Triumphal Entry

SLIDE 1 Mary Anne isn’t here so I can tell this story. Actually, she’s heard me tell the story numerous times. In fact, I think many of you have already heard it. It about how she broke up with me when we first started dating.

We met at Bible college during freshman orientation and within a few weeks we were dating. After a couple of months I thought I’d give her some flowers. I didn’t have much money though. I didn’t even have a car to drive to the florist. A friend drove me. I didn’t know anything about flowers, I just knew I wanted to buy her a few yellow roses. I decided on yellow because in high school for Valentine’s Day, the student council would sell red and yellow carnation corsages. Red carnations symbolized love while the yellow ones symbolized friendship. I wanted to make sure Mary Anne understood I liked her but it wasn’t that serious — at least not yet. When I got to the florist I discovered that a dozen cut roses was cheaper than three long stem roses. Since I didn’t have much money, I went with the dozen yellow roses.

I gave the flowers to Mary Anne just a couple of days before our fall break. She seemed to enjoy the flowers, but when we returned from our break she dumped me. We’d seen each other in class, but she wouldn’t talk to me. After the class was over we went outside and she dumped me. It would be more than a year before I would discover the reason. She thought the dozen roses meant I was getting serious and she wasn’t ready for that. She completely missed the message I was trying to send. The yellow roses were meant to clearly say we were just friends. The dozen just meant that I was cheap.

I know some of you are wondering how we got back together since we’ve now been married for thirty-five years. The answer is that a year-and-a-half after she dumped, Mary Anne came crawling back to me on her hands and knees begging me to go out with her.

Symbolism is important and when it’s missed it can cause great problems.

SLIDE 2-3 This morning I want to start a series that focuses on Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion. We won’t be able to look at everything that took place that week. Considering that a full 40% of the gospel narratives are focus on this final week, it would take almost a year to look at the all. There’s a lot of material. The gospels record more than forty separate events that took place but we’re only going to look at seven of them. Those events contain a lot of symbolism as does the one we will look a this morning.

This morning I want to draw our attention to a parade. We usually call it the triumphal entry.

SLIDE 4 Have you ever seen a presidential motorcade. The exact number of vehicles changes from location to location depending on the need, but numerous vehicles are needed. All those vehicles are needed to transport the president, his staff, and security. All these vehicles have to be delivered to wherever the president is visiting so they will be ready when he arrives. Additionally, if the president is visiting several places on the same day, there are duplicate motorcades assembled in each location. It’s pretty impressive. It’s a mini parade, and who doesn’t like a parade?

Whereas the president requires numerous cars, limousines, SUVs, and motorcycles, Jesus needed only one mode of transportation. It was still a parade though.

SLIDE 5 Turn with me to Matthew 21. The story of Jesus entering Jerusalem is one of the few that are found in all four of the gospels, but we are going to look at Mathew’s telling of the story. You can imagine all the planning that goes into preparing the president’s motorcade. Jesus planned his entrance into Jerusalem as well.

Matthew 21:1–8 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

Traveling with his disciples, Jesus had stopped in Jericho and eaten with Zacchaeus. Now, as he approaches Jerusalem he passes through the town of Bethphage. Bethphage was located beside Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Both towns were just a couple of miles east of Jerusalem, just beyond the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus would spend each night of his final week in Bethany.

None of the events that took place in the final week of Jesus were a surprise to him. He knew it would be his final week. At least three times, Jesus had told his disciples exactly what was going to happen in Jerusalem. And Jesus reminded them again about what would happen just days before they entered the city. Here is how Luke reports it: SLIDE 6

Luke 18:31-34 31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. SLIDE 7 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; SLIDE 8 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” SLIDE 9 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

SLIDE 10 Jesus could not have been clearer, and yet the meaning of what he said was somehow hidden from them. They were going to Jerusalem, and Jesus would be handed over to the Gentiles, then he would be mocked, spit on, flogged and killed, but then he would rise on the third day. Only days after making that prediction, the day for the Triumphal Entry arrived and the disciples did not understand what was really going on.

As they get close to the village, Jesus sends two of the disciples ahead to have a donkey ready for him to ride. Some have suggested Jesus had made prior arrangements with the owner to use the donkey, but we don’t know. Perhaps, God had laid it on the heart of the owner to lend it. What we do know is it was a fulfillment of a prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. Matthew pointed this out when wrote:

Matthew 21:4-5 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

This was a prophesy that was recorded by the prophet Zechariah about five hundred years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem. At that time, some of the people of Israel had returned to Jerusalem from their Babylonian captivity. They were rebuilding the temple and restoring Jerusalem. But they were still a conquered people and faced tremendous opposition from surrounding enemies. In the midst of that political and military oppression, Zechariah promised that God would send a king to lead them out of bondage and into freedom. Right up to the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were still waiting for that king to come as they suffered under Roman occupation.

Why a donkey? Weren’t there others forms of transportation available. A donkey seems a little strange, at least in my mind. However, in the middle east, in that day, it would have been common. Horses were ridden by kings as they went out to war, but they rode a donkey when they came in peace. Zechariah said the king would come to his people “gentle and riding on a donkey.”

Jesus didn’t send for the donkey because he was tired and needed a ride. He sent for it because he was signaling to the people that he was their king. That’s why Matthew was so careful to note that it took place to fulfill the prophecy by Zechariah. Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a king. But, it’s important to note that he didn’t come as a military leader on a horse, but as Zechariah said, he came in peace on a donkey. The problem was the people missed the symbolism.

