Palm Sunday, day of worship
Copyright 2012 by Bob Rogers
In ancient times, a victorious king would ride into a city on horseback. But Jesus was a different kind of king; He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The horse was a symbol of war. The donkey was a symbol of peace.
Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The people spread their cloaks on the road in front of Him, and waved branches. John’s gospel says they were palm branches (John 12:13). Mark 11:9-10 records their words of praise and worship as Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!…
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Posted on March 29, 2015, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
Bob Rogers 
The crowd that was celebrating Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem was the crowd that followed him as he approached the city. Thus Mk. 11:11 says, after telling about the crowd, that Jesus then entered Jerusalem. In Mt. 21:10, it adds that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred (“shaken,” as in an earthquake, the same word used in Mt. 2:3 for the reaction of King Herod and all Jerusalem when they heard the wise men say a new king had been born). So the response of Jerusalem is not to join the celebration of the crowd, but to ask suspiciously, “Who is this?” (Mt. 21:10). When the crowds see the reaction Jerusalem, they tone down their celebration of a “Son of David,” and answer the city’s question by saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Thus the celebration of a “triumphal entry” is actually more of a triumphal approach, that is confronted with a suspicious city when it enters the city.