The Triumphal Entry
Why it is Triumphal.
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Today we celebrate the day we call Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. It’s called Palm Sunday because the people of Jerusalem greeted Jesus laying Palm branches and clothes in front of Him as He entered the city on a donkey fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah Zechariah9:9 that he prophesied some 450 - 500 years before. Palm Sunday marks the start of what is often called Passion Week, the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the beginning of the end of Jesus’ work on earth.
I remember growing up in church as a child and it would be Palm Sunday and we were all given Palm branches and were told to wave them in the air in celebration of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then we were told the history of Jesus going into the Temple turning over the money changers tables and declaring that the House of the Lord is a House of Prayer and they made it a Den of Thieves. Then we are told about the Last Supper, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, Jesus’ arrest, how Peter denied Him 3 times before the cock crowed, the scourging, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although all of that is true and is the Gospel it is very basic and is the Sunday School understanding of the Triumphal entry, passion week, the death, burial, and resurrection.
So often we settle for the Sunday school understanding of the Word of God, but there should come a point in time where we desire the sincere milk of the Word of God. Hebrews 5:13 – 14 says, “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”.
Today it is my desire to dive deep into the Triumphal Entry and feast upon the sincere meat of the Word of God and leaving the milk. I want to expound upon several aspects of the Triumphal Entry such as the Route Jesus traveled, the Colt/Donkey, the Reaction of the people, the Day Jesus entered Jerusalem, and the Saying. In so doing open up peoples understanding to why Jesus entry was so triumphal.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURE: - Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44 & John 12:12-19. All four gospels mention the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Understand the triumphal entry was preparation for Passover Week, His death, burial, and resurrection. However, everything Jesus did had and does has a purpose and meaning although sometimes the meaning or the behind-the-scenes understanding is not immediately known until will study the Word of God.
DEFINITION: - Triumphal is to carry out, to celebrate, to be victorious.
THE ROUTE: - Matthew 21 & Mark 11 both say, “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives”.
As they approached Jerusalem, they came close to Bethphage, which means “house of unripe figs,” and Bethany, which means “a house of sorrow” and the Mount of Olives.
UNDERSTAND: - Know that whenever Jesus did or does something there is always a purpose and a meaning associated with it. The mentioning of Bethpage, Bethany and Mount of Olives is not just a random mentioning of the geography of the land. Just over 1000 years earlier in approximately 975 B.C. King David was rejected by Israel and driven into exile by his son Absalom. In 2 Samuel 15 Absalom plotted against his father along with David’s adviser Ahithophel and they rebelled against King David. Absalom won the hearts of the people and David had no choice but to flee for his life. David left Jerusalem and those that decided to follow him, but he left his 10 concubines to keep the house. They journeyed east from Jerusalem crossing the Kidron Valley then ascended the Mount of Olives to begin the exile across the Jordan River, the Bible says they were a little pass the top of Mount Olives which would put them in the vicinity of Bethpage and Bethany. When Ziba, a servant of Mephibosheth met David and gave him a couple of asses some food and wine. So, we have David the King that has been rejected by Israel travels from Jerusalem through the Kidron Valley up the Mount of Olives and crosses the Jordan River in exile. When Jesus comes to Jerusalem, He travels in reverse the route that David the anointed King of Israel traveled when he was rejected by the people. Jesus traveled cross the Jordan, near Bethpage and Bethany, up the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and into Jerusalem, so triumphantly Jesus is reversing what the people did over 1000 years earlier.
The Colt: - It is at the Mount of Olives when Jesus sends two of His disciples and said to them: “Go into the village opposite, and when you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it”. So, Jesus sends two of His disciples to the village, which was probably Bethphage, the house of unripe figs – wine is made from figs. He said, “You walk into that village, and you’re going to find a colt that’s tied up that has never been ridden, and you untie it, and you bring it to me”. Now that sounds almost like Jesus is telling them to steal something however that is surely not the case - remember Ziba gave David a couple of asses when He was rejected by Israel, 1). Jesus is reversing what was done over 1000 years earlier. Remember when Jesus does something there is always a purpose and meaning. 2). Jesus is consciously fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, where on more than one occasion the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah said that the Messiah would enter the city riding on a donkey for example: - Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! 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”. 3). Very Important: - In the ancient world, including Israel, they had a concept of eminent domain. However, one of the prerogatives of the king was to commandeer a beast of burden whenever he needed it. Mark 11:3 says, “And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither”.
WATCH THIS: - Riding a donkey fulfilled prophecy but it also symbolized humility, emphasizing that Jesus came not as a conquering warrior but as the Prince of Peace. Unlike a war horse, a donkey represented gentleness, servanthood, and reconciliation.
Now this was a colt that had never been ridden, the donkeys, just like the horses, have to be broken in order to become functional beasts of burden. Jesus said the colt has never been ridden, it wasn’t custom to traditions, it wasn’t used to what it was supposed to do, it didn’t operate the way man said to operate. This colt was going to do what thus said the Lord and not the traditions and rudiments of man. Also, the principle in Jewish history was that no one was ever allowed to ride on the king’s horse or the king’s donkey. Only the king was allowed to ride on it. So, Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords exercised that right and commanded His disciples to go get that colt and as David rode into exile from Jerusalem Jesus was reversing that and riding in victory into Jerusalem.
The Reaction of the People: - Mark 11:8-10 says, “And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest”. Understand this was not a Palm Sunday custom, they were not waving Palm branches getting ready for Passover, they were celebrating in their mind the liberator from the oppression of the Romans, but they didn’t understand that Jesus was liberating them from sin first, He wasn’t coming at this time to set up his Kingdom on Earth.
