Introduction
The triumphal entry is recorded in all four Gospels, Matthew 21:1-11 / Mark 11:1-11 / Luke 19:24-44, and John’s account is the briefest.
The fact that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, John 11:38-44, was well known by now and the people of Jerusalem and other surrounding villages heard that both Jesus and Lazarus were to be seen together, John 12:9, so typically they flocked to see this ‘show’.
The chief priests realised that Lazarus’s presence now also constitutes a threat to their power, John 12:10, so in their ruthlessness, they decide to rid themselves of this problem.
The fact that Lazarus had died and then had been resurrected was now a great source of embarrassment to the Pharisees and other Jews of high religious standing. They wanted to put Him to death in order to prove, to themselves, that they were greater than Jesus.
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
‘The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him’. John 12:12-16
‘A great crowd’, John 12:12, in Jerusalem crowded with Passover pilgrims, many of who would be disciples of Jesus, Luke 19:37. As He approached the city, a crowd accompanied Him and another crowd went out to meet him, Matthew 21:9.
The ‘next day’, John 12:12, we know from the Gospels that this was the first day of the week. The crowd, already excited at his potential arrival, John 11:56, now hear that Jesus is on His way to the feast.
Great excitement overtakes them, they have heard of the raising of Lazarus and all the other miracles He had done before. Many must have believed that He was the Messiah and was about to restore the Kingdom to that which was in David’s time.
A welcome for a king is being written of here, as they, ‘spread their garments on the road, also spread leafy branches before Him, John 12:13 / Matthew 21:8 / Mark 11:8.
Many carried branches of palm which are symbols of victory, Revelation 7:9, and of the righteousness and vigorous spirituality of God’s children, Psalm 92:12. They point to the joy of victory, the feeling that everything will now be better. The people were expecting something to change.
‘Hosanna!’ they cry, John 12:13, this was a joyous call meaning ‘save’ or ‘save us now’, it hadn’t become a simple exclamation of surprise such as we use ‘hurrah’ today. The call had a great deal of meaning to it.
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’, John 12:13, is an extract from Psalm 118:25-26. The context of the Psalm is of a Messianic tone, indicating that they considered Jesus the Messiah, still expecting Him to establish some sort of earthly kingdom. The balance of the call that rang out seems to confirm this idea, ‘Blessed is the King of Israel,’ John 12:13.
John 12:14 tells us that ‘Jesus found a young donkey.’ Matthew 21:1-2 tells that He sent two disciples to find and bring an ass and colt. Luke 19:30 says ‘a colt on which no one has ever yet sat’.
Why would a donkey and a colt both be needed if Jesus only rode one into Jerusalem? The simple answer is that the colt was young and still attached to the mother, and vice versa. They would travel together as a mother and offspring naturally would among many animal species.
The donkey was traditionally ridden by Kings who came in peace, if He had come on a horse instead, that would have reflected a more aggressive tone. The Gospels tell us that this was a young donkey, not yet ridden by any man. Jesus was the first on the back of this donkey.
Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah, His so coming is in fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9 / Matthew 21:4-5. The crowd of disciples wanted Him to assert publicly that He was the Messiah and He did but in such a way as to assert the peaceful nature of His kingdom, Zechariah 9:10.
The horse was the symbol of war and conquest and the donkey was the symbol of peace. The disciples only made this connection between Jesus the King of peace, the donkey and the Scriptural quotation after Jesus had ascended and they had received the Holy Spirit, John 12:13. Much became obvious to them at that time.
Their words in John 12:13 are quotes from Psalm 118:25-26. This Psalm was part of the ‘Great Hallel’, Psalms 113-118, recited at the Feast of Tabernacles. They now acclaim Jesus as the Messiah, John 12:13 / Matthew 21:9 / Mark 11:9-10 / Luke 19:38.
Luke 19:41-44 tells that as He drew near to the city and He wept over it, He foresaw and described the disaster coming to a people who rejected the Messiah.
Look at the reactions to all of this, Matthew 21:10-11 ‘All the city was stirred’, ‘agitated’, ‘went wild with excitement.’ In Luke 19:39-40, we read that the Pharisees objected, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples,’ but Jesus tells them, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out!’
The Pharisees objected, but Jesus tells them that the very things we would assume could never speak or respond, that is, the stones, Habakkuk 2:11, would actually give testimony to the Sonship of Jesus.
If the stones of the city of Jerusalem were in the mind of Jesus when He made this statement, the meaning again would be obvious, Jerusalem would be levelled by the Romans in A.D. 70. Matthew 24:1-35.
Jesus was basically saying to the Pharisees, ‘you can’t hide from what is happening right now, even if you could silence everyone, these very stones would have shouted glory to God because even they recognise that it’s God’s Son who is entering Jerusalem’.
‘Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So, the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” John 12:17-19
The crowd who had seen Lazarus raised ‘bore witness,’ John 12:17. As Jesus approached, the whole town became more and more excited. News of the Messiah approaching spread around the city and the people eagerly waited to hear what the Lord was to say, how He would instruct them on the road to re-establishing David’s throne, all eyes were pointing to Jesus, John 12:18.
Once again, the Pharisees didn’t greet the arrival of Jesus with all that much enthusiasm and they wanted Jesus dead, this crowd would make it all the more difficult, John 12:19. They seem somewhat frustrated by this goings-on, and their difficulty in finding Jesus in a quiet, dark alley where that could finish all this ‘foolishness’.
The Pharisees saw Jesus as a serious threat to their position as leaders in the religious community, even if they did have some idea that He was the Messiah, it was now too late to acknowledge Him, that would lose too much.
The ‘Pharisees’, who were the Sanhedrin officials, were extremely worried, and they had reason to be because huge crowds were involved, John 12:19.
People were continually shouting that Jesus was the Messiah, the King of Israel. Jerusalem was packed with Passover pilgrims, ‘was thrown into confusion’, Matthew 21:10. A popular uprising looked possible and that would bring savage reprisals from the Romans, John 11:48.
Conclusion
We’re living in a society where Christians are being told to ‘shut up’, by the ‘politically correct’ brigade, if we speak out against sin, any sin, we get told we’re judging and need to ‘shut up’.
It’s almost like we’re allowed to have our faith, but we’re not allowed to express our faith in any shape or form as some people will find it offensive.
Society is permitted to speak out against Christians, but it seems as time goes on, Christians aren’t being permitted the same freedom of speech to defend their beliefs.
The world can try and silence Christians because they find their faith offensive, but the truth is, God would be even more offended if Christians didn’t share their faith with others.
Let’s continue to praise Him and lift up His Holy Name before the world because the time is coming when every being in heaven, everyone on earth, and every demon in hell, are going to bow down and confess what Christians have been confessing for years, Philippians 2:9-11.
