The Triumphal Entry
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which occurs about a week before His Passion and Resurrection. It is mentioned in all 4 gospels.
Lazarus and the Aftermath
Jesus was in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem, where He had raised Lazarus just a few days before. The family joined him at a celebratory dinner! Yes, Lazarus was just fine by then. A number of people from Bethany soon headed out to Jerusalem themselves for the Passover. Many of them hurried the 2 miles to talk about Lazarus’s resurrection. Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (John 11:45-46)
And the Sanhedrin weren’t happy about it at all! People who had been at Lazarus’ wake spread the news around Jerusalem that Jesus was the Messiah. (John 11:45) So the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, which consisted of the Pharisees and Sadducees, some of whom were also priests. Caiaphas was the high priest at that time, serving from 18-36 AD. He was the son-in-law of Annas who had been deposed by the Romans in 15 AD. The high priesthood was supposed to be for life but the Romans often deposed the high priest. If Caiaphas lasted as long as he did, it was because he got along just fine with the Empire!
People complained that “everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:48) Apparently none of them considered that may Jesus was telling the truth. Not when it meant losing their status, positions, maybe their very lives. But the members of the Sanhedrin were the foremost leaders of the Jewish faith in the world!
Now Caiaphas speaks and he prophesies without knowing it! “Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. (John 11:49-52)
So from then on, they plotted how to kill Jesus. They had tried to do it before but they hadn’t organized it really. This time they made plans. They even, according to the Biblical account, planned to assassinate Lazarus! And these guys were the religious leaders of the nation of God!
The Donkey
Before Jesus left Bethany, he sent His disciples to arrange for the loan of a young donkey that had not yet been ridden. The prophet Zechariah had prophesied this day: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech. 9:9)
John the apostles quoted part of it when he told us about Jesus riding on the donkey: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” (John 12:15)
Why a donkey? Because the warlike horse was the symbol of chariots, generals and conquering armies. Jesus would have looked like a military hero riding in on a warhorse. But a donkey was a symbol of peace and patience in this culture, and kings might ride the donkey if their message was peace and not war. This is why we say that Jesus came to the city as the Prince of Peace in the book of Isaiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6)
The Mount of Olives
Once his disciples got the donkey for him, Jesus rode the animal for 2 miles from Bethany, and stopped on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. Here he delivered a prophecy that likely refers to the upcoming fall of Jerusalem to Rome. This would happen less than 40 years later, in 70 AD. In 66 AD, Jewish rebels would succeed in taking the city and expelling the Romans. By the way, this is exactly what most Jews believed the Messiah was supposed to do. But Rome besieged Jerusalem for 4 years, and in 70 AD entered the city and destroyed most of it, including Herod’s Temple. Jesus said, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:41-44)
The location of the Mount of Olives is particularly significant because it is the hill on which the Lord as Conqueror will wage His battles in the Last Days when Jesus comes again. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zech. 14:4)
The Gate
Jesus then descended the road from the Mount of Olives and rode through Jerusalem’s eastern gate – the very gate that its kings rode through when they came home victorious from battle. To ride from the east was to follow the path of the rising sun.
Hallelujah!
Why did the people cover Jesus’ path in branches and cloaks? It was a Near Eastern custom to cover the pathway of a king or other highly honored visitor. The type of branch had a special meaning in Israel since the palm branch was a symbol of the greatness of God and His abundant gifts to His people, the book of Leviticus holds a command about celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles: “On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.” (Leviticus 23:40) The fact that the people spread palm branches before this man who was NOT an earthly king is extremely significant. They were both saying that he WAS their king, and that as a prophet and as Messiah he was the representative of God.
Jerusalem was crowded with Passover pilgrims. We estimate that during Passover week 300,000-400,000 Jewish pilgrims visited Jerusalem. Not every single one would have lined the parade path but Jesus and the resurrection of Lazarus was the hot topic of the day, and a lot of people would have been there. Most of them lay down their cloaks and small branches of trees to cover His path. They sang or chanted part of Psalms 118. Verse 26 reads: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.” (Ps. 118:26)
And let’s read the verse that immediately follows that one: “The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. (Ps. 118:27)
During the Triumphal Entry, many of the Jews there believed He was the Messiah, which of course He was. THAT is what they were celebrating. They believed He would be the military Savior, the one who would throw off the rule of the Romans! That’s what they thought when He entered the city that day. How fast they would turn on Him in just a few days! Jesus knew that too, knew that the very same crowd that was cheering for him would be screaming “Crucify him!” just days from then.
The Cleansing of the Temple
So here was Jesus riding on a donkey as the King bringing peace and not war. But what did he do next? WENT INTO THE TEMPLE AND DROVE OUT THE MONEY CHANGERS!
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” [Jn 2:13–16]
Picture the scene: The Jerusalem temple was also called Herod’s Temple, 46 years in the making by this date. The courtyard was filled with birds and animals ready for sacrifice and the money changer’s tables. The reason they were there is that it was against Temple law to use coins with graven images on them to buy the sacrificial animals. The money changers exchanged the travelers’ Greek and Roman money for Jewish coins, and of course made a tidy profit doing so. Imagine this scene with hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire come for Passover. It must have looked like hell to man and beast, and was NOT what God mean when He commanded sacrifices for sin!
And it made Jesus really, really angry. This is what we have to understand. Jesus comes in peace but only as a righteous king offers peace to rebels. Those who accept his command and are obedient
Of course we know what happens next, and we will mourn over it on Good Friday and rejoice over it on Easter Sunday. And one day, the Triumphal Entry will happen again, not just with the Jews but with Jews and Gentiles; everyone who believed in Christ and was saved. From the book of Revelation:
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9)