The Triumphal Entry! Without question, in my humble opinion, this particular Sunday is one of the most adrenalin-pumping scenes in the Bible. With many wondering if He would even show at all…here He comes…and what a scene He causes. With estimates ranging from 1 million people all the way up to 2.7 million-according to the Jewish historian, Josephus, and equally mind-numbing number of lambs, over 250,000 according to many sources, being herded into Jerusalem to celebrate and observe Passover, trying to even picture the scene shared by all four Gospel writers is almost too much to take in. Of course, as Christians we preach and “amen” the grand event. Palm branches are often displayed in our worship services. Bible verses or songs with “Hosanna” are often sought out for the occasion. Hollywood has even thrown their hat into the ring and given us several movies that bring the verses to life…and yet, even with their best efforts, the scene is almost too much…too big. Though we are blessed to have input from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on this moment in the life of Christ, we are still left in awe of something would almost seem like a positive moment for Jesus and his disciples. He is received and welcomed in such a way that we might say they “rolled out the red carpet” for Him. But this warm reception on Sunday would not last long. Jesus knew this. Though it’s difficult to consider, the reality is it would seem He was the only One in the huge crowd who truly knew and understood what was coming. I have tried for years to imagine what that must have felt like.

The purpose of my blog is not to dissect or break open every thought associated with every day of this all-important week. My goal is to get you to think about the week Jesus experienced before He went to the cross on the early hours of “this coming Friday morning.” I discovered years ago that looking at things on a day-by-day basis opened up my understanding in a much more personal way of what my Lord went through to secure salvation for His people. This week is not just an important week in the life of Jesus. It is in an important week in our Bibles. The four Gospels combined contain 89 chapters. Nearly 1/3 of those chapters are dedicated to this final week in the life of Christ. That, alone, makes them important. The first day of that precious and important week is Sunday…today. We call it Palm Sunday.

This generation is blessed with a significant number of study Bibles that do a wonderful job of providing us with charts and maps, along with Bible verses to collaborate their findings that almost make my blog idea obsolete. I guess you could say I’m writing it because I like thinking about it and I like sharing these things with you…with hopes they will help, encourage, or possibly even bless you by asking you to think about more than just the cross on Friday or the resurrection next Sunday. Certainly, one thing to remember are the words of Jesus as He prepared for this trip to Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all list 3 references each where Jesus speaks rather plainly about what is going to happen to Him once He gets to Jerusalem (Matt. 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19, Mark 8:31, 9:30-32, 10:32-34, Luke 9:21-22, 43b-45, 18:31-34). But we know now the disciples were not able to understand the words of their Master. The weight of them was simply too much.

As this day began for our Lord, many things were already underway. A literal frenzy had taken place after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11. This miracle had made Jesus (and Lazarus) the talk of the town(s). As Jesus made His way towards Jerusalem, two crowds were meeting up. On one hand, you had the crowd from Bethany who had turned out in abundance to see Lazarus…the man who had been dead for 4 days, but was now walking around. Everyone wanted to see him for themselves, in addition to Jesus. On the other hand, you had the folks in Jerusalem who, according to John’s Gospel, were wondering if Jesus would even show up at since the chief priests had already decided they wanted to kill them both (John 11:53, 12:10). As word reached Jerusalem that Jesus was on His way, they began to run out to see Him. The result was a crowd the size of something most of us today have never seen ourselves. Yet this was the crowd Jesus walked with and into. Again, all four Gospels record this entry: Matt 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:29-44, and John 12:12-19.

This Passover crowd was filled with Messianic expectation. Jesus intentionally meets their expectations. On Sunday morning, as He and His disciples are on the Mount of Olives, He sends two messengers to Bethphage/Bethany, instructing them to bring a donkey and a colt on which He will sit as He makes His entrance…fulfilling the Messianic prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. This verse states clearly that Israel’s future king would come riding on the foal of a donkey…and by copying Solomon’s entrance into Jerusalem when he was declared king, the statement is made. As He makes His way towards Jerusalem, the crowd begins its actions of spreading their robes and palm branches and vocally acknowledging Him as their Davidic king: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (Psalm 118:25-26)

It’s not hard to see how the “frenzy” takes over. Many commentary writers suggest that many there that day began to scream and shout without really knowing what they were screaming about. One thing is certain…some in the crowd were openly claiming Jesus, instead of Caesar, as their king. Matthew and Luke record that the Pharisees instructed Jesus to rebuke the crowds for their dangerous cries that could have brought swift punishment from the Romans as Caesar would not allow a rival king of any kind within the empire. But Jesus refuses to silence their cries. Without question, our studies of this event over the centuries have led us to conclude the crowd’s understanding of what kind of king Jesus actually was…was wrong. Their understanding of the Messiah was a nationalistic and political leader…a conquering king would throw off the oppression of the Roman Empire and restore Israel to a world power with her own king. They did not understand the true Messiah, the true Passover Lamb, had far greater intentions. Jesus had not come to defeat the Romans…He had come to defeat sin…and to do that, He would have to die…just as He had foretold the disciples…three times. Another thing to remember about this event that is really important…after this grand entrance into the city and the events associated with it, there is no turning back. What is done cannot be undone. Just remember this is on purpose. The time had come…it was now underway.

Before the day comes to an end, Jesus has an encounter with a group of Greeks in John 12:20-36 in which He again predicts His impending death. John does not record what the Greeks ask Jesus specifically, but Jesus’ answer predicts His death and describes it as His purpose for coming into the world in John 12:27. A voice from heaven affirms God’s commitment to glorify His name through the coming death of Jesus in verses 28-29. John is the only Gospel that records this interaction and is a good read for all of us.

The day closes with Jesus going into the Temple and looking around for an unspecified amount of time, according to Mark 11:11. Mark states the hour was late. Then Jesus and the Twelve head back to Bethany for the night. The next day, Monday, will be a big day for Jesus.