SOUNDING OUT:
Jesus’ First Entry into Jerusalem
This is Palm Sunday on the Liturgical
Calendar. If you grew up in the church like I did you
may remember Palm Sunday as the Sunday before Easter
when Jesus made his “Triumphal Entry” into
Jerusalem. The next two weeks we are going to look carefully
at the Gospels and we’ll find that Jesus entered
Jerusalem on Friday the 9th of Nisan, in
judgment, and a second time on Saturday the tenth of
Nisan, in blessing. Although the two entries are similar
in many respects, they are not identical. Understanding
the Eastern customs surrounding each of the two entries
will also allow us to determine the Biblical significance
of these similar events and better appreciate God’s
plan of redemption and salvation.
John, Luke, and Mark each record the first entry
of Jesus on Friday, the 9th of Nisan. These three records
complement each other with no contradictions. They are
individual records of an identical event, the first
entry into Jerusalem on Friday the 9th of
Nisan when Jesus entered on a single ass’ colt.
John 12:12,13
On the next day [9th of Nisan] 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.
Hosanna was a greeting
which meant, “save now!” or “please
save!” It came to be a shout of praise wishing
safety and prosperity to the one greeted. We find it
also in Psalms 118.
Psalm 118:25,26
Save now [Hosanna], I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD,
I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh
[the coming one] in the name of the LORD: we have blessed
you out of the house of the LORD.
John 12:14,15
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 [one animal].
This is a partial quote
of Zechariah 9:9 not completely fulfilled until the
second entry.
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter
of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon
an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
John 12:16-18
These things understood [ginõskõ]
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 [were
testifying].
18 For this cause [On account
of this] the people also met him, for that they heard
that he had done this miracle.
At the time of Jesus’
first entry, the disciples who had witnessed Lazarus’
being raised from the dead spread this news to the people
who were in Jerusalem.
John 12:19
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive
ye how ye prevail [profit] nothing? behold, the world
is gone after him.
Look at their jealousy;
everyone except these Pharisees seemed enthralled with
this great miracle worker. The rest of the chapter records
events that occurred sometime between the 9th of Nisan
and the last supper on the 13th of Nisan.
Let’s look next at the account in Mark.
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,
This is a detail not included
in John. This is an example of scripture build-up or
narrative development. Mark adds more details, but none
of them contradict any of the other identical accounts.
Mark 11:2
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.
The phrase “whereon
never man sat” dealt with ownership. It was a
temple animal stabled on the outskirts of town to be
used in God’s service.
Mark 11:3-8
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. [That’s why the temple animals
were there.]
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.
The Eastern custom was
to spread garments before the king displaying great
honor and esteem. We see this in II Kings.
II Kings 9:13
Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and
put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew
with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
In the Eastern culture
palm branches represented joy and triumph:
Leviticus 23:40
And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of
goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs
of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall
rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
Joel 1:12
The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth;
the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple
tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered:
because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Mark 11:9-11
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.
Luke also records this
first entry on Friday the 9th of Nisan.
Luke 19:29,30
And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage
and Bethany, [This was on the 9th of Nisan.]
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.
Jesus didn’t help
himself to someone else’s private property. This
was a temple animal and that’s how it was supposed
to be used.
Luke 19:31-35
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 [This is the word kurios
not just used of ownership, but also of one who had
the care and control of the animal.] 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.
On this first entry into
Jerusalem, only one animal was involved. This Eastern
custom of riding on an ass’ colt was indicative
of judgment. Looking at previous uses makes this very
clear. At one time Israel was ruled by judges who rode
on white asses’ colts.
Judges 5:10
Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment,
and walk by the way.
Judges 10:3,4
And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel
twenty and two years.
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts,
and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair
unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
Judges 12:13,14
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite,
judged Israel.
And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode
on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel
eight years.
Luke 19:36-40
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. [They hated it when people were happy.
They wanted Jesus to rebuke his disciples from making
such joyous commotion.]
40 And he answered and said
unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their
peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
This is the figure of
speech personification. The excitement in the
crowd was electrifying. The common people loved Jesus.
The figure of speech was used to show that there was
no way to stop their joyous response.
Luke 19:41
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept
over it [Wailed aloud!]
As Jesus beheld the city
from the western slope of the Mount of Olives he sobbed.
His heart was rent for Jerusalem as he announced God’s
judgment and prophesied of her destruction.
Luke 19:42-44
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 [episkopê].
“Visitation”
is the Greek word episkopê meaning “inspection,
overlooking,” as in judgment. Jerusalem and its
inhabitants did not realize that this was the day Jesus
would assess and pass judgment. That was the significance
of his first entry into the city. These accounts in
John, Mark, and Luke describe Jesus’ first entry
into Jerusalem on Friday the 9th of Nisan.
He came in as a judge riding only on an ass’ colt.
By the end of the day, the judgment of Jerusalem’s
destruction having been passed and Jesus Christ having
“looked round about upon all things” in
the temple, returned to Bethany with his apostles where
he was abiding at the time. Multitudes of people in
Jerusalem had joyously joined Jesus’ disciples
in acclaim of him that day. The religious leaders were
upset and rekindled their determination to rid themselves
of this menace from Nazareth. The man from Galilee had
boldly entered Jerusalem and the Temple in judgment
despite threats of death from the religious leaders.
Next week we will look at Matthew’s account
of the second entry.
|
