Jesus’ Triumphal Entry
TRANSLATION
(1) As they approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples, (2) saying to them, “Go into the village that is ahead of you, and, just as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt on which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. (3) And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” (4) And they went and found a colt outside in the street tied at a door and untied it. (5) And some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing untying the colt?” (6) And they said what Jesus had told them to say, and they let them go.
(7) When they had brought the colt to Jesus, they threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. (8) And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut in the fields. (9) And those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (10) Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Hosanna in the highest!”
OBSERVATIONS
The description of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is found in all four Gospels. Here, in Mark’s account, we find the following words repeated: “colt” (vss. 2, 4, 5, & 7), “tie/untie” (twice each in vss. 2 & 4), “cloaks” (vss. 7 & 8), “Hosanna!” and “blessed” (vss. 9 & 10). Mark emphasized two aspects of this event, both indications of Messiah’s presence. First, the way in which Jesus directed his disciples to find the colt on which he would ride in fulfillment of prophecy (Zech. 9:9) and then, the acclaim he received as he entered the city, though short-lived, attested to his identity.
OUTLINE
I. In preparation for his entrance into Jerusalem, his disciples found a colt for him to ride. (1-6)
II. Upon his entering the city, the crowds shouted their welcoming acclamations. (7-10)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem before his death was marked by his disciples’ securing the colt on which he rode and by the acclaim of those who welcomed him.
APPLICATION
In John’s Gospel we find this brief description of Messiah’s first coming: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (Jn. 1:11). Nowhere was this failure to accept his claims more evident than in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Although he had purposely approached Jerusalem with all the trappings of the promised Messiah, riding humbly on the colt of a donkey as Zechariah foretold in his prophecy (Zech. 9:9) and receiving the adulation of the crowd shouting phrases from Psalm 118 (vss. 25 & 26), the excitement soon died away, and the crowds that had been shouting “Hosanna” would soon be chanting, “Crucify him!”
Phrases like “if only” and “what could have been” come to mind when we think of Jerusalem’s failure to receive her king when he offered himself to her. However, we must remember that this rejection was part of God’s sovereign design. Paul expressed this clearly in Romans 11: “So I ask, did they (the Jews) stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass (rejecting their Messiah) salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches (salvation) for the world and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean?” (Rom. 11:11 & 12)
Without this rejection, the crucifixion would never have taken place. Without the crucifixion, Christ could not have paid the price for our redemption. Without this redemption, we Gentiles (most reading do not identify as Jews) would never have been made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. How thankful to God we should be for his great purposes for both Jews and Gentiles, accomplished through the Messiah who, in his rejection, became the Savior of the world!