Mark 11:8-11

⁸ And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹ Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

¹¹ And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Also found in Matthew 21:8-17, Luke 19:36-38, and John 12:12-19.

Matthew, Mark,and John each use a different word for “branches.” Matthew speaks of a young slip or shoot, a twig; Mark, of a mass of straw, rushes, or leaves beaten together or strewed loose, so as to form a bed or carpeted way; and John, of palm-branches, the feathery fronds forming the tufted crown of the tree. Each group contributed its own road-decorations. … The deliberate conduct of Jesus here could have but one meaning, namely, that this was His formal presentation of Himself as the Messiah. The crowds realizes this and entered into the spirit of the occasion. The people, however, expected the Lord to set up His rule in opposition to that of Rome, and deliver the Jews from the yoke of their oppressors. — Wuest, page 218.

those who went before (v.9) — probably the crowds that came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus

those who followed (v.9) — probably the crowds that followed Him from Bethphage and Bethany where He had spent the previous night. The two groups met, merged, and moved together back toward the city.

The quote in vs. 9-10 is from Psalm 118:25-26.

Hosanna (vs.9-10) = “save now,” “grant salvation”

blessed (v.9-10) = speak well of, praise, eulogize

temple (v.11) — the temple with its porches, courts, and outbuildings, not the inner part where the Holy Place and Holy of Holies were.

looked around (v.11) — likely for the purpose of judging, assessing the situation

What concerned Mark was that now, at last, Jesus openly and practically assumed rank as a monarch, allowed men to proclaim the advent of His kingdom, and proceeded to exercise its rights by calling for the surrender of property, and by cleansing the temple with a scourge. … After this heroic fashion did Jesus present Himself to die. Without a misleading hope, conscious of the hollowness of His seeming popularity, weeping for the impending ruin of the glorious city whose walls were ringing with His praise, and predicting the murderous triumph of the crafty faction which appears so helpless, He not only refuses to recede or compromise, but does not hesitate to advance His claims in a manner entirely new, and to defy the utmost animosity of those who still rejected Him.

After such a scene there could be no middle course between crushing Him, and bowing to Him. He was no longer a Teacher of doctrines, however revolutionary, but an Aspirant to practical authority, Who must be dealt with practically. — Chadwick, page 302.