Story 160: The Triumphal Entry of a Weeping King
The Lord Jesus and His disciples began their one mile trek from Bethany to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Jesus had raised His friend, Lazarus from the dead only a few days before. Multitudes of people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast had gone out to Bethany to see Lazarus and Christ. It was the talk of the nation.
It also confirmed to the religious leaders that Jesus had to die.
Now as Jesus and His disciples made their way back to the City of David, the crowds followed them with all the clamor and excitement of high expectations. What was Jesus going to do when He arrived? Would there be more miracles? What would He say to their leaders?
When they arrived at Bethphage, which was on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead to the city. There were special preparations that had to be made. For you see, the events of this day were going to have a high and holy meaning. Events that were predicted hundreds of years in the past would finally come true.
Jesus gave two disciples very specific directions. He said:“‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her upon which no person has ever sat. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’”
Matthew 21:2-3 and Mark 11:2b
The disciples went off and did just as the Lord had said. They found the animals tied to a door outside in the street. When they began to untie them, some people standing nearby with the owners asked, “‘Why are you untying them?
’”The disciples said, “‘The Lord has need of them,’” just as Jesus had told them. The owner gave them permission to take the creatures. The disciples lead the donkey and her colt out to Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Little did they understand the significance of what they were a part of. In fact, it was only after Jesus ascended into Heaven that they would think back on this day and realize the great prophecy they had taken part in. For you see, in Zechariah 9:9, the prophet said:
“‘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.’”
Zech. 9:9, ESV
These verses are a part of Zechariah’s description of a time when the King of Israel would see that His people were deeply afflicted. God would move in power on behalf of His people to deliver them. After complete and final victory over their enemies, their righteous King would ride into Jerusalem in victory. His conquest would bring peace not only for Israel, but for all the nations of the world. He would be the perfect, ideal ruler, like nothing the world had ever known. He would also be humble. Though He was mighty, He would submit with perfection to the King of Creation, honoring the Most High God with His reign.Obviously this King would be no ordinary man. These were prophecies of the coming Messiah. As Jesus operated in absolute obedience to the will of His Father, God carried out His plans in perfect unison with the things He had foretold in His holy Word.As the disciples led the donkey and her colt to Jesus, they had no idea they were swept up in the Great Unfolding of Zecheriah’s words. They just obeyed. When they arrived, they lay their garments across the back of the colt. Jesus sat on the young creature, and they began their procession into the City of David.
As Christ and the multitudes with Him moved towards the high walls of Jerusalem, the great crowds inside the city heard that Jesus was on His way. They began cutting the branches of palm trees to wave for the royal procession. Then they rushed out to receive the One they had been waiting for. Imagine their joy and excitement as they all began to shout out praises from their sacred book of worship:
“‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’”
Psalm 118:26
The crowds that had followed Jesus and the disciples from Bethany walked along behind Jesus as He rode on the colt. They had watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, and they were full of hope for the great things that He would do next.
Pretty soon, the masses from Jerusalem joined them in one great throng of vibrant celebration as Christ rode the hill up into the City. The people began laying their cloaks and garments out on the road ahead of Him. It was an act of humble submission. They were physically showing their homage to the Man they were calling their King.
Imagine the fervor and joy! Thousands of years of national longing was pouring out in a lavish display of thankful praise. They had seen the miracles! They had heard the stories of His powerful works! The Great Day had arrived!
The entire city was alive as even more people rushed out to see the Man who had raised Lazarus from the dead.
The religious leaders heard the commotion and joined the throng of jubilation. When they heard the people give praise to Christ as King, they began to grumble to one another. “‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!’”Then some of the Pharisees went to Jesus as He rode through the shouts and praises of the crowd. “‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!,’ they demanded."Jesus looked back at them and declared, “‘I tell you, if they kept quiet, the stones will cry out!’”Jesus was not only the King of Israel, He is King of the universe, and every part of it is called to worship Him!
But even as the Lord rode through the excitement and clamor, He was flooded with a deep, inner sorrow. He looked up at the great walls of Jerusalem, the City of God’s special choosing, and wept, saying:“‘If you, even you, had only known what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you in the ground, and you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’”
Luke 19:42-44
This terribly sorrowful saying was a prophecy. “If only you had known what would bring you peace.” Consider the sorrow of Jesus, reconciling His rejection with the vast and breathtaking consequences that were to come. The city of Jerusalem was going to be so devastated that every building would be crushed to the ground. But Jesus was not only mourning the future of Jerusalem. He was mourning the future of the whole nation. Jerusalem was the capitol, where God had set His special, intensified presence on earth. It was also a symbol for Israel, His treasured possession.