Now remember over 1000 years earlier the people rebelled and rejected David the anointed King of Israel and sent him in exile fearing for his life. When David and his followers traveled this very route, they were weeping with their heads bowed in sorrow, they tore their clothes in a show of grief but now the people are rejoicing and crying Hosanna; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest. Hosh’na in Hebrew where Hosanna from means Save now. They were looking for a savior to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans. Jesus came to deliver them spiritually, although He will return to set up His millennial Kingdom in the future this time was not it. So the cheers of the people was also the reversing of the rebellion that was done against King David.
So now we understand the route Jesus traveled, we understand the purpose and meaning of the colt that had never been ridden, we understand the reaction of the people and how it reversed what they had done over 1000 years earlier. Now as Jesus enters into Jerusalem, the city of Peace we need to understand the Day that Jesus entered in on His Triumphal Entry.
WATCH THIS: - The Day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey, the day we celebrate today as Palm Sunday was not just an ordinary day, it was a very special day NOT CALLED PALM SUNDAY but called the “Lamb Selection Day”. The date was the 10th day of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar which for us is March or April.
UNDERSTAND: - Nisan (or Nissan), the first month on Jewish calendar (according to the Torah), coincides with March-April on the civil calendar. The Torah calls it chodesh ha-aviv —the month of spring, as it marks the beginning of the spring months. Not going into depth of the Gregorian and Jewish calendar history and the 360 day calendar versus the 365 day calendar is the reason why we celebrate it either March or April, but understand in the Jewish tradition it is the 10th day of Nisan the 10th day of the 1st month. 10 which is divine order and Nisan means the annual renewal of the creation of the world. It is called the Lamb Selection Day because it was the day when the lambs that were going to be sacrificed for the Passover were chosen and brought into the house and it was to be inspected for 4 days and then when it was found to meet the criteria of not having blemish it was to be sacrificed on the 14th day of Nisan. Exodus 12:3-6 says, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening”.
WATCH THIS: - On the Lamb Selection Day, 4 days before the Passover Jesus enters into Jerusalem with all the other lambs, but He is the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world John 1:29. John 12:13 says, the people “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord”. It is important to understand that this is NOT HOW the Jewish people celebrated Passover.
Remember everything Jesus did and does has a purpose and a meaning. If you go back to 2 Kings 9:13 says, “Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king”. Some 200 years before Jesus entered Jerusalem the palm branches and clothes had become a national symbol that signaled the hope that a Messianic liberator had come on the scene. When they were hailing Jesus and laying the Palm branches and clothes in front of Him, they were expecting a political and military leader who would overthrow Roman rule, but Jesus came to offer spiritual salvation. They were hoping He was the one that would dwell with them and liberate them from the oppression of the Romans, what they failed to understand was the timing. He is the one to liberate them and dwell with them, but at this point in time it was to spiritually liberate them, the physically liberation will be in the Millennial Kingdom to come.
The Saying: - Let’s look at Luke 19:40 “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out”.
Remember everything Jesus did and does has a purpose and a meaning. “The stones would immediately cry out”. So often we preach this verse and use it saying if we fail to praise God for all His goodness and mercy that the rocks will cry out and ain’t no rock going to cry out in my place. It makes for great and exciting preaching, but let’s remember Jesus does things with purpose and meaning.
WATCH THIS: - In the Old Testament in Joshua 4:19 - 24 says, “And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever”.
Joshua and the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promise Land on the 10th of Nisan the stones were a sign of remembrance for the people Joshua 4:4-7 says, “Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever”.
When Jesus said the stones would cry out immediately these stones cried out in the memory of the children of Israel that the Ark of the Covenant along with the Mercy Seat that spoke of the presence of God pointed to Jesus and His merciful sacrifice for the people and how they were delivered and allowed to cross the Jordan on dry ground, now here is Jesus, the promised Messiah, the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world, the very one the Ark pointed to, Emmanuel triumphantly entering into Jerusalem.
SUMMARY: - Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the very day the Children of Israel entered the Promise Land some 1435 years earlier on what is called the Lamb Selection Day the 10th day of Nisan, the day the Lambs were chosen for the Passover on the 14th of Nisan. His journey reversed what King David experienced over 1000 years earlier. Jesus was scrutinized by the Pharisees, Sadducees, Pilate, Herod, the Sanhedrin, and the religious leaders for 4 days until the 14th of Nisan. They could find no fault in Him for He was the Lamb without Blemish that taketh away the sins of the world. Then on the 14th of Nisan at 9:00 am as the lambs were being brought into the Temple to be sacrificed, Jesus the perfect, unblemished Passover Lamb was nailed to the cross. At 3:00 pm as the last lamb was being sacrificed Jesus said, “It is finished” and gave up the ghost. When the priest sacrificed the last lamb on Passover, he would cut the lambs throat and say it is finished indicating that the sacrifice was complete, and the people had been forgiven of their sins for the year. When Jesus said, “It is finished” and gave up the ghost He was letting the people know that the price had been paid and their sins have been forgiven.
The Hebrew word is Tetelestai it is an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. Tetelestai - It is Finished is not a cry of defeat of a dying Man, but a cry of the Triumph Power of a Living, Life Giving Redeemer. It is a Divine Proclamation that the WORK OF REDEMPTION had been fully, finally, and forever accomplished. At the very moment Jesus said, “It is finished - Tetelestai,” the price had been paid, the power of sin and the devil was finished. This means no longer would mankind have to suffer and be bound by the power of the devil but are now as Ephesians 6:16 says “able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”. That is why Jesus Triumphal Entry is so Triumphal.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