Luke pointed out that Jesus specified that the donkey had never been ridden. Why was important that it was a donkey on which no one had ever ridden? It was a common practice in Jesus’ day not to use anything for a sacred purpose that had been used previously for a common purpose. Therefore, the donkey that Jesus rode into the city must not have been ridden before, because it was going to be used for a holy purpose — to carry the Messiah of God.

However, I’ve seen enough movies about horses to know what happens when someone tries to ride a horse the first time. It’s not a very smooth ride. The horse has to be broken. I’m sure it’s similar for donkeys. Yet this one quickly submits to Jesus riding it just as the wind and waves obeyed him.

Matthew 21:6 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

We aren’t given the names of the two men, we’re only told that they did as Jesus had instructed them. They went into the town and found the donkey. Luke tells us: SLIDE 11

Luke 19:33-34 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

SLIDE 12 Did you notice that Luke talked about the owners of the donkey? There must have more than one owner. Donkeys were expensive and most people didn’t own one. They were more than just a means of transportation. They would have been used for carrying items or pulling a plow. So, a donkey was a valuable possession. Yet, when the disciples told the owners the Lord needed it, they allowed the disciples to take it. And when they gave that donkey they were giving the best and most they had to give.

Matthew 21:7-8 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Jesus was coming to Jerusalem during one of the busiest times of the year. Jews were gathering from all over the world to celebrate the Passover. It may have just been Jesus and his disciples when they left Galilee, but they would have been walking with hundreds by the time they reached Jericho where they would have joined hundreds more making there way to Jerusalem. The parade started as Jesus made his way across the Mount of Olives. The commotion would have been visible to those already in Jerusalem.

News had been spreading about how Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. When the people heard that Jesus was at the center of this makeshift parade, they would have rushed from the city. So, there were actually two crowds — the one walking with him and the one coming out to greet him. And as the crowds met Jesus they received him like a conquering hero. They threw branches before him to line the road and then began to cry out.

Matthew 21:9-11 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The word “Hosanna” is Hebrew for “Save now!” and basically means “God save the King!” The people were rejoicing and praising God. However, the sight of Jesus riding into Jerusalem with the fanfare of the crowds disturbed the Jewish leaders. John wrote: SLIDE 13

John 12:19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

SLIDE 14 It seemed that nothing they did would stop the people from following Jesus. For three years, Jesus kept his true identity a secret. He often told people not to reveal who he was. But now, as he entered Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, Jesus revealed himself to his people as a king. As Zechariah prophesied: SLIDE 15

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

If Jesus had wanted to establish an earthly kingdom, that would have been the time. Thousands would have joined him in that moment. But that’s not what Jesus wanted. It’s not why he had come. His kingdom was not to be an earthly one, but heavenly, not temporary, but eternal. So, when Jesus refused the crown, the people began to turn against him. Like the disciples, they didn’t really understand the symbolism and so they didn’t understand why Jesus had really come. He hadn’t come to establish a physical kingdom and free them from Roman oppression, he’d come to free them from their spiritual oppression and take away their sins.

So many people try to make Jesus what they want him to be. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a nuisance and a threat to their rule. He undermined their authority. They wanted Jesus to shut the crowd up. The crowd saw Jesus as a political liberator who would free them from Roman oppression and taxes. The disciples thought along the same lines as the crowd but also saw Jesus as a way to power. They were looking forward to sitting on his left and right when Jesus established his kingdom. Few saw Jesus as he really was.

Have you ever wondered what was Jesus thinking about as he rode into Jerusalem? What did he think about the crowd that was praising him that day? Luke gives us this insight: SLIDE 17

Luke 19:41-44 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, SLIDE 18 “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. SLIDE 19 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. SLIDE 20 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. SLIDE 21 They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

When Jesus entered into the last week of his life, he entered it with his eyes wide open. He knew exactly what was going to happen that week. He knew that the crowds shouting “hosanna” on Sunday, would be shouting “crucify him” on Friday. Additionally, Jesus knew exactly what would happen about forty years in the future when the Romans would lay siege to the city of Jerusalem and destroy it. Jesus wept for the suffering they would experience because of the hardness of their hearts. It saddened him so much that they were blinded to what would bring peace, and that they didn’t recognize the day when God had visited them.

John wrote at the beginning of his gospel: SLIDE 23

John 1:9-12 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. SLIDE 24 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. SLIDE 25 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. SLIDE 26 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

SLIDE 27 As we see Jesus weeping, we gain a small understanding of the love he has for everyone that compelled him to die on the cross. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, a city filled with people who would reject him and vent their hate against him. He was not weeping because he was worried about himself. He was weeping because of his intense love for them.

Despite all they were going to put him through that very week: the unjust trial and the false accusations, the crowds chanting for his death, the insults, and beatings, and the brutal crucifixion, yet despite all that, Jesus still loved all these people, and at the end of the week, he would hang on a cross to prove it. But they missed it. They didn’t understand what Jesus was trying to say because they were trying to make Jesus into what they wanted him to be. We can’t accept Jesus according to any preconceived notions, we must accept as he is, King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus doesn’t just want our praise, he wants our submission. Jesus came to save us from ourselves and empower us to serve him.