The King has Come!

The East Gate of Jerusalem today

The first man and the first woman had a perfect life. They were free from any problems and would never die. They had a perfect relationship with God, and would personally walk with him in the garden.

Yet they destroyed all of that in their rebellion against God (Genesis 3). Now they faced hard labor, sickness, and death. Their relationship with God was permanently damaged, and they would be forever separated from God.

Their disobedience — their rebellion against God — was their sin. This sin would infect the entire human race through Adam’s descendants, leaving every person separated from God. Humans were no longer capable of having any relationship with God.

But God made a promise to this man and this woman. They would have a descendant who would save the human race from their sin. He would restore their relationship with God.

Over time, God gave more information about the one would save mankind. He was given a title, “The Anointed One”, or in Hebrew, “Messiah”, or in Greek, “Christ”. He would be the sacrifice for sin for the entire world. He would lead his people to freedom and victory. He would rule in peace.  See a more complete list here.

God also gave a specific time for the Messiah. The Messiah would come to Jerusalem on March 29, 33 A.D. [2].

God had given this message about the Messiah to the Jewish people. But as time went on, they were no longer concerned about being saved from their sin. They had devised an elaborate set of rules and laws which gave them confidence that they were were able to personally earn God’s favor. They no longer needed a Messiah to save them from sin.

However, the Jewish nation was often oppressed by other nations. Although they no longer needed (as they believed) a Messiah to save them from sin, they longed for the Messiah to come and free them from their oppressors. They looked forward to the conquering King who would set up a kingdom that would never end.

Then the Messiah came. He came to his own people and his own did not receive him (John 1:11-12). He did not follow the religious laws like he was supposed to, and the religious leaders were jealous of his fame.

Jesus Christ was wildly popular when he was on the earth. He taught like no one else did and he worked spectacular miracles, baffling his enemies and validating his claims to be the Messiah. As his final public act, he caused an explosion in the Jewish religious world by raising Lazarus from the dead (see here).

The hatred of the Jewish leaders was complete. They wanted to cover up the miracle of Lazarus so they determined to kill Jesus. They gave orders everywhere that anyone should report Jesus if they knew where he was (John 11:45-57). Jesus Christ was now a wanted criminal.

Yet as the Passover drew near, it was time for Jesus Christ to enter Jerusalem. It was also time for the city to welcome the Messiah as their king, in fulfillment of the prophecies about him (Daniel 9:24-27). Instead of coming in secret, Jesus came at the head of a massive crowd, cheering him as king.

Why did the crowd welcome Jesus as their King on that day? The miracle of Lazarus had already drawn the interest and the excitement of the people. Jesus had traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem with a large crowd of Passover pilgrims, so they all knew that he was coming. He had spent the Passover (Saturday) in the nearby town of Bethany, so the next opportunity for him to come would be Sunday morning.

Jesus left Bethany with a large crowd of followers on Sunday morning. As He approached the mountain separating him from Jerusalem (the Mount of Olives), he sent two disciples ahead to bring a donkey colt with its mother. The donkey showed his claim as king and fulfilled the prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) that the Messiah would enter on a donkey, the symbol of royalty.

The crowd that accompanied Jesus was met by a larger crowd coming out of Jerusalem. Together, they chanted the Psalm of the Messiah (Psalm 118:24-26), “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of The Lord!”

The religious leaders objected to this praise and personally asked Jesus to tell them to stop. But this was the day of Messiah’s coming. If the people did not shout out, the rocks would proclaim him as King!

Through all of this excitement, Luke tells the shocking response by Jesus as he approaches the city. Jesus starts sobbing as the city comes into view. Neither his disciples nor his enemies were able to see through the crowd’s excitement, yet only Jesus saw that these excited people would not receive him. He is given a vision of what will happen to Jerusalem and it brings him to tears. He see the Roman legions surrounding the city, cutting off the supplies and eventually killing the inhabitants. This all happened because they rejected the Messiah.

The people were excited to receive a Messiah of their own design. They wanted a leader to save them from Roman oppression, but they did not want to be saved from their sin. Yet that was His purpose, and that was why He had come. He would be the sacrifice to bring the people back to God.

In less than a week, the same people who were welcoming him as king would be shouting for his death.

 

Remember!

• How much do we value a relationship with God? Are we willing to value the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ in order to bring us back to him?

• As the Messiah, Jesus Christ’s main objective is to free us from sin and bring us back to God. It is as true now as it was in the first century — don’t look for a substitute!

• The disciples did not understand what was going on until afterward. Don’t miss the important things in life because we are caught up in the moment.

 

Previous post: Dare to Waste

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John 12:12-19
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

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Matthew 21:1-11
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

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Mark 11:1-11
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

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Luke 19:29-44
When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “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.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 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.”

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John 12:12-13
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

This is only the second event which is recorded in all four gospel accounts.

