What does Mark 11:8 mean?

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.