The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem - A Time of Emotional Conflict for Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Palm Sunday – Luke 19: 28-44
Scene 1/ On the road Jesus took, a traveller would arrive first at Bethany and then come to Bethphage, about two miles from Jerusalem.
The elevation at this point is about 2,600 feet, and from it you have a breathtaking view of the Holy City.
The Lord was about to do something He had never done before, something He had repeatedly cautioned others not to do for Him:
He was going to permit His followers to give a public demonstration in His honour.
Jesus sent two of His disciples to Bethphage to get the colt that He needed for the event.
Most people today think of a donkey as nothing but a humble beast of burden, but in that day, it was looked on as an animal fit for a king to use (1 Kings 1:33).
Our Lord needed this beast so that He might fulfil the messianic prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
The Gospels of Mark and Luke do not quote this verse or refer to it because they were writing primarily for Gentile readers.
But John specifically claims this action as a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah in John 12:15.
In fulfilling this prophecy, Jesus accomplished two purposes:
(1) He declared Himself to be Israel’s King and Messiah;
And (2) He deliberately challenged the religious leaders.
By entering Jerusalem Jesus set in motion the official plot that led to His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
The Jewish leaders had decided not to arrest Him during the feast; they feared the reaction of the crowds.
Their plan was to arrest him after the feast, once the crowd had gone home, but God had determined otherwise.
The Lamb of God must die at Passover.
Many patriotic Jews from the crowd of pilgrims eagerly joined the procession that proclaimed Jesus as the King, the Son of David come in the name of the Lord.
But it is important to remember that for many of the people this was just all a part of the Passover Festival.
The Jewish Pilgrims would often chant Psalms 113 to 118 as they approached Jerusalem these psalms of ascent were written to express thanksgiving, praise, and petitions to God and were a regular part of the Festival.
Scene 2/ The word Hosanna that they used was originally a prayer addressed to God, meaning “O save us now” (cf. Ps. 118:25a).
Later it came to be used as a shout of praise (like “Hallelujah!”) and then as an enthusiastic welcome to pilgrims or to a famous Rabbi.
The phrase Hosanna in the highest, likely means “Save us, O God, who lives in heaven.”
The most prominent people in the procession were visitors from Galilee, along with the people who had witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 12:12–18).
You sometimes hear it said that the same people who cried “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday ended up crying “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday, but this is not true.
The crowd that wanted Him crucified came predominantly from Judea and Jerusalem, whereas the Galilean Jews were sympathetic with Jesus and His ministry.
When welcoming a king, it was customary for people to lay their outer garments on the road, and then add festal branches (2 Kings 9:13).
Of course, Jesus knew that the people were quoting from a messianic psalm (relate Ps. 118:22–23 with Matt. 21:42–44 and Acts 4:11), but He allowed them to go right ahead and shout.
He was openly affirming His kingship as the Son of David.
But we do note in Luke chapter 19 verse 39 that some of the Pharisees didn’t like what they were seeing and asked Jesus to tell his followers to stop.
Jesus gave them an answer that I am sure they didn’t like.
By affirming that the people were doing what was right and saying that if the people did not cry out then the stones would.
Jesus was making it very clear to the religious leaders that he saw himself as the Messiah.
This was a direct challenge to their position and one that Jesus deliberately made.
What were the Romans thinking as they watched this festive demonstration?
After all, the Romans were experts at parades and official public events.
But the Romans saw nothing unusual in this procession.
They were used to crowds of Jewish Pilgrims singing and coming up to Jerusalem in a festive mood.
For the Roman authorities this moment of jubilation was simply part of the traditional Passover celebration.
It did not alarm the Roman authorities.
Nor did it initiate a call for Jesus’ immediate arrest by the Jewish rulers.
We call this event “the Triumphal Entry,” but no Roman would have used that term.
An official “Roman Triumph” was indeed something to behold!
When a Roman general came back to Rome after a complete conquest of an enemy, he was welcomed home with an elaborate official parade.
In the parade he would exhibit his trophies of war and the illustrious prisoners he had captured.
The victorious general rode in a golden chariot, priests burned incense in his honour, and the people shouted his name and praised him.
The procession ended at the arena where the people were entertained by watching the captives fight with the wild beasts.
That was a “Roman Triumph.”
Our Lord’s “triumphal entry” was nothing like that, but it was a triumph just the same.
He was God’s anointed King and Saviour, but His conquest would be spiritual and not military.
A Roman general had to kill at least 5,000 enemy soldiers to merit a Triumph;
But in a few weeks, the Gospel would “conquer” some 5,000 Jews and transform their lives (Acts 4:4).
Christ’s “triumph” would be the victory of love over hatred, truth over error, and life over death.’
But that was yet to come, right at this point the people think that they are getting a ruling Messiah and a political kingdom.
They do not realise the fact that the one peaceably riding on the colt was their Messiah (cf. Zech. 9:9),
The suffering Messiah whose kingdom stood near because of His presence with them.
Scene 3/
Have you ever wondered what sort of day this was for Jesus?
He knew how things were going to end.
He set out to make sure that they happened.
The triumphal entry must have been a bittersweet experience for Jesus.
On the one hand people giving him popular acclaim.
On the other knowing that soon he would die, by probably the cruellest means ever invented.
Being worshipped; but also knowing that he would soon bear the sins of the whole world.
I believe that for Jesus this would have been an emotionally charged experience.
He is the Messiah, soon he will celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples and he will take on all that the meal symbolises.
The blood of the lamb that dies so that the first-born may live,
The bread that symbolises the hurried departure from Egypt.
And he will ascribe to those symbols a new meaning.
A meaning that provides for our need of salvation.
Being met through his sacrifice, his death.
In this triumphal entry we see great joy yet also great grief sweeping over Jesus.
He knows the triumph that is celebrated on this day will not be accepted by many and the results will be catastrophic for the people of Israel.
For we read in Luke 19:41-44
41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
The significance of Jesus’ grief over the city must be seen.
Jerusalem was rejecting the Messiah and the price would be total destruction by the Romans in AD 70.
The great Australian theologin Leon Morris puts it this way
Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 2. The Lament over Jerusalem (19:41–44)
There is an ignorance that is innocent, but there is also an ignorance that is culpable. These people had the revelation God had made known in the scriptures of the Old Testament. They had the continuing evidence that God was active in the life and ministry of Jesus. They could see in him that God had not forgotten his people. There was every reason for them to have welcomed Jesus as his disciples did. But they refused to accept all this evidence. They rejected God’s Messiah. They would now have to live with the consequences of their rejection. It is this that brought forth Jesus’ tears
The question for you and I is simply this, Do we celebrate and welcome the Messiah into our lives, or is our enthusiasm for him as fickle as the Passover crowds of Jerusalem?
Sources
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
Wiersbe, W. W. 1996, c1989. The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. Victor Books: Wheaton, Ill.