DAY 1: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Scripture Passage: Luke 19:28-40

 

HOLY WEEK TIMELINE:

ON PALM SUNDAY:
• JESUS ENTERED JERUSALEM RIDING A DONKEY (MATTHEW 21:1-11).
• JESUS WEPT FOR JERUSALEM (LUKE 19:41-44).
• HE VISITED THE TEMPLE AND RETURNED TO BETHANY (MARK 11:11).

 

 

We don’t know what it’s like to have a king. After all, we live in a democracy, not a monarchy. We live in a country, not a kingdom. However, we know what it’s like when one of the most powerful leaders in the world comes to town.

 

Even if we don’t live somewhere the President has ever visited in person; we’ve at least seen it online or on the news or in movies. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into that kind of visit. Streets are barricaded and shutdown. His armored car is just one in a vast motorcade escorted by police and secret service. People line the streets on both sides trying to catch a glimpse of him, some of them cheering, others shouting. It creates quite the scene.

Now, compare that scene with the one described in Luke 19. Read Luke 19:28-40. When we pick up the story in verse 28, we find Jesus completing a journey that began ten chapters ago when He determined to go to Jerusalem and fulfill the purpose for which He had come to earth in the first place (Luke 9:51). He knew full well that once He entered the gates of that city, He would set off a chain of events that would ultimately lead to His death. Yet His resolve didn’t waver. He never had the urge to flee, to try to escape. He simply put one foot in front of the other. But there were still some things that needed to be prepared.

 

Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead to secure a young donkey He could ride for the journey’s final leg. He didn’t need to do this because He was tired or His feet hurt. Actually, what He did was to fulfill a prophecy that revealed to everyone around Him just who He was. This prophecy is found in Zechariah 9:9:

 

When Jesus mounted that colt and rode into the Holy City, He revealed Himself as a king, but not just any king. He demonstrated that He was THE King, the Messiah, the One sent from God the Father to deliver and reign over His people. He was a righteous King, meaning He was perfectly right and good and just, yet along with His rightness and goodness and justness, He also brought with Him salvation for everyone who hadn’t been able to prove themselves righteous (which, if you’re keeping score, is all of us).

 

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He drew a crowd. Some were His followers, who fulfilled the first part of Zechariah’s prophecy with their rejoicing, praising Jesus as King, and exalting the peace and glory He alone could bring to all people. Luke wrote that these followers praised God “for all the mighty works they had seen,” works like feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21), healing the disabled (Luke 5:17-39), casting out demons (Mark 5:1-20), and raising Lazarus from the dead ( John 11:1-44). Of course, if they found all that impressive, in just a week, they were about to be blown away by the power of God in Jesus Christ.

 

This story is often called “The Triumphal Entry,” but no one present that day fully understood the triumph over sin and death Jesus was about to accomplish.

 

Still, it wasn’t all cheering and celebration. Jesus had His haters, too, and some of them confronted Him about what all His followers were saying. These religious leaders thought Jesus should silence His followers. These leaders didn’t see Jesus as their king, much less the Promised King. But Jesus let them know it didn’t matter what they thought. He was who He was. They may not have known it, but all of creation did, and if His followers didn’t give Him the worship He alone deserved, then the rocks would.

 

Jesus was the King promised to bring righteousness and salvation, and He still is.

 

THINK ABOUT IT:
What are some of the opinions about Jesus you hear from people today?
What does it mean for you to know Jesus as King?
How will you praise Him for who He is today?