Even now as the people joined in wild celebration, Jesus knew what lay ahead. This moment of righteous glory would not last long. The nation that refused to repent through the Lord’s years of wondrous ministry would not stand with their Messiah in the end, either. The results would be great. Within the lifetime of the children who walked the streets of Jerusalem that day, the Roman army would come. When they were finished brutalizing the City and its people, there would be nothing left to call a city. The nation of Israel would disappear from the face of the earth for thousands of years.
With the rejection of their Messiah, the Jewish people were about to choose the ways of God’s enemy over the way of God’s righteous plan. And so the Lord would give them their way. Instead of having this humble King on a colt, they would have the malicious ways of the world, and it would devour them. The mighty Roman Empire would crush them. The depths of grief in this Son of David, this Son of God’s holy love, must have been great as He wept on His way into his City.
Picture the moment…the eloquent mourning of the King for the deep tragedy ahead in the midst of the jubilant crowds, waving their palms.
Yet in the midst of the disaster that faithless Israel was bringing upon themselves, Jesus carried a much deeper hope. He would have victory in spite of their betrayal. It would be nothing like what they were hoping for. Through His perfect life, Jesus had been conquering the powers of sin and death by making the way to become the perfect, spotless Lamb. Now the time of His sacrifice was upon Him.
The grandeur of what He was going to do was far more vast and deep and high than anything they could imagine. His deliverance was not for the nation of Israel alone. It was not merely for all the nations on earth for all time. Jesus had come to redeem the entire created order! His death would purchase the entire universe. He would make all things new!
As the throngs of people entered Jerusalem with their Messiah, they had no idea of the greatness of what they were celebrating. But the ruckus they caused stirred the rest of the city. “‘Who is this?’” they asked as the loud parade made its way inside the walls.“‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth!’” the crowds proclaimed back to them.
The crowds journeyed with Jesus all the way to the Temple. The blind and the lame were there among them. As they went, a great outpouring of healing came through Christ, making them whole and strong. What a delight and absolute thrill to watch men and women who were bound up for years suddenly jump and dance and sing! What a marvelous party they were having, right there on the steps of God’s holy Palace! It was an outbreaking of the world as it was meant to be under God's holy rule. The children were so swept up in the excitement that they were jumping and crying out with happy exaltation, “‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’”In the midst of this unimaginably boisterous and absolutely appropriate happiness, the religious leaders and Pharisees grew bitter with indignation. "‘Do you hear what they are saying?’” they demanded to Jesus." They were red hotmad. The people were calling Him the Messiah, and Jesus wasn’t doing anything to stop them. It was as good as if Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah Himself.
Fortunately, Jesus was the Messiah, so He told them, “‘Yes! Have you never read:
‘From the lips of children and infants
You have ordained praise’”?
Wow. Now Jesus was quoting Psalm 8. If we read a little bit more of the Psalm, we will understand why this made the Jewish leaders even more angry:
“‘O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens,
From the lips of children and infants
You have ordained praise.
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.’”
Psalm 8:1-2
Jesus didn’t have to quote the whole Psalm to these men. They already knew it, and they knew exactly what Jesus was saying. The children who give praise in these verses are giving praise to God Himself. Jesus was making it very clear that He was the divine Messiah. He was also making it clear that King David had foretold this very event.
The children were not just proclaiming the praise of Jesus, they were proclaiming it against the religious leaders who had made themselves Christ’s enemies. They had made their position about Jesus very clear. These men should have led God’s nation to worship their Messiah. They had failed, and now the children cried out in their place.
Jesus spoke the truth boldly to them, and it was a kindness and a grace. There was still time, this was fair warning. They were on the wrong side of God’s holy plan. Would they repent?
They would not. They did just as the Psalm foretold. They were silenced in their rebellion, and they went away to plot once again about how to destroy the Son of the Living God.
The evening was drawing to a close on that remarkable day, so Jesus and His disciples left Jerusalem and went back to Bethany to stay for the night.