Good morning,
The next six weeks we will be studying Jesus’ last week on earth and Passover.
This week, we will look at four perspectives of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They come from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Triumphal Entry in All Four Gospels
All four of the Gospel accounts record Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem but each one chose to include certain details important to their respective audiences.
MATTHEW 21:1-11
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,5 Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
The book of Matthew was primarily written with the focus to portray Jesus as Israel’s promised Messianic King. He recorded this account for Jewish people whose background was the Old Testament. Thus, they understood the Law and the Prophets. Specific prophecies like Zechariah 9:9 would have stuck out which Matthew quoted to pinpoint Jesus’ fulfillment of that five-hundred-year-old promise.
As the people were shouting His praises, Matthew made sure to document their acknowledgment and confession of Him being the Son of David which he also began his account with regarding Christ’s genealogy (1:1). This proved both His birth-right and legal-right to the throne of David as their King. Another interesting point to take note of is that, at the beginning of the book, when the wise men came to worship baby Jesus, the whole city was “troubled” (2:3), and now nearing the end of the book, “the whole city was stirred up” (21:10). Things happen when Jesus is in a city!
MARK 11:1-11
And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
John Mark, known more simply as Mark, wrote this account primarily to Gentile [non-Jewish] believers – specifically those living in Rome. These men and women, for the most part, were not necessarily well-versed in the Old Testament which is why he did not include any specific reference to Jesus fulfilling ancient prophecies. Instead, Mark focused his account more on the arrival of Israel’s humble King who was bringing about the very Kingdom of God.
Roman believers would have been accustomed to royal parades and grand entrances of the emperor. However, their leader(s) would have more than likely ridden on horseback to signify strength, power, authority, and conquest. Therefore, what Mark was pointing out was that Israel’s King is like no other king – He is humble and bringing peace. And His patience is demonstrated in the fact that Jesus walked into the temple, saw all of the evil that was going on, yet held His tongue and controlled His emotions by leaving for the night. As Mark would go on to describe, Jesus came back the next day to clean house.
LUKE 19:28-44
And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Luke’s account was also written to a non-Jewish audience – specifically one man named Theophilus. While Luke did not directly quote from or reference any Old Testament prophecy, he did record a statement Jesus made which implied Israel’s willful ignorance to the times and events which they were experiencing. Jesus basically said that Israel should have known about these things, but because they were unaware, they would be judged (19:42-44). What Christ was referring to was the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 in which the angel told Daniel exactly when the Messiah would arrive in Jerusalem.
In this passage, Luke recorded that the people were proclaiming Jesus as “the King who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Obviously, there were both believers and non-believers in this crowd because even some of the religious leaders were shouting for Jesus to rebuke His disciples for what they were saying. And yet, this was a rare event in which Jesus received public worship and praise from the people and stated that, if they had remained silent, then even the earth would begin crying out in worship.
This brings up another interesting point: the pronouncement of blessing upon Jesus is almost identical here as it was at the beginning of the book when Jesus was born. In Luke 2:13-14 a crowd of heavenly hosts proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” Whereas in Luke 19:38 a crowd of human hosts proclaimed, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
JOHN 12:12-19
On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. 16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.
As one of the Twelve, John was up close and personal to the Lord during His public ministry. He was writing to the Church, which is comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, and showing Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel, who is coming sacrificially into the world to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. He is the only one who stated what kind of “leafy branches” these were – they were palm branches. And the reason this is important to note is because in Leviticus 23 God gave the nation of Israel a certain number of festivals…all of which He revealed, over time, had prophetic implications.
At this time in Jesus’ ministry, the people were preparing for the Feast of Passover. Yet, because they brought out palm branches, they were acting as if it was the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths (Leviticus 23:40) which is the only festival where the people were specifically commanded to take and use palm branches in their time of celebration. Whereas Passover occurred at the beginning of the calendar year and looked forward to the ultimate sacrifice for sin, Booths occurred near the end of the year and looked forward to the arrival of all nations coming to Him in worship during His global reign as King.
This is why John pointed out that the religious leaders were worried that “the world has gone after Him.” Because both Jews and Gentiles were going out to see Him and were publicly proclaiming Him as the King of Israel, the Anointed of the LORD, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the Master over death, and the One to come whom all previous generations eagerly anticipated. God used His Triumphal Entry to present Jesus as King!
CONCLUSION
Jesus came to redeem the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike and, two-thousand years later, He hasn’t wavered in His mission. Today, He speaks through His Word to bring hope to a broken and hurting world. In the last week of His earthly ministry, of which the Triumphal Entry is the start, we see our Lord weep over the sin of His people, rebuke those doing evil, serve one who would betray Him, and pray to His Father. Let us each pray that the Lord would work in us to implement these four characteristics into our lives so that we might be used by Him to bring hope and Truth to the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cameron Neace is the pastor of Watermark Church. Born & raised in Missouri, he & Caitlin and their two cats, Pierogi & Poptart, have called Union home since 2023. In his free time, Cameron enjoys playing board games, writing, reading, & drinking coffee.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
Leave a Reply