The Triumphal Entry
“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!’"—Matthew 21:9
It was the beginning and it was the end. To the disciples and those present, it was just the beginning of Christ’s coming to rule. He was the promised Messiah that many believed would liberate the Jewish people from the oppressive Roman rule, and this was to be His coming out party. But for Jesus—this was the end. This was the moment for which He had come to earth. He stood at the precipice of salvation. The praise thundered in His ears, but it was to be a momentary oasis before the blight of His passion was to unfold. The mad throng erupted in riotous praise and nationalistic hopes, but He knew it would be short-lived. He had always known the day that was coming, and it was here—this would be His final week.
To the people, He had achieved rock star status. He was already known for His wisdom, wit, and various wonders—transforming water to wine, and somehow making a few loaves and fish feed five thousand. He had healed the hurting, enabled the lame to leap, repaired the hearing impaired, enabled the blind to behold, and repossessed the demon-possessed. And His latest miracle had the crowds buzzing. He had shown up at the tomb of Lazarus and did what no one in the history of the world had ever done—raised a dead man to life again. Who was He? There had been talk that He had even calmed a storm and somehow walked on water. And here He was, entering Jerusalem!
He came riding on a donkey, a beast of burden for royalty, thus fulfilling prophecy from the prophet Zechariah. As He made His way down from the Mount of Olives and across the Kidron Valley, the large crowds greeted Him with praise from the Psalms: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna” means “save now!” This had to be the Messiah who was to come! He would liberate the people from Rome! They waved palm branches—a symbol of Jewish nationalism. They also placed their cloaks on the ground before Him—a sign of homage. They continued to cry out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"—Luke 19:38. Many in the city of Jerusalem were puzzled and asked, “Who is this?” The multitude responded, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” As the words of praise showered like rain, some were refreshed and emboldened, while others were distressed and disturbed. The Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out”—Luke 19:40. The stones, the inanimate creation, recognized their Creator, but those who were supposed to recognize Him as the Savior of the World looked at Him as a security threat. The Messiah had come and they were missing it.
The Triumphal Entry, as this is called within the Gospels, is the beginning and the end. To the crowds it was the beginning of Jesus’ coming reign, but for Jesus it was the end of His purpose on earth. The crowd rightly recognized Him as the coming ruler and liberator, but not as the ruler or liberator they expected. They expected Him to liberate them from the rule of the Romans, but He came to liberate them from the rule of sin and death. They expected Him to be a political Messiah, but He came as a suffering servant.
As we contemplate the Triumphal Entry, we must ask ourselves who or what we expect Jesus to be in our own lives. Do we see Jesus as He is, or as who we want Him to be? Have we truly recognized Him as the Lord of Life and the true liberator from our slavery to sin? Or has He become to us a safe Savior who passively condones the hopes and dreams we already have? Or possibly we, too, may view Him as the liberator of our culture from the tyranny of godless political parties. But He is so much more.
He is the all-sufficient Savior, but like the crowds, we can easily confuse who Jesus really is—the suffering Savior who came to save us from our sin. Christ came as the humble servant King the first time, but the second time He will come as the conquering King, and then there will be no confusion as to who He is and what He has done. May we acknowledge Him as the true King of the Universe who gave His life on our behalf—so that we might spend eternity in the everlasting joy of delighting in Him. Amen.
It was the beginning and it was the end. To the disciples and those present, it was just the beginning of Christ’s coming to rule. He was the promised Messiah that many believed would liberate the Jewish people from the oppressive Roman rule, and this was to be His coming out party. But for Jesus—this was the end. This was the moment for which He had come to earth. He stood at the precipice of salvation. The praise thundered in His ears, but it was to be a momentary oasis before the blight of His passion was to unfold. The mad throng erupted in riotous praise and nationalistic hopes, but He knew it would be short-lived. He had always known the day that was coming, and it was here—this would be His final week.
To the people, He had achieved rock star status. He was already known for His wisdom, wit, and various wonders—transforming water to wine, and somehow making a few loaves and fish feed five thousand. He had healed the hurting, enabled the lame to leap, repaired the hearing impaired, enabled the blind to behold, and repossessed the demon-possessed. And His latest miracle had the crowds buzzing. He had shown up at the tomb of Lazarus and did what no one in the history of the world had ever done—raised a dead man to life again. Who was He? There had been talk that He had even calmed a storm and somehow walked on water. And here He was, entering Jerusalem!
He came riding on a donkey, a beast of burden for royalty, thus fulfilling prophecy from the prophet Zechariah. As He made His way down from the Mount of Olives and across the Kidron Valley, the large crowds greeted Him with praise from the Psalms: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna” means “save now!” This had to be the Messiah who was to come! He would liberate the people from Rome! They waved palm branches—a symbol of Jewish nationalism. They also placed their cloaks on the ground before Him—a sign of homage. They continued to cry out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"—Luke 19:38. Many in the city of Jerusalem were puzzled and asked, “Who is this?” The multitude responded, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” As the words of praise showered like rain, some were refreshed and emboldened, while others were distressed and disturbed. The Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out”—Luke 19:40. The stones, the inanimate creation, recognized their Creator, but those who were supposed to recognize Him as the Savior of the World looked at Him as a security threat. The Messiah had come and they were missing it.
The Triumphal Entry, as this is called within the Gospels, is the beginning and the end. To the crowds it was the beginning of Jesus’ coming reign, but for Jesus it was the end of His purpose on earth. The crowd rightly recognized Him as the coming ruler and liberator, but not as the ruler or liberator they expected. They expected Him to liberate them from the rule of the Romans, but He came to liberate them from the rule of sin and death. They expected Him to be a political Messiah, but He came as a suffering servant.
As we contemplate the Triumphal Entry, we must ask ourselves who or what we expect Jesus to be in our own lives. Do we see Jesus as He is, or as who we want Him to be? Have we truly recognized Him as the Lord of Life and the true liberator from our slavery to sin? Or has He become to us a safe Savior who passively condones the hopes and dreams we already have? Or possibly we, too, may view Him as the liberator of our culture from the tyranny of godless political parties. But He is so much more.
He is the all-sufficient Savior, but like the crowds, we can easily confuse who Jesus really is—the suffering Savior who came to save us from our sin. Christ came as the humble servant King the first time, but the second time He will come as the conquering King, and then there will be no confusion as to who He is and what He has done. May we acknowledge Him as the true King of the Universe who gave His life on our behalf—so that we might spend eternity in the everlasting joy of delighting in Him. Amen.
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