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It was the first day of the week, and the crowd was enthusiastically welcoming Jesus into the city.(1) Most of the people spread their garments or branches on the road before Him. Everyone appeared to love Jesus! Well, maybe not everyone. But, at that moment, you would have thought everyone did by the way the crowd was acting.
Scholars estimate there could have been as many as two million people in and around Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover that year. The celebration always brought pilgrims to Jerusalem. But the crowd was unusually large that day. The people knew that Jesus always came to Jerusalem for the religious festivals, and they knew that Passover would be no exception. Thus, large numbers had come for the express purpose of seeing Jesus. Many had traveled down from Galilee, having witnessed the miracles He performed there. His fame and notoriety had spread throughout Judea as well, particularly after He raised Lazarus from the dead.(2) The people were looking forward to seeing Jesus perform more miracles.
But most of them were blinded to the truth of who Jesus really was. They were blinded by the teachings of their religious leaders. Instead of pointing the people to the truth of the Word, they had pointed the people to their man-made traditions.(3) The leaders had become less interested in the truth and more interested in protecting their own self-interests of position, power and prestige. And the people themselves were also blinded by their own selfish desires – desiring only what Jesus could do for them.
Those very desires are what prompted them to cry out, “Hosanna!” This Hebrew word means “Save Now!” They were quoting from Psalm 118:25-26: “Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.” But their emphasis was on themselves! Save us! Give us success! Do this for us! And they lavished Him with praise, welcoming the Miracle Worker into their midst, expecting to be rewarded by His miracles.
i fear we might often be just like that crowd. We love Jesus when everything is going well, or when we anticipate Him doing something miraculous for us. But when difficulty comes our way, or the miracle doesn’t happen, our love for Jesus begins to fade.
Jesus had planned for that particular day – from before the beginning of time. That day was the only time in the ministry of Jesus that He planned and promoted a public demonstration. Up until then, He had deliberately avoided public scenes. But now, the defining moment of time and space had arrived. Up until now, each time Jesus had entered Jerusalem, He had done so unobtrusively through the “sheep gate”. But on this day, He entered conspicuously as King through the “Golden Gate” (also known as the “Eastern Gate”).
It is worthy to note that when He returns, He will again enter Jerusalem from the east. Though men have now sealed up the current eastern gate and made it humanly impassable, one day all of those man-made “barricades” will fall away, and the gates will open to our returning King!
Jesus had not only planned this day from eternity past, He had also planned for it the previous time He was in Jerusalem. He had made arrangements for a donkey and its colt to be available. The keeper of the animals was to expect two of His disciples, and have everything ready for them. Everything was to be as the prophet Zechariah had recorded: Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.(4)
And yet, Zechariah was writing simultaneously about two different occurrences when Jesus would enter into Jerusalem. The portion of the verse that i have emboldened relates to this entry into Jerusalem as we see quoted in Matthew 21. On that day, the crowd was not witnessing the arrival of their victorious, judging King. The triumph had not yet occurred. It was still a few days away. They were welcoming the arrival of their saving King. A donkey’s colt was the royal animal of Jewish monarchs. It symbolized Jesus’s station as King. But it was also a symbol of peace – the peace and the salvation that He was bringing to all people. It was a picture of Jesus, the humble Savior and Servant. He was presenting Himself as King, approaching His cross – not as a victim – but as the coming Victor.
Bear in mind, Zechariah is also giving us a glimpse of Jesus’ triumphal entry on the day still yet to come when He returns. The portion of the verse i have underlined speaks to the day which is yet to come – the day He will return in triumph and victory – a day that is rapidly drawing near!
On the day we now call Palm Sunday, His time had arrived. The “spontaneous” demonstration of praise and accolades from the people frightened the leaders and left them to conclude if they did not destroy Jesus now, they would be destroyed. Jesus was forcing the religious leaders to act now, in the time and way He had chosen. Don’t lose sight of the fact that He was in complete control of what was about to unfold. No, everyone did not love Jesus, but by this act of obedience to the Father, the Father and the Son both demonstrated their love for each and every one in the crowd – as well as each and every one of us.
Jesus knew what was in the minds and hearts of everyone in the crowd, and each one of the religious leaders. He knew that the shouts of praise today would turn into shouts to crucify Him in just a matter of days. He was no more disillusioned or distracted by the shouts of praise than He would be by the shouts that He be crucified. That’s an important lesson for us to grasp. If we are following Jesus, there will be days that we are experiencing the adulation, praise, and “love” from the crowd. Those are the days that are easier to experience – but don’t be deceived by them. Because, if we truly are following Jesus in obedience, we will encounter days when many of that same crowd turn against us. If they did it to Jesus, why should we expect anything different?
But don’t lose sight that regardless of how the crowd acted, Jesus loved them. He loved them from the back of a donkey’s colt, and He loved them from the vantage point of His cross. As you take up the cross and follow Him, ask Him to give you that same love for the crowd around you, no matter what your vantage point is today. That kind of love doesn’t exist within us apart from Him. But ask Him to position your heart so that He can love them through you.
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This post is adapted from Taking Up The Cross, chapter 1, entitled “Everyone Loves Him”. This fifth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print and for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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(1) Matthew 21:1-11
(2) John 12:17-18
(3) Luke 11:52
(4) Zechariah 9:9
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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