If you are looking for Bible readings for Palm Sunday, this list gives you the passages the church has long read on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to the crowd’s cries of “Hosanna.” It is written for anyone who wants to read, reflect on, or pray through the story before the week’s events unfold, whether you attend a liturgical service or read at home. These passages share a single thread: a King who comes humbly, on a donkey rather than a warhorse, and who walks straight toward the cross.
Readings for the Triumphal Entry Itself
These passages tell the story of the day as the Gospels record it. Read them slowly, and notice how each Gospel writer adds a small detail that the others leave out.
Mark 11:1-10
1 When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him, and bring him. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.” 4 They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. 5 Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?” 6 They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees, and spreading them on the road. 9 Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
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Mark’s account is spare and direct, with the disciples sent ahead to find the colt. It reminds you that Jesus knew exactly what was coming and where he was going. When you feel unsure about the next step in your own life, read this passage and remember that his steps were planned all along.
John 12:12-19
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written, 15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him. 17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it. 18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
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John adds that the crowd had heard about Lazarus being raised, and that the Pharisees were alarmed by how the whole world was following him. Consider how the people’s expectations were partly right and partly wrong. Ask God to show you where your own expectations of him need to be corrected.
Passages That Point Toward the Cross
Palm Sunday never stands alone. The crowd that shouted in the street is the same crowd that will shout again days later, so these readings look ahead to the suffering that follows.
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Zechariah pictures a king who is righteous and victorious yet comes riding on a donkey. Hundreds of years before the parade, this prophecy describes the exact kind of king who would enter Jerusalem. Read it once in the morning and once at night, and notice how the image of gentle strength shapes your view of what God’s power looks like.
Isaiah 50:6-7
6 I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord the LORD will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed.
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Isaiah speaks of a servant who sets his face like flint, knowing he will not be put to shame. The triumph of Palm Sunday is soon followed by scorn, and this passage shows that Jesus went forward with determination. When a hard conversation or long task is ahead, ask God for that same steady resolve, one step at a time.
Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
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Paul writes that Christ emptied himself and became obedient to death. This is the attitude that Palm Sunday’s humble king displayed. Choose one area this week where you can serve someone quietly, without seeking recognition, and do it with the same mind.
Readings for Holy Week and Its Hope
These passages carry the story beyond the palm branches. They remind you that the week ends not in defeat but in resurrection, and that the path from triumph to cross to empty tomb was always God’s plan.
Matthew 26:36-39
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go there and pray.” 37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.” 39 He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
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In Gethsemane Jesus prays that the cup might pass from him, yet he submits to the Father’s will. This passage shows that honest prayer and full surrender can live side by side. When you are tempted to hide your fears from God, bring them to him plainly, as Jesus did.
John 19:17-18
17 He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”, 18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.
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These verses record the moment Jesus was crucified, a stark shift from the joy of the road into Jerusalem. The contrast is hard to bear, and that is the point. Sit quietly with this passage for a few minutes and give thanks that the story did not end there.
John 20:1-2
1 Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. 2 Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
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Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty and runs to tell the others, her confusion and grief mixed with hope. Notice how the first witnesses of the resurrection were not sure yet what had happened. If you feel uncertain about God’s work right now, you are in good company.
Romans 8:31-32
31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?
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Paul asks who can be against us if God is for us, and he points to the Father who did not spare his own Son. Let this be the last thing you read today. Repeat the first question aloud, then answer it with one name of someone you trust God to walk with this week.
How to Use These Verses
Choose two or three readings rather than trying to read them all at once. Read each passage slowly, at least twice, and let one phrase stay with you. Writing that phrase on a card and placing it near your bed, your car keys, or your kitchen sink helps it return to you during the busy hours of the week.
Palm Sunday is a good day to read the Gospel accounts aloud, perhaps with a family member or a friend. Take a few minutes afterward to ask one another what struck each of you most. Then carry the questions into Monday, Tuesday, and the days that follow, reading one passage each morning as the story moves toward Good Friday and Easter.
A Short Prayer for Palm Sunday
Lord Jesus, you rode into Jerusalem as a humble king, and the crowd did not yet understand what your road would cost. Help me to welcome you with honest, simple praise, even when my heart feels divided. Teach me to trust your way when it leads through hard places, and let your gentle strength shape how I treat the people around me this week. Remind me that the story of your suffering ends in hope, and let that hope steady me through every day that leads to Easter. Amen.
