Today, exactly one week from Easter Sunday, is the day often called ‘Palm Sunday’ and the beginning of Holy Week. Across many religions, this week is one that is considered sacred; it is known and respected as the week of Jesus’ Passion, trial, death, and resurrection. Though Jesus had been doing ministry for years before this event, it is seen as one of the highlights of His teaching and a telling sign of the impact He had during His life on earth. All four Gospel accounts record this event, signifying its importance.
The common themes in each account of the Triumphal Entry are twofold: Jesus rides a donkey and is blessed as the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
The authors of the gospels wanted to make it abundantly clear that in His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus Christ fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell the story (in detail) of Jesus bidding His disciples to get a donkey for Him to ride on. All four authors note that this was to fulfill Zechariah 9:9, which says, “behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey is one counter-cultural arrival for someone thought of as King. Though the prophecy claims Christ’s arrival would be mounted on humility, the Pharisees still thought of a warrior-king that would arrive in quaking thunder. By coming on the donkey, ‘the beast of burden,’ He embodied a lowly posture like no other King.
The beauty of the humility of Christ is that He had need of the donkey (Mk. 12:3). Seen here is a beautiful implication to the Christian life. Jesus so graciously invites the rejected to experience His glory. He makes an unrefusable offer to the carrier of many burdens, saying, “you too are the vehicle of my glory.” You, beaten down, feet worn into the dirt, are the one He chooses to use in a way that leaves everyone dumbfounded. Is this not the essence of salvation? That the most heavy-hearted, overlooked vessel is seen and known by God! He uses the lowly to show His glory. He uses the rejected to humble the prideful.
“The King is coming,” the crowd cries. Though riding the workhorse, the King arrived in the name of the Lord. A cultural anomaly occurred on the day that Christ entered Jerusalem. His ministry had spread and His teaching was taken to heart, causing the people to rejoice in the One that came in the name of God. The Pharisees appealed to Christ, telling Him to rebuke His followers for claiming this (Lk. 19:39). This shows that the Pharisees as well as Christ’s followers did not merely think of Him as an earthly king, but something more. They wanted Him to rebuke them for blasphemy, but His response is telling of who Christ truly is. He makes a powerful claim, saying, “if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40).
The Lordship of Christ is paramount for anything pertaining to Him. If He was not God, His death was the death of a hypocrite. If He was not Savior, everything following His death was some sort of illusion that means nothing today. But, because Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, the heavy heart has ample cause to rejoice in His Triumphal Entry, His jeering death, and His glorious resurrection.
The humility and Lordship of Jesus Christ are key attributes that truly infect everything that He did while on earth. As a humble servant, He entered Jerusalem, knowing the end of the road was an unjust death in the place of unjust people. As Lord of all, He has the power to turn even this injustice and torture into something salvific, something beautiful.
Rejoice today, for the King has come!
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