The Triumphal Entry
TRANSLATION
(12) The next day a large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. (13) They took palm branches and went out to meet him shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! (He is) the King of Israel!” (14) Jesus found a young donkey and was riding on it as it is written, (15) “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look! Your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”
(16) His disciples did not understand these things at first. Only after Jesus was glorified did they remember that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. (17) Those who had been with him when he summoned Lazarus from the tomb and had raised him from the dead continued to testify about him. (18) This is the reason why the crowd went out to meet him because they had heard he had performed this sign. (19) The Pharisees therefore said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the world has gone after him.”
OBSERVATIONS
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was recorded by all four Gospel writers. Repeated words in this segment included “crowd” (vss. 12, 17, & 18), “Jesus” (vss. 12, 14, & 16), “king” (vss. 13 & 15), and “donkey” (vss. 14 & 15). John in this paragraph was careful to point out how Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, riding on the back of a donkey’s colt, fulfilled two Old Testament prophecies. The first, in Psalm 118:26, contained the words that were shouted by the crowds. The other in Zechariah 9:9 described the way he arrived. The news that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead was responsible for the large crowd that had gathered to welcome him. His growing popularity only served to increase the determination of the Jewish leaders to put an end to his ministry.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus entered Jerusalem for the final time, riding on a donkey’s colt as prophesied. (12-15)
II. Only after his resurrection did his disciples appreciate the significance of these events. (16-19)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, accompanied by large crowds, both fulfilled prophecy and caused great consternation among the Jewish leaders.
APPLICATION
The final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry began with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey’s colt in fulfillment of prophecy. Within a few days, the shouts of “Hosannah! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” would be replaced with calls for his crucifixion. For Christians the events that took place during that momentous week are among the most important in world history. They included Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, his Upper Room Discourse, his inaugurating the New Covenant at the Last Supper, and all that led up to his betrayal, trial, death, and resurrection.
One more reason Jesus spent these few days in Jerusalem before his death was hinted at in Exodus 12. There God through Moses and Aaron instructed the people of Israel that, in order to prepare for the final plague in Egypt, each head of household had to take an unblemished male lamb from the flock on the tenth day of the first month and to keep it until the fourteenth day when it would be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb. Its blood would then be applied to the doorposts of the house and its roasted flesh eaten in preparation for their departure from Egypt. The purpose for the four days was to be sure that the yearling lamb was spotless and without defect, suitable for the Passover celebration. Jesus spent those four days in Jerusalem just prior to the Passover Feast to demonstrate that he was unblemished and worthy to serve as our sacrifice before his crucifixion. John the Baptist had memorably identified him in the first chapter of his Gospel with these words: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). Now he would prove the validity of those anticipatory words.