Jesus was “going up to Jerusalem” (Lk. 19:28). [1] This was a pivotal moment for the Lord’s earthly messianic vocation. The prediction of His betrayal, death, and resurrection would soon take place (Lk. 9:21-22, 43-45; 18:31-34). This arrival of the Lord in Jerusalem is often referred to as the triumphal entry. Moreover, the occasion of the triumphal entry is remembered each Palm Sunday, which is set the week before Easter. The Gospel of Luke narrates both celebration and lamentation taking place upon the occasion of Jesus’ triumphal entry. Why the celebration? What moved Jesus to mourn?
When the Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany, He tasked two of His disciples with fetching a colt. The Lord instructs them, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it’” (Lk. 19:30-31). The two disciples carry out the task, and everything happens as the Lord described. They found the colt, untied it, the owner asked why, they responded that the Lord needed it, the owner contributed the colt (Lk. 19:32-34). The owner was likely acquainted with Jesus and willing to lend his beast of burden.[2]
Jesus acquires the colt for it is His intention to ride into Jerusalem. He sought to make a noticeable entrance. But His arrival would coincide with the completion of His earthly ministry, which involved His betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection on the third day (Lk. 9:21-22, 43-45; 18:31-34).
The King Approaches Riding a Donkey: The disciples then place their cloaks upon the colt to make a saddle to sit upon, the Lord mounts the coat, and rides up to Jerusalem (Lk. 19:35). Cloaks were even spread upon the way that Jesus and colt traversed (Lk. 19:36). This serves as a make-shift “red carpet” treatment.
John mentions crowds going out to meet Jesus carrying “branches from palm trees” (Jn. 12:13). Mark and Matthew mention some members of the crowd cutting leafy branches from trees and spreading them upon the route Jesus rode (Mk. 11:8; Matt. 21:8). Leafy palm branches continue to be used in Christian worship on Palm Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week.
But Jesus riding on a colt into Jerusalem alludes to the words of the ancient prophet 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; cf. Jn. 12:15). Unlike military leaders who entered cities on war horses, Jesus enters on a donkey, signifying the “reception of a meek and peaceful king.”[3] Christ thus rides into the city in peace, and meekness rather than conquest.
Praising the King: Near the Mount of Olives multitude of Jesus’ disciples began to shout: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Lk. 19:38a). Their praises derive from Psalm 118:26—a song traditionally associated with Messianic expectation. Darrel Bock indicates, “The use of the psalm is significant, because in Jewish worship it was seen ultimately as celebrating God’s plan. One day the one greeted as coming in the Lord’s name would be Messiah…The psalm was used in the Feast of Tabernacles for just this reason.”[4]
The crowds also shouted: “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk. 19:38b; cf. Psalm 148:1), “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Mk. 11:9; cf. Matt. 21:9), and “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk. 11:9, 10; cf. Matt. 21:9). The title “King of Israel” was also pronounced (Jn. 12:13). The titles of the Son of David and King of Israel being attributed to Jesus connects Him to the long-awaited Messiah spoken about by the ancient Old Testament prophets.
Among those in the crowds were those who witnessed and/or heard about Jesus’ raising up of Lazarus (Jn. 12:17-18).
The rightful king arrives in Jerusalem. He is close to accomplishing the defining moment of His administration — fulfilling the central work of God’s plan of redemption — it is the right moment to celebrate.
Rejection of the King: Now the Pharisees in the crowd interjected: “Teacher, rebuke your disciples” (Lk. 19:39). They took offense to the display and demand that the Lord stifle those giving praise. But Jesus responds: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40). The imagery of inanimate rocks shouting praises to the Lord illustrates how the crowd’s homage to Christ befitted the occasion. The moment called for voices of praise, and if humans gifted with the capacity to shout out praises were silenced, then the voiceless stones would have to do so.
The chief priests and scribes witnessed the wonderful works of Jesus, and seeing children cry out “Hosana to the Son of David!” made them indignant. (Matt. 11:16).
The Pharisees, scribes, and priests represented those among the crowd who rejected and opposed Jesus. They were unwilling to follow the Christ. They would soon collaborate to bring about the Lord’s crucifixion. Their rightful king just arrived, but the arrival only made them indignant.
Lamenting the City: Despite the crowd’s excitement, Jesus sees beyond the momentary praise to the spiritual blindness that had overtaken the people of Jerusalem. The Lord begins to weep as He nears Jerusalem: “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk. 19:42). He laments that the city does not recognize the true path to peace—found only in Him.
Matthew also recalls Jesus condemning the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocritical imposing of strict religious burdens on others while failing to uphold true righteousness themselves. The Lord pronounced a series of woes against them, criticizing their obsession with outward appearances, legalistic traditions, and rejection of God’s messengers, which aligns them with those who killed the prophets — from Abel to Zechariah son of Barachiah (Matt. 23:2–36). Christ solemnly warns that such arrogance and blindness leads ruin. How He yearned to gather them together, as a mother hen gathers her chicks, but they refused to respond to His call.
Jesus then utters an ominous portent: “For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Lk. 19:43-44). This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Roman army besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, leaving the temple in ruins. For the Pharisees and others who rejected the Christ, the coming calamity to befall Jerusalem would inaugurate them into eternity apart from God and the coming final judgment into perdition.
Jesus’ lament underscores the consequences of rejecting Him. William Hendriksen explains,
Those who in every way reject Jesus are committing a crime, but those who outwardly “accept” and cheer him are also doing him a gross injustice, for they do not accept him for what he really is. Their tragic mistake is committed with dire results for themselves. It is not surprising therefore that Luke pictures a weeping King in the midst of a shouting multitude (19:39–44), nor is it strange that, a little later, when the crowds begin to understand that Jesus is not the kind of Messiah they had expected, they, at the urging of their leaders, are shouting, “Crucify (him)!”[5]
Despite Christ offer of peace, the city remains blind to its own eventual destruction. This passage serves as a warning: ignoring the time of God’s visitation results in judgment. It also highlights Christ’s compassion—though He foresees their rejection, He weeps for them. His heart remains tender even towards those who refuse Him.
Conclusion: The King of kings and Lord of lords has arrived. Do we welcome Him with genuine faith, or are we indignant of the very notion? Jesus continues to call individuals to recognize the time of His visitation—to accept Him as the Prince of Peace. The choice remains: will we join in the true worship of the King, or will we, like Jerusalem, miss the moment of salvation? As we remember Palm Sunday and Christ’s lament, may we not only rejoice in His coming but also heed His call to recognize and embrace His peace before it is too late.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Coincidently, Mark mentions the colt had never been ridden (Mk. 11:2), and Matthew indicates the colt had been tethered to its mother during the ride (Matt. 21:2). Gleason Archer indicates: “What was the point of involving the she-ass in this transaction? A moment’s reflection will bring out the fact that if the foal had never yet been ridden (and that was an important factor for the sake of the symbolism), then he probably was still dependent on his mother psychologically or sentimentally, even though he may have been completely weaned by this time. It simply made it an easier operation if the mother donkey were led along down the road towards the city gate; then the foal would naturally follow her, even though he had never before carried a rider and had not yet been trained to follow a roadway” (Gleason L. Archer, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan’s Understand the Bible Reference Series [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982], 334).
[3] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 19:35.
[4] Darrell Bock, Luke: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, vol. 3, ed. Grant R. Osborne, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 313.
[5] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke, vol. 11, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 873.
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