbers.’ Thus evil assumes a darker tint, like old oak, by lapse of time, and swiftly becomes worse, if rebuked and chastised in vain.
The second part of this summary puts in sharp contrast three things-Christ’s calm courage in continuous teaching in the Temple, the growing bitter hatred of the authorities, who drew in their train the men of influence holding no office, and the eager hanging of the people on His words, which baffled the murderous designs of the rulers. The same intentional publicity as in the entrance is obvious. Jesus knew that His hour was come, and willingly presents Himself a sacrifice. Meekly and boldly He goes on the appointed way. He sees all the hate working round Him, and lets it work. The day’s task of winning some from impending ruin shall still be done. So should His servants live, in patient discharge of daily duty, in the face of death, if need be.
The enemies, who heard His words and found in them only food for deeper hatred, may warn us of the possibilities of antagonism to Him that lie in the heart, and of the terrible judgment which they drag down on their own heads, who hear, unmoved, His daily teaching, and see, unrepentant, His dying love. The crowd that listened, and, in less than a week yelled ‘Crucify Him,’ may teach us to take heed how we hear, and to beware of evanescent regard for His teaching, which, if it do not consolidate into resolved and thoroughgoing acceptance of His work and submission to His rule, will certainly cool into disregard, and may harden into hate.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v36 The joyful reception by the people:
The joyful reception by the people:
v. 36. And as He went, they spread their clothes in the way.
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v. 37. And when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
v. 38. saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
v. 39. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master, rebuke Thy disciples.
v. 40. And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
As a snowball which begins to roll at the top of a mountain soon grows to a mighty avalanche, sweeping everything before it, so the enthusiasm that took hold of the disciples soon grew to a holy ecstasy, infecting also the bands of pilgrims that were going the same way and others that came out of the city to meet the procession. As Jesus continued on His way toward Jerusalem, they took their upper garments, their festival clothes, and spread them out on the road, as for the reception of a mighty king, an emperor. As He then reached the spot where the road doubles the brow of Mount Olivet, the excitement of the multitudes rose to its greatest height. The entire company of all the disciples broke forth into an exultant doxology, praising God for all the wonderful things that they had seen. They sang with a loud voice a section of the great Hallel, Psa 118:26, with such additions as suited the occasion. They rendered all glory to the highest God for the rich manifestation of His grace in Christ the Redeemer. They sang His praises, because through the atonement of the Messiah the enmity between God and man had now been brought to an end. As on the great festivals, the multitudes could not restrain their joy, for the disciples were not alone in their enthusiastic outburst, but were ably seconded by the people. The joyous shout rose in a triumphant chorus, until the sides of the hills and the depths of the Kidron Valley resounded with the triumphant acclaim. And when some of the ubiquitous Pharisees began their usual grumbling, asking the Lord to rebuke and silence His disciples, they received poor comfort. For He told them that the very stones would burst forth in shouting if the disciples should hold their peace. The entire demonstration was arranged by God for the sake of His beloved Son. The Spirit of the Lord had taken hold of the pilgrims for a short while. God wanted to give His Son evidence and witness of the fact that the time was coming when all tongues would have to confess that Jesus is the Lord, though it was necessary for Him first to pass through the valley of His inexpressibly bitter Passion. Yet the work which He was to perform in Jerusalem was great and glorious and worthy of being praised by all creatures.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v37 As he was now approaching
As he was now approaching
"As Jesus was going near." Jesus' disciples were traveling with him.
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where the Mount of Olives descends
"where the road goes down from the Mount of Olives"
mighty works which they had seen
"great things they had seen Jesus do"
Blessed is the king
They were saying this about Jesus.
in the name of the Lord
Here "name" refers to power and authority. Also, "Lord" refers to God. (See: Metonymy)
Peace in heaven
"May there be peace in heaven" or "We want to see peace in heaven"
glory in the highest
"May there be glory in the highest" or "We want to see glory in the highest." The words "the highest" refer to heaven, which is a metonym for God, who lives in heaven. AT: "Let everyone give glory to God in the highest heaven" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
joy
praise
voice
works
bless
king
lord
peace
heaven
glory
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv36, 38 19:36 The crowds spread out their garments to show…
19:36 The crowds spread out their garments to show honor and homage to this royal figure (see 2 Kgs 9:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.