The chief priests wanted to arrest Jesus after he had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:53, 57). Yet Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Sunday morning at the head of a massive crowd and they could do nothing.

Despite the price on his head, Jesus’ popularity was at an all-time high. All of Judea was abuzz with the news about Lazarus (John 12:9-11). The pilgrims from Galilee had entered Jerusalem with the news that Jesus himself had traveled with them, teaching and working miracles. Messianic hope was always very high among the Jews during Passover season, but this news about Jesus excited the entire city. At last, their King was coming!

The people took palm branches and came out of the city to welcome him as king [5]. On the way, they chanted Psalm 118, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25-26). The chant of “Hosanna”, meaning literally “save now”, had become the phrase to welcome the king, “Come and save us!”.

The population of Jerusalem would swell to about two million people during the Passover [4].

Jesus entered Jerusalem on March 29, 33 A.D. [2].

“By calling forth that man from the grave, who had been four days dead, Jesus demonstrated Himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. The people who had never considered His claims before began to wonder if He were the promised Messiah who was to come when He rode into Jerusalem on this occasion.” – H.A. Ironside [6]

 

Matthew 21:1-3
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

Mark 11:1-3
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

Luke 19:29-31
When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “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.’”

Only Matthew’s and John’s accounts show that the colt was a young donkey. Only Matthew shows that the mother was also taken by the disciples. Only Mark’s account shows that the disciples promised to return the donkey and the colt immediately afterward.

Jesus had left Bethany that morning, and needed to cross through the tiny village of Bethphage on the way to Jerusalem. The donkey and her colt were most likely located in Bethphage as the “village in front of you”.

The name Bethphage means, “House of Figs”.

Jesus knew exactly where the donkey and her colt would be tied, and he knew that the owners would easily part with their animals when the disciples said, “The Lord has need of it.”. Some commentators see this as a miracle of omniscience (knowing about the donkey and her colt) and persuasion (the owner easily gives up the animals). However, this scene does not require a miracle as there are two much simpler explanations:

• One possibility is that Jesus had prearranged this with the owner. Jesus had visited this area very frequently and had stayed in Bethany for the past two nights. There was ample time for Jesus to make arrangements with the owner to use his animals.
• The other possibility is that Jesus knew about the animals from his frequent visits to the area. The owner did not know Jesus but he was carried away with the excitement of the day. He would have been glad to lend his animals to the coming Messiah!

 

Mark 11:4-6
And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

Luke 19:32-34
So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”

The disciples did as Jesus instructed and untied the colt (and its mother). When the owners asked them what they were doing, they replied “The Lord has need of it”, and the owners let them go.

 

Matthew 21:6-7
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

Mark 11:7
And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

Luke 19:35
And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

John 12:14a
And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,

Bethphage was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where the disciples met Jesus with the colt and the excitedly gathering crowd. The disciples spread their cloaks on the colt and he thus roade the remaining distance into Jerusalem.

“The lower creatures act in subjection to the will of the Lord. Man alone of all God’s creatures – man, who is made a little lower than the angels, with his remarkable powers and his wonderful intellect – sets himself in opposition to the will of God.” – H.A. Ironside [6]

 

Matthew 21:8
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Mark 11:8
And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

Luke 19:36
And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

The crowd spread their cloaks on the road and laid down the palm branches in order for Jesus to ride on them. It was a custom to spread the coats in the presence of a king (See 2 Kings 9:13, when the soldiers spread their coats for Jehu).

 

Matthew 21:9
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Mark 11:9-10
And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Luke 19:37-38
As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

The two crowds met on the road to Jerusalem: the crowd that had followed Jesus from Bethany and the crowd of people from Jerusalem. Together, they continued to shout from Psalm 118:24-25, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord!”

Matthew and Mark tell of the excitement of the crowds as they welcome him into Jerusalem. Luke tells of extended praise from all of his disciples (not just the twelve). The disciples had joined with the crowds in welcoming the king, but they also also add, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Jesus had previously avoided the title of Messiah, but now he encouraged it during the final week.

 

Matthew 21:4-5
This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

John 12:14b-15
just as it is written,
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

The manner of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 (see also Isaiah 62:11).

The king would come humbly — he would have no military presence.

The king would come in peace. The donkey was not a lowly animal but the royal symbol of peace in that culture. The king would only ride a horse in times of war.

“… this prophecy was intended to introduce, in contrast to earthly warfare and kingly triumph, another Kingdom, of which the just King would be the Prince of Peace, Who was meek and lowly in His Advent, Who would speak peace to the heathen, and Whose sway would yet extend to earth’s utmost bounds.” – Alfred Edersheim [8]

 

John 12:16-18
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

The disciples did not understand the significance of this event until much later. It was not until Jesus returned to glory that they understood the prophecies which he had fulfilled.

