Many Pharisees witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy and malice, sought to turn the current of popular feeling. With all their authority they tried to silence the people; but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. They feared that this multitude, in the strength of their numbers, would make Jesus king. As a last resort they pressed through the crowd to where the Saviour was, and accosted Him with reproving and threatening words: "Master, rebuke Thy disciples." They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful, and would not be permitted by the authorities. But they were silenced by the reply of Jesus, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." That scene of triumph was of God's own appointing. It had been foretold by the prophet, and man was powerless to turn aside God's purpose. Had men failed to carry out His plan, He would have given a voice to the inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with acclamations of praise. As the silenced Pharisees 575 drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by hundreds of voices: "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."

Mange farisæere var vidne til dette skue, og glødende af skinsyge og had søgte de at vende folkestemningen. Med anvendelse af hele deres myndighed prøvede de at få folket til at tie; men deres henvendelser og trusler forøgede kun begejstringen. De blev bange for, at denne store skare i kraft af sine mange deltagere skulle gøre Jesus til konge. Som den sidste udvej trængte de sig frem gennem mængden derhen, hvor Frelseren var, og tiltalte ham bebrejdende og truende: "Mester! sæt dog dine disciple i rettet" De erklærede, at den slags støjende demonstrationer var ulovlige og ikke ville blive tilladt af myndighederne. Men de blev bragt til tavshed, da de hørte Jesu Svar: "Jeg siger jer: hvis disse tier, Skal stenene råbe." Dette triumftog var efter Guds egen beslutning. Det var blevet forudsagt af profeten, og for mennesker var det umuligt at afværge Guds hensigt. Hvis mennesker havde nægtet at udføre hans beslutning, ville han have givet røst til de livløse stene, og de ville have hyldet hans Søn med lovprisninger. Da farisæerne stiltiende trak sig tilbage, blev Zakarias ord genoptaget af hundrede af stemmer: "Fryd dig såre, Zions datter, råb med glæde, Jerusalems datter! Se, din konge kommer til dig. Retfærdig og sejrrig er han, ydmyg, ridende på et æsel, på en asenindes føl."