Notes - Palm Sunday 2023
Notes
The Old Testament provides essential background for the presentation of the triumphal entry in the Gospels. The most significant text is Zech 9:9, which, as noted above, was quoted or paraphrased by Matthew and John and may explain why Mark and Luke emphasize that Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. The original context of the prophecy is important, since it tells of a king, who is characterized as righteous and having salvation, coming to Jerusalem. The king will bring peace to Jerusalem and the nations, and his rule will extend “from sea to sea” (Zech 9:10), yet this reign of peace seems to result from war (Zech 9:11–17). However, the subsequent context in Zechariah also includes statements of judgment against the leaders of the people (Zech 10:3).
Matthew and Mark also interpret the arrest of Jesus through the lens of Zechariah’s prophecies since Jesus quotes Zech 13:7 with reference to the disciples’ denial and abandonment of Him (Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27; compare also Zech 11:12–13 and Matt 27:9–10; compare Zech 12:10 and John 19:37). It is noteworthy that Zechariah’s prophecies conclude with a description of the day of the Lord, which envisages the nations gathering against Jerusalem for battle (Zech 14:1–2). The battle will result in violence and partial exile for the inhabitants of Jerusalem until God delivers them from their enemies. This climactic deliverance finally results in Yahweh’s kingship extending over all the earth and the permanent establishment of peace for Jerusalem (Zech 14:9–11).
The crowd’s statements about Jesus echo statements found in Psa 118:25–26 (compare Matt 21:9; Mark 11:9–10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13). This psalm thanks God for deliverance and victory in the setting of a processional to the sanctuary. In addition to the quotation of the psalm in the triumphal entry, Matthew and Luke include quotations of it in the context of Jesus pronouncing the judgment on Jerusalem (Psa 118:26 in Matt 23:39; Luke 13:35). Thus, the psalm embraces both the triumphal entry of Jesus, which resulted in His crucifixion, and His future coming as the glorious Son of Man (compare Allen, Psalms 101–150, 168). Moreover, Mark and Matthew include a quotation of Psa 118:22–23 on the lips of Jesus in the parable of the Tenants, which describes His rejection by the leaders in Jerusalem (Matt 21:42–45; Mark 12:10–12).
The Graeco-Roman Background of the Triumphal Entry
The triumphal entry narrative also echoes elements of “entry” stories in the Graeco-Roman world. According to Catchpole, the ancient world included “a family of stories detailing the celebratory entry to a city by a hero figure who has previously achieved a triumph” (Catchpole, “The ‘Triumphal’ Entry,” 319). He sees the pattern in 1 Kgs 1:32–40, where Solomon is anointed, rides David’s mule, is announced as the king of Israel, and is received with much rejoicing. Catchpole lists several examples from ancient literature, including Alexander (see Josephus, Antiquities, 11:325–39; Jewish War, 2:101–10; Antiquities, 17:324–28), Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 4:19–25; Josephus, Antiquities, 12:312; 1 Macc 5:45–54), Antigonus (Josephus, Jewish War, 1:73f; Antiquities, 13:304–06), and Marcus Agrippa (Josephus, Antiquities, 16:12–15).
According to Catchpole, these accounts all involve the following features: “(a) A victory already achieved and a status already recognized for the central person. (b) A formal and ceremonial entry. (c) Greetings and/or acclamations together with invocations of God. (d) Entry to the city climaxed by entry to Temple, if the city in question has one. (e) Cultic activity, either positive (e.g., offering of sacrifice), or negative (e.g., expulsion of objectionable persons and the cleansing away of uncleanness)” (Catchpole, “The ‘Triumphal’ Entry,” 321). Catchpole sees all of these features as being present in Mark 11, and so he concludes that it matches this form (Catchpole, “The ‘Triumphal’ Entry,” 321). These parallels are significant since they always presuppose that a victory has already been secured by the hero. Thus, according to Catchpole, Jesus is not announcing the beginning of an effort toward victory in Jerusalem, but one that is already realized (Catchpole, “The ‘Triumphal’ Entry,” 322).
The Theological Significance of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry
The evangelists depict the triumphal entry as the arrival of the kingdom and king at Judaism’s most significant royal and religious location. They present Jesus as the prophesied king of Zech 9:9 and His arrival in Jerusalem as an eschatological event. But as readers of the Gospels will know, based on Jesus’ previous predictions (compare Matt 16:21; 17:12, 22–23; 20:17–19; Mark 8:31; 9:30–32; 10:32–34; Luke 9:22, 44; 18:31–33), the welcome Jesus receives is an ironic harbinger of the outcome of His journey to Jerusalem (Davies and Allison, Matthew, 3:129; compare Duff, “March of the Divine Warrior,” 70). The crowds embrace Him in royal terms at the triumphal entry, but His time in Jerusalem leads to His crucifixion as “the King of the Jews” (Matt 27:37; Mark 15:18, 26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19–21; compare Marcus, “Crucifixion as Parodic Exaltation,” 73–87). According to the Gospels, this outcome was the end toward which Jesus’ ministry had been driving, as His body would be broken and His blood “poured out for many” (Mark 14:22–25 ESV).
Jesus’ rejection in Jerusalem is paired with the corollary theme of God’s judgment on those who reject Him. This is also in keeping with Old Testament prophecies, which envisaged the arrival of the kingdom along with judgment of God’s enemies and corrupt leaders (compare the wider context of Zech 9:9, especially Zech 10:3–5). For the evangelists, the arrival of the king in Jerusalem results in the cleansing of the temple (Matt 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46), the indictments of the leadership (Matt 21:28–46; 22:29; 23:1–36; Mark 11:17–18; 12:1–12, 24, 38–40; Luke 20:9–19, 45–47) and the prophecies of judgment (Matt 23:37–39; 24:1–35; 25:31–46; Mark 13:1–37; Luke 19:41–44; 21:5–36; 23:28–31; John 12:31). This tension between the welcome and rejection of Israel’s king provides the scenario for the Gospels to express christological subtleties, such as the paradoxical glory of Jesus as He embraces the cross in restrained obedience to the will of God (compare John 12:23–26; 18:33–37).
Jesus, heal us! Save us, Son of David, save us! Thou seest how blind we be—oh, give us the sight of faith! Thou seest how lame we be—oh, give us the strength of grace! And now, e’en now, thou Son of David, purge out our selfishness, and come and live and reign in us as in thy temple-palaces! We ask it, O thou great King, for thine own sake. Amen. And ere we leave this place, we cry again, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”