PALM SUNDAY

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

John 12:12–16 NKJV

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

John 12:1–2 says that six days before Passover Jesus went to Bethany, a small village a few miles outside of Jerusalem just beyond the Mount of Olives. There he shared a meal with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Word had spread that Jesus had recently raised Lazarus from the dead, and curious crowds had begun to gather (9, 12). But it’s the first three words of verse 12 that I want to focus on: “The next day.”

What is so important about these three words?

To better understand their significance, journey back with me 3,500 years to the time of the Exodus.

A lamb, without blemish

At the tail end of Israel’s 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God gave the nation some specific instructions:

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. … Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. … Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. (Exod 12:3 and 6, emphasis added)

Exodus 12:3 NKJV

Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

Exodus 12:6 NKJV

Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

On “the tenth day of this month” (Nisan 10, the first month of the Israelite calendar),1 each family was to choose a one-year-old lamb “without blemish” (no defect),2 bring it into their home, and care for it for five days. On Nisan 14,3they were to slaughter it just before sundown and put its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their home (Exod 12:21–23; see also Lev 23:5; Num 9:2–5, 28:16; Josh 5:10–11).

It was an act of obedience and trust.

That same night, the Lord would “pass over” every home he saw with the lamb’s blood:

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. (Exod 12:12; see also Exod 12:42)

Because a new Hebrew day begins at twilight 4 “that same night” would have been Nisan 15.5 It was on this date Israel left Egypt and passed through the Red Sea—the date God redeemed the Israelites out of slavery.

Passover has been Judaism’s transformative event ever since. It’s celebrated every year on Nisan 15—falling in March or April on our Gregorian calendars.

Now, let’s circle back to the scene in John 12 and connect some dots.

Gentle, riding, and on a donkey

Six days before Passover puts Jesus in Bethany on Nisan 9 (Nisan 15 minus 6 days).6 “The next day” would have been Nisan 10—the same “date” the Israelites were to bring “lambs without blemish” into their homes.

Almost 1,500 years after the first Passover in Egypt, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, on Nisan 10.

The crowds who were in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover met him with palm branches shouting: “Hosanna! (Save now!) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13; from Psalm 118:19–27). Matthew 21:8 adds more information:

Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. (Matt 21:8, see also Mark 11:7–8.)

This act was reserved for kings and conquerors (2 Kings 9:13).7

The people missed the full significance of the circumstances. Two things were happening, but they only saw one: Jesus fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy.

Your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey. (Zech 9:9)

It was a prophecy the Jews knew well. When Jesus passed through Jerusalem’s gates, they were openly proclaiming him as their Savior and King (though in the sense of relieving Israel from Roman oppression).

What they didn’t see was God’s selection of Jesus Christ as the final Passover lamb to be slaughtered.

The stage was set for the events of the final week of his life, leading to his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Just a few days later on Nisan 14, as upwards of 250,000 lambs8 were being sacrificed in the temple courts according to God’s instruction in Exodus 12, Jesus would be nailed to a cross.9