The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
By: David Parsons, ICEJ Senior VP and Spokesman
Last weekend, the Christian world marked Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In a normal year, large, colorful crowds waving palm branches and singing hymns retrace His route over the Mount of Olives in the Palm Sunday procession. Most participants are traditional Christians from the Holy Land and dozens of nations abroad.
This year, the Palm Sunday procession was smaller than usual, as there are fewer flights to bring Christian pilgrims to Israel due to the ongoing conflict in the region.
But we still have every reason to celebrate this key moment in the life of Jesus. It has so much meaning and symbolism and helps us understand better what happened just days later as Jesus was crucified and buried, followed by His resurrection, which we will mark tomorrow on Good Friday. It is part of the wonder and passion of Christ, who gave His life that we might live—and this is a message we all need in this trying hour.
The Significance of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry
The TRIUMPHAL entry of Christ is recounted in all four Gospels, but John gives a more detailed account, which places the moment in its fuller context. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11). He was entering a city buzzing with heightened messianic anticipation. They had been expecting the Messiah to arrive, throw off Roman rule, and restore the kingdom to Israel—meaning, restore what they had under King David. Jesus was already growing in fame as a great teacher and healer, and now, he had just raised someone from the dead. Surely, a man with that kind of power could lead them in confronting their Roman oppressors.
Those were the “nationalistic” sentiments widely shared by many in the throngs welcoming Jesus that day with palm fronds and shouts of “Hosanna!”
And Jesus took deliberate steps that tended to fan those flames. He was intentional about riding into town on a donkey. He instructed His disciples on where to find His mount. In doing so, Jesus was closely following the model set by King David.
“Your King Is Coming”
When Israel’s beloved king (David) was dying, his son, Adonijah, wrongly rose up to seize the throne. But David commanded his loyal followers to act quickly, place Solomon on his royal donkey, take him down to the Gihon Spring, and anoint him there as king over Israel (1 Kings 1:32–35). Jesus knew the donkey he rode symbolized kingship to his people.
Jesus also knew the prophet Zechariah had prophesied this very scene, saying: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
Jesus was clearly presenting His kingly credentials to Israel. And yet by week’s end, He had been rejected by many of these same palm-wavers and was hanging on a cross.
Had He gotten caught up in the praises of the adoring crowd? Was He surprised by the sudden turn of events? Most certainly not!
Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life
Jesus had just proclaimed and proven through Lazarus that He is “the resurrection and the life!” (John 11:25). Later in this chapter, John records that He was “troubled” (v. 33) and “groaning in Himself” (v. 38). After His rousing welcome and triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He was still “troubled” (John 12:27). Something was truly disturbing Him. Jesus knew what lay ahead . . . the suffering, the shame, the abandonment by the crowd and even by His closest followers. Yet He pressed on.
“What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour.” (John 12:27)
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that day to throw off the Romans or even those rulers among His own people who envied and opposed him. He did not seek a temporary earthly kingdom. Rather, He entered Jerusalem to die so that He might claim an eternal throne and rule over an eternal kingdom.
The Bible teaches that such a high and exalted place, seated at the right hand of the Father, was already His from the beginning. But someone had challenged him for it—Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12–17). This shocked God, and He decided it would never happen again. He sent His son to die a lowly, painful death here on earth to redeem a people that would forever appreciate His right to sit on that eternal throne. And because of His obedience to the Father, even to the point of a cruel death on the cross, God has so highly exalted Him that every living creature will one day bow their knee and call him Lord (Philippians 2:5–11).
The throne over all creation has always rightfully belonged to Jesus, but He came and earned it. And now no one will ever be able to challenge Him for it again. No one else could ever pay the price He paid by humbling Himself, leaving that highest place in heaven and descending to the lowest pit.
God Is Making Way for His Kingdom
This is what makes the gospel such an amazing love story. The crucifixion of Christ is not such a pretty tale in the telling. Yet it is glorious and unsurpassed and so triumphant over all else.
The week started with Jesus coming lowly, riding on a donkey, to present His credentials as Israel’s King. By the end of the week, He wore a crown of thorns. And we should forever bow our knee.
Jesus still has to come claim His rightful throne here on earth, the throne of his father, David (Luke 1:32). God promised King David that a worthy descendant in David’s royal lineage would one day sit on his throne forever, in an everlasting kingdom that encompasses the whole earth (2 Samuel 7). But to fulfill that promise, God has vowed to first vanquish every last enemy and rival (Psalm 2). He watched His son treated so cruelly at His first coming, and He will not let it happen again.
To make way for His kingdom, God is determined to shake everything that can be shaken on this earth—so that His unshakable kingdom might stand (Haggai 2:6–7; Hebrews 12:26–28). No doubt, the current war in this region is part of that shaking process. These are the birth pangs of the messianic age, and we might as well get to used to them and trust the Lord to help us through.
“Marvelous in Our Eyes”
In Daniel 2, the prophet sees the sweep of the gentile age depicted in the form of a large statue, representing the great kingdoms of the earth down through time, starting with Babylon as the head of gold and descending to feet of iron and clay. But then a stone cut from a mountain without human hands strikes the statue in its feet, and the whole towering image crumbles to pieces, is ground into chaff, and then blows away in the wind without a trace left. In its place, the stone grows into a mighty mountain, symbolizing the eternal kingdom of the Messiah, which will fill the whole earth and shall never be destroyed.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone of this eternal kingdom, and it is indeed “marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22–23).
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Main photo: Christian pilgrims participate in the traditional Palm Sunday procession on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. (Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)