Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem – Palm Sunday 

On March 31, 30 CE, two days before Jesus’ formal entrance into Jerusalem, he and his apostles arrived in Bethany from Jericho. Jesus lodged with Simon, a leading citizen of that city, and prepared himself for the days ahead.

Jesus made his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on Sunday, April 2, 30 CE after careful thought as to how he would proceed into the city. He chose to honor a prophetic scripture found in Zechariah that spoke of a “lowly one, riding on a donkey.” This approach, Jesus felt, was the appropriate way to impress on all that he was not a warrior king; his kingdom was a purely spiritual reality.

A large festive procession formed around Jesus as they left Bethany. The mood was merry and carefree, until the Master paused at Olivet to weep over the city below him, lamenting the fact that the Jews were about to reject him and his mission.

As he entered the great city, a multitude poured out to meet him; this multitude consisted of friends and followers, but also Jesus’ sworn enemies, the Pharisees, who became alarmed at the level of excitement that Jesus’ arrival generated.

Jesus and his apostles arrived at Bethany from Jericho, where Jesus had performed his last miraculous cure – that of Bartimeus, the blind beggar. After spending the night in Jericho with Zaccheus, the tax collector, Jesus and the apostles made the journey to Jerusalem, arriving in Bethany on March 31, 30 CE. Jesus was very fond of Bethany and its people. Almost all of them were believers, and his greatest demonstration of power and might – that of raising Lazarus from the dead – was a tribute to the fact that these villagers believed in him.

When he arrived, it was not practical for him to stay with Lazarus, as so many people were coming to visit him since his miraculous resurrection. So arrangements were made for Jesus to stay with Simon, a leading citizen of Bethany since the death of Lazarus’ father. The next evening, Jesus attended a dinner given in his honor at the home of his host. It was at this dinner that Mary, Lazarus’ sister, poured the costly oil on Jesus’ head and feet to the dismay of Judas Iscariot.

On the morning of April 2, Jesus was pondering his entry into Jerusalem. He decided that it was fit and proper for him to make a public, formal entry. This decision was not made in order to attempt to gain popular favor or power. Jesus was well aware of what was awaiting him in Jerusalem.

After considerable thought, Jesus decided to reject the Messianic prophecies about the son of David, a political leader, who would arrive as a warrior king. Instead, he adopted the scripture from Zeccariah that reads: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king comes to you. He is just and he brings salvation. He comes as the lowly one, riding upon an ass, upon a colt, the foal of an ass.” This passage denoted a spiritual leader, rather than a warrior king – a leader whose mission was peace and friendship. He decided to enter the city as the Son of Man riding on a donkey. This was a symbolic gesture denoting the purely spiritual nature of his kingdom and of his mission.

That being decided, Jesus sent his apostles Peter and John to Bethpage, a short distance from Bethany. He gave them instructions about where to find a donkey, and what to say if they were confronted. The apostles did as they were instructed and when the owner of the donkey asked them what they were doing, they told him what Jesus said to answer: “The Master has need of him.” Upon hearing this, the owner replied: “If your Master is Jesus from Galilee, let him have the colt.” And they took the animal with them back to Bethany.

While hundreds of pilgrims who were on their way to Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, David Zebedee and some of his messengers went down into Jerusalem and began spreading the word that Jesus of Nazareth was going to be making a triumphal entry into the city that day. Many of those who heard this news were more than interested in Jesus; he was talked about as a prophet and miracle worker, and many believed he was the expected Messiah. So, a crowd of these folks from the city began heading out of the city to meet him, just as Jesus was making his way over the brow of the hill at Olivet.

Just before they got underway, at about one-thirty that afternoon, the Alpheus twins covered the donkey with their cloaks and held the animal while Jesus climbed on its back. A large crowd had assembled around Jesus and everyone was in a festive mood; the original women’s corps and some of their associates arrived and joined the joyful procession. As they moved forward, people laid their coats and other garments on the ground ahead of the donkey; they added tree branches to this spontaneous “carpet of honor” for the royal Son – the promised Messiah. Soon, the crowd began to shout a Psalm with one voice: “Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed be the kingdom that comes down from heaven.”

Jesus was cheerful, too, until he reached a point on the hill of Olivet where he was able to see the city of Jerusalem spread out below him. He suddenly stopped there and began to weep as he saw the throngs of people pouring out of the city to greet him. The crowd around him that had been so joyous and cheerful now fell silent, as Jesus, with an emotional and tear-filled voice, said: “O Jerusalem, if you had only known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong to your peace, and which you could so freely have had! But now are these glories about to be hid from your eyes. You are about to reject the Son of Peace and turn your backs upon the gospel of salvation. The days will soon come upon you wherein your enemies will cast a trench around about you and lay siege to you on every side; they shall utterly destroy you, insomuch that not one stone shall be left upon another. And all this shall befall you because you knew not the time of your divine visitation. You are about to reject the gift of God, and all men will reject you.”

As the procession resumed, it was soon joined by the crowds of visitors coming out of Jerusalem; they waved palm branches and shouted hosannas to Jesus. Jesus never planned such a spectacular and dramatic greeting as this; it was planned by others. Nevertheless, Jesus allowed this demonstration to proceed because he knew that his enemies would not dare to arrest him in the face of such public adoration; he wanted to give the multitudes one last chance to hear the gospel of the kingdom and accept him as the Son of Peace.

But not all who came out to meet Jesus were friendly; many of the Pharisees and other of Jesus’ enemies were there, too. It was highly disturbing to them to see this sudden public acceptance and popular approval of Jesus. They were prepared to arrest him then and there, but they did not dare to do so, lest they cause an open riot. They were afraid of these multitudes who believed in the Master, and this overwhelming demonstration of acclaim.

Some of these Pharisees made their way up to Jesus and demanded that he instruct his followers to tone down their demonstrations of praise. But he replied: “It is only fitting that these children should welcome the Son of Peace, whom the chief priests have rejected. It would be useless to stop them lest in their stead these stones by the roadside cry out.” So, these Pharisees ran to the temple, where the Sanhedrin were in session, and said to them: “Behold, all that we do is of no avail; we are confounded by this Galilean. The people have gone mad over him; if we do not stop these ignorant ones, all the world will go after him.”

In the end, all of this spontaneous and popular enthusiasm for Jesus was superficial; it was sincere at the time, but these same crowds were just as quick to reject Jesus later that week when they realized that he was not the Messiah that they had expected and hoped for. Nevertheless, at this time, the whole city was in a stir and everyone was asking: “Who is this man?” And the crowds roared: “This is the prophet of Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth.”