It is Palm Sunday 2024. On this day we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But what is the victory being remembered?
Prior to entering Jerusalem for the final Pascha celebration during His earthly assignment, Jesus calls His disciples to commandeer a colt: “And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Lk. 19:35-38).[1]
Jesus’ riding into the city upon a colt, the disciples spreading their cloaks upon the ground, the mention of spreading out palm leaves upon the road in other gospels (cf. Matt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-11), present the image of a ruler or dignitary entering a city and being met by emissaries with praise and celebration. This regal imagery is underscored with Jesus’ followers shouting out: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk. 19:28). But there is more to the picture than meets the eye.
Luke never cites a chapter and verse but evidently Jesus’ actions fulfill the messianic prophecy spoken by Zechariah: “Behold, your king is coming to you; | righteous and having salvation is he, | humble and mounted on a donkey, | on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9).
Jesus enters the city not as a subjugator of nations but the Prince of Peace. New Testament scholar Leon Morris explains, “Now a king on an ass was distinctive. The ass was the mount of a man of peace, a merchant or a priest. A king might ride on an ass on occasion, but he would be more likely to appear on a mighty warhorse. Zechariah’s prophecy saw Messiah as the Prince of peace. The Galilean disciples, now steaming up to Jerusalem for the Passover, know that Jesus had done many mighty works. They had for a long time watched and waited for him to proclaim himself as the Messiah of their hopes. Now they saw him as doing so. He was riding into the capital in a way that fulfilled the prophecy. He was showing himself to be the Messiah. They did not stop to reflect that he was also proclaiming himself a man of peace and giving no countenance to their nationalistic fervour. They wanted a Messiah. And now they saw one.”[2]
Whatever misapprehensions the disciples had about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was carrying out His vocation as the long-awaited Messiah spoken about by the Old Testament prophets, such as Zechariah. Moreover, this was part of God’s unfolding plan of redemption, which involved coming to dwell in this world through the virgin’s womb as the man Christ Jesus of Nazareth, the incarnate Son of God. Christ death, resurrection, and ascension is the apex of God’s unfolding plan of redemption.
Christ’s victory did not come because He rose to power to military might; rather, He humbled Himself to the point of death, dying the death of a criminal. But it is through death that He conquered death. Death is the last enemy. Death is the wages of sin. But death is defeated by Christ.
Now this world needs transforming. Lots of stuff broken here. Sickness, suffering, and death are everywhere. Fallen people are doing unspeakable evils. The world is riddled with demons. Yet, bloody revolution never is the solution. Most often rebels just exchange one dictator for another.
But God has come to dwell with us, and He is redeeming us through and through. God is here to transform or transfigure us into the likeness of Christ. This transformation begins at the cross. Only through the transformative power of the cross will we ever experience the world as a better place, the place God meant it to be. Moreover, Christ will appear again a second time to set things to right. He is our hope of resurrection — immortal, imperishable, incorruptible.
Palm Sunday remembers Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, for it anticipates the great victory that Christ would accomplish upon the cross in bringing God’s unfolding plan of redemption to fruition.
— WGN
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), 305
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