John’s account shows that the crowds who assembled came from three sources [9]:

• John 12:12 shows the distant pilgrims who had come for the Passover. Most of them were probably from Galilee.
• John 12:17 shows the crowd that had been in Bethany when Lazarus was raised from the dead.
• John 12:18 shows large crowd from Jerusalem had come out out of the city to see the one who had raised Lazarus.

“Lazarus remains … the chief miracle that undeniably reveals Christ’s authentic claim to be God.” – Stephen Davey [10]

 

Luke 19:39-40
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

John 12:19
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

The Pharisees, in their frustration, come to Jesus to ask him to quiet the crowd. But this was the day that The Lord had made for the Messiah’s return (Psalm 118:24). If the people would not proclaim him, even the inanimate objects would be called on to testify for him.

“As on so many other occasions, the chief priests and scribes, though familiar with the letter of the Word, proved themselves altogether out of touch with this momentous occasion.” – H.A. Ironside [6]

 

Luke 19:41-44
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 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.”

On the surface, it looked like the Jewish nation was ready to receive Jesus as their Messiah. Even the Pharisees believed that they have lost. All is wonderful.

But only Jesus was able to see through the unstable crowd. The people had been longing for the Messiah to come and save them from Rome. The Passover season was the time to celebrate when God had used Moses to save them from an evil tyrant. Now, they saw a new evil tyrant in Rome as they longed for the Messiah to come and free them.

But the people had forgotten the primary purpose of the Messiah. Before he would set up his promised kingdom, he must first save them from sin, and reunite them with God (Genesis 3:15). See the link here for more details.

The people were looking for a military leader, not one who would save them from sin. Therefore, they missed the Messiah. They missed the “time of their visitation”. These same people who were praising him on Sunday would be shouting for his death on Friday.

As Jesus ascended the Mount of Olives, the entire City of Jerusalem came into view. Luke says, “as he saw the city, he wept over it”. Not with the quiet tears but with the loud and deep sobbing (klaiō, κλαίω) of grief.

“He foresaw the Roman armies under Titus surrounding the city and cutting off all sources of provision for its trapped populace. Graphically He portrayed what became actual history forty years afterward. It was all fulfilled literally when the Roman legions besieged the city, and at last entered it and destroyed its great buildings as Jesus had predicted.” – H.A. Ironside [6]

As the crowd of worshipers chanted his praise en route to the beautiful city, He alone could see their rejection. They had rejected their Messiah. Now the city and the people that he loved so dearly would be totally destroyed.

 

Matthew 21:10-11
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Mark 11:11a
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.

As the procession entered Jerusalem, the people of the city were asking who this was. The answer was repeated, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee”.

They did well to tell of His name and his home town. They also knew that he was from God (“the prophet”), but they stopped short of calling him their king.

 

Mark 11:11b
And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

The procession from Bethany must have taken the entire day. By the time Jesus reached the temple, he looked around at the temple and returned to Bethany.

 

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[1] Doug Bookman, Passion Week, Audio Series, Lectures 2-4, http://www.bookmanministries.com/

 

[2] Daniel 9:24-27 provides one of the most specific prophecies about the coming Messiah. Daniel predicts that there will be 69 weeks from “the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem” to “the coming of the anointed one” (Daniel 9:25). The “week” is a set of 7 years.

The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given on March 4, 444 B.C. (Nisan 1 of the 20th year of King Artaxerxes) according to Nehemiah 2:1-8. Therefore, 69 weeks (or 173,880 days [3]) later would be March 29, 33 A.D.

Source, Doug Bookman, based on Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, by Harold Hoehner [1].

 

[3] The exact number of days per year varies based on different calendar systems. Biblical prophecy uses 360-day years and is verified by the references below. The following references all describe the same three and a half year period:

• “Half of a week” in Daniel 9:27.
• “Time, times, and half of a time” (i.e. 3 1/2 years) in  Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7, Revelation 12:14.
• 1260 days in Revelation 12:6, Revelation 11:3.
• 42 months in Revelation 11:2, Revelation 13:5.

Therefore, a month would be 30 days and a year would be 360 days.

 

[4] According to Josephus, There were over 200,000 lambs at Passover in the year 60 A.D. That means it is about 2 million people. [1]

 

[5] The Palm branches had become a symbol of welcoming a conquering king. 200 years earlier, the people had welcomed Judas Maccabeus into Jerusalem with palm branches, hailing him as the Messiah. [7]

 

[6] H.A. Ironside, Address 38, THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY, John 12:12-28; Address 66, Welcoming the King, Luke 19:28-48; Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 21

 

[7] John MacArthur, Triumph and Tears, John 12:12–17

 

[8] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book V, CHAPTER I. THE FIRST DAY IN PASSION-WEEK – PALM-SUNDAY – THE ROYAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM

 

[9] Robert L. Thomas & Stanley N Gundry, A Harmony of the Gospels, Section 187, pages 176-179

 

[10] Stephen Davey, Here Comes the King, John 12:12-21