iples and gave his orders.

"Go into the village, and there you will find a young donkey tied. No
one has ever ridden it. Untie it and bring it here. If the owner
questions you, tell him, 'The Lord needs this donkey.' He will let you
have it at once."

The disciples went to do as they were told, and they did not need to
be told twice. They knew what Jesus meant, for they knew the
Scriptures. If this was the way Jesus was going to Jerusalem, there
was nothing to be afraid of!

For it said in the Scriptures that the Messiah would come into
Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. How did the words go?

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just,
and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and
upon a colt the foal of an ass."

Jesus was going to do it! He was going to ride into Jerusalem as the
Messiah! Everyone would know who he was at last, for it said in the
Scriptures that this was how the Messiah would come to the city! Let
the Jews get ready to receive the King they had waited for so long!

They would have to wait no longer. Messiah--King Messiah--was marching
toward his throne.

12. In Jerusalem

[Illustration]

The disciples went to the village, as Jesus told them, and there they
found the donkey. They untied it, and led it away. Some of them put
their clothes on the donkey's back, for a king must ride in comfort.
Others spread their clothes out on the street, for a king should ride
in state.

Jesus got on the donkey, and started for Jerusalem. The disciples
walked ahead. When they had almost reached the city, the disciples
began to shout. Jesus used to say that they must not tell anyone that
he was the Messiah. But now they could tell the whole world, for Jesus
wanted everyone to know. They were glad that they did not have to be
quiet any longer.

They shouted, "Hosanna!" It meant, "Save us," and was a cry of
welcome. They shouted the words of a psalm: "'Hosanna to the son of
David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in
the highest.'"

The city was crowded with travelers from all over Palestine, and from
foreign countries too. They were the pilgrims who had come for the
Passover feast.

The crowds saw the procession coming. They saw the donkey, and they
remembered what the Scriptures said. They remembered that that was how
the Messiah would come riding in. They heard the s