True Bible Answers

Matthew 21: Into Jerusalem from Bethphage and the Mount of Olives

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AFGHANISTANALGERIAAUSTRIAAZERBAIJANBAHRAINBENINBOSNIA AND HERZ.BULGARIABURKINA FASOCHADCYPRUSDJIBOUTIEGYPTERITREAFRANCEGEORGIAGREECEHUNGARYIRANIRAQISRAELITALYJORDANLEBANONLIBYAMALIMALTAMAURITANIAMOROCCONIGERNIGERIAOMANPAKISTANPALESTINEPORTUGALQATARROMANIASAUDI ARABIASERBIASOMALILANDSPAINSUDANSWITZERLANDSYRIATUNISIATURKEYTURKMENISTANUNITED ARAB EMIRATESUZBEKISTANYEMENSea of GalileeDead SeaJordanMediterranean SeaJericho — Matthew 20BethphageJerusalemMount of OlivesBethanyMount of OlivesBethphageJerusalemJericho

Matthew 20:29ESV

And as they went out of , a great crowd followed him.

ESV

Now when they drew near to and came to , to the , then Jesus sent two disciples,

ESV

“Say to the daughter of , ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

ESV

And when he entered , the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

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And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from of .”

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And leaving them, he went out of the city to and lodged there.

Matthew 23:37ESV

“O , , the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Matthew 20
Matthew 23

Drawing near to Jerusalem, Jesus comes to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives and sends two disciples into the village for a donkey and a colt, fulfilling the prophet's word to the daughter of Zion. He rides into Jerusalem, where the whole city is stirred and the crowds call him the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee, and he drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple. He lodges at Bethany, curses a fig tree on his way back to the city in the morning, and in the temple answers the chief priests and elders with the parables of the two sons and the tenants.

Map of Matthew 21: Into Jerusalem from Bethphage and the Mount of Olives — 5 sites plotted

Regions on this map

Verse 11: Nazareth of Galilee, where the crowds say this prophet Jesus is from.

  • Verse 11: the crowds in Jerusalem name Jesus as the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. The gazetteer places the region with 500 votes at a single point.

    a region, not a site: the representative point the sources give falls in the Sea of Galilee

  • Verse 11: the crowds call Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. All 500 votes place it at modern Nazareth, in the hills of lower Galilee.

    Today: Nazareth, northern Israel

Verses 1, 2, 5, 10, 17 and 18: the approach by Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, the entry into Jerusalem, the prophet's Zion, and the nights at Bethany.

  • Verse 1: the place they come to at the Mount of Olives as they draw near Jerusalem, and verse 2's village in front of them where the donkey and colt are tied. The gazetteer's leading identification is et-Tur on the summit of the Mount of Olives (336 votes), ahead of Abu Dis (40) and al-Eizariya (30).

    Today: et-Tur, on the Mount of Olives, east Jerusalem

  • Verses 1, 10 and 18: the city Jesus draws near to, enters with the whole city stirred, and returns to in the morning; verse 17 has him go out of it to Bethany. The temple he clears in verse 12 and teaches in from verse 23 is here. All 500 votes place it at Jerusalem.

    Today: Jerusalem

  • Verse 1: the hill east of Jerusalem where Jesus comes with Bethphage and sends two disciples for the donkey. All 500 votes place it on the ridge across the Kidron valley from the city.

    Today: the Mount of Olives, east Jerusalem

  • Verse 5: Matthew quotes the prophet's word to the daughter of Zion, that her king is coming to her mounted on a donkey, as fulfilled in this entry. Zion here is Jerusalem, and all 500 votes put it there.

    a name for Jerusalem, not a separate site: its one point is Jerusalem's own, so it is read on that pin

  • Verse 17: Jesus leaves the city after clearing the temple and lodges at Bethany. The gazetteer puts it at al-Eizariya, on the far slope of the Mount of Olives, with 753 votes.

    Today: al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem, West Bank

Matthew 21, verse by verse

  1. Matthew 21:1Now when they drew near to and came to , to the , then Jesus sent two disciples,
  2. Matthew 21:5“Say to the daughter of , ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
  3. Matthew 21:10And when he entered , the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
  4. Matthew 21:11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from of .”
  5. Matthew 21:17And leaving them, he went out of the city to and lodged there.