Mark 11:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

NIV: Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.

NASB: And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

CSB: Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.

NLT: Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.

KJV: And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.

NKJV: And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Jesus and the disciples have headed west from Perea, across the Jordan River, through Jericho (Mark 10:46), and are now in the area of Bethany and Bethphage, two villages that sit on the Mount of Olives, two miles and one mile respectively from the eastern wall of Jerusalem. In Jesus' time, the road leads from the Mount of Olives, down through the Kidron Valley, to the Eastern Gate which allows travelers to enter directly onto the Temple Mount. Around AD 1600, Muslims from the Ottoman Empire sealed the Eastern Gate and placed a cemetery around it, hoping to thwart the prophecy that the Jewish Messiah would enter in and re-establish David's kingdom.

Luke says the people start praising God and laying their cloaks on the road before Jesus reaches the Kidron Valley (Luke 19:37). If Jesus is taking the road to the Eastern Gate, He will pass the garden of Gethsemane where He will pray and be arrested before the crucifixion (Mark 14:32–50).

The tradition of laying cloaks beneath a king is uncertain, but it happened at least once before. Elisha the prophet had another prophet anoint the army commander Jehu as king over the northern kingdom of Israel to replace the evil king Ahab. When Jehu's men heard, they removed their garments and put them on the ground for Jehu to step on (2 Kings 9:1–13). "Leafy branches" is from the Greek root word stibas and can mean branches with leaves or rushes.

Interestingly, John mentions the people also used palm branches (John 12:13), but palms are not native to Jerusalem. This implies the people brought them, on purpose and in advance, from Jericho.

Mark 11:1–11 records an event included in all four Gospels: that several days before the crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem, welcomed by the people as the Messiah who will free them from Roman rule. Jesus enters on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy and symbolizing the peaceful nature of His first coming. Matthew 21:1–11 ties the triumphal entry to Isaiah 62:11. Luke 19:29–44 records that the Pharisees demand Jesus silence His followers and that Jesus weeps, knowing what happen when the Romans destroy Jerusalem in AD 70. John 12:12–19 goes into more detail about how the disciples don't realize Jesus is fulfilling prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) until after the ascension (Acts 1:6–11).

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Jerusalem a week before the crucifixion, and Jesus begins the last days of His public ministry. They spend their nights on the Mount of Olives and their days in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37). Jesus accepts the accolades designed for a king (Mark 11:1–11), attacks materialistic tradition that keeps people from worshiping God (Mark 11:15–19), gives an object lesson about the fate of fruitless Jerusalem (Mark 11:12–14, 20–25), and reveals the Jewish religious leaders' hypocrisy (Mark 11:27–33). Despite the support of the crowd, Jesus is pushing the leaders toward the crucifixion.

The preceding passages included several miracles and lessons from Jesus. These set the stage for the last, dramatic days of His earthly ministry. In this chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare and openly confronts local religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Over the next few chapters, Mark will continue to record controversial teachings, leading up to Jesus' arrest and early sham trials, recorded in chapter 14.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.