The Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just 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 had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Comment: i) Why on a donkey and not a majestic white prancing stallion? Jesus wasn’t competing with Pilate or Caesar. He was truly a King but His kingdom is of an unseen world (Eternity) even though many of His followers and members of His kingdom are alive on earth – most, if not all of the ones on earth will die before they see Him in all His glory! ii) Who made up the crowd? The combined passages tell us that they came both from Bethany (those who had seen Lazarus raised and many others came from Jerusalem, not far away, either because they were already His followers or because of what had been reported about Lazarus. Gossiping good news is almost as quick as ringing on a modern phone! iii) What does Hosanna mean? It is a cry used to express adoration, praise, and joy. And their excitement caused them to throw their clothes and probably Palm leaves on the road to make the royal pathway which a King normally rides upon. Iv) Who was He? The crowd acknowledged that Jesus was coming in the Name of the Lord and their acclamation was fit for a King, but we read that they merely announced Him on arriving in Jerusalem as “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” If that is all who Jesus was and is in our thinking then we miss His true identity!
Prayer: Truly a man, and for that we thank You for Your perfectness, but truly God incarnate for our salvation. Thank You, thank You, Jesus.
As I read it! 