116. Chapter 3 - The Triumphal Entry

Chapter 3 - The Triumphal Entry Matthew 21:1-11;Mark 11:1-11;Luke 19:29-44;John 12:12-19 The Crisis

“Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” The long expected moment has at last arrived! The Messiah is about to enter the Holy City even as the prophets of old had foretold. The worldlings who still rule in the temple and synagogue are plotting desperately to stem the rising tide of Jesus’ popularity and to maintain their own control over the destiny of the nation. The fatal hour draws near when they must face in their temple the great Prophet from Galilee. And what of the multitudes? The Messiah Himself must now make plain to all the exact nature of His program. If He is to seize control of the nation and set up that glamorous kingdom of which the nation has dreamed, it must be now or never. If He persists in His perplexing disregard for worldly power and His devotion to spiritual teaching, if He refuses to devote His miraculous power to establishing His earthly reign, then what? The crowd is quite sure of His identity and of His intentions — today. They boldly declare their fidelity and shout His praises from the Mount of Olives as the strange cavalcade descends. Their joyful salutations of Jesus as the Messiah and their unrestrained predictions of the “kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David” echo through temple and city and cause Zion and Moriah to tremble with excitement. Like flimsy straws thrown into a mighty flood to halt its course, the protests of the omnipresent, hostile Pharisees are flung aside: “I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.” “Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee.”

Diverse Elements

All of this amazing enthusiasm and display of devotion had been under the surface and very close to the surface, pent-up, a restless, surging impulse. It needed but the slightest encouragement from the Master to break forth in mighty acclaim. Much of the praise was worldly in content and motive, like the self-seekers who uttered it. They were reeds shaken by the wind, but deciding now which way the wind was definitely blowing. They were ready to turn about and join in the hoarse cry “Crucify!” when it became necessary to regain the favor of an evil hierarchy. Much of the enthusiasm was sincere, but still sadly mistaken as to the destination. And the disciples who really loved Jesus better than their lives, the apostles who had come up to Jerusalem sworn to die with Him, for He had repeatedly declared He was coming up to His death, what of them? What do they now think? Do they not rather refuse to think? Do they not sternly dismiss any somber reflections of terrifying predictions or even of that strange scene last night when He had been anointed for burial? Do they not rather yield blindly and with bewildering joy to the enthusiasm of the hour? All Jerusalem is aflame with Messianic hope and with wild acclaim of the King in the midst. Who are the apostles not to join blindly in the shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David”….“Blessed is the kingdom that cometh”? The Exciting Impulse

Jesus did not enter Jerusalem in triumph as a mere creature of circumstance: He deliberately furnished the exciting impulse which touched off the popular demonstration. It was evidently part of a deep-set purpose of the Master. He always kept full command of His campaign and refused to allow others, whether friend or foe, to dictate or even announce prematurely the course He followed. He continually met the circumstances that arose, as seen in the preaching of a sermon upon the topic some eager questioner raised, or the healing of some unfortunate sufferer who sought Jesus. He parried the thrusts of His enemies and checked the movements of self-seeking friends. His course at the time of the feeding of the five thousand has some elements of yielding to the ardent desires of the multitudes so long as they were in harmony with His spiritual program. It has also the decisive element of flat rejection of their attempt to make Him a worldly Messiah. Jesus started across the lake to avoid the crowd and secure privacy to instruct and comfort His disciples, who were thrilled by their evangelistic triumphs and shocked by the sudden news of John’s death. Jesus yielded to the entreaties of the multitude who ran around the end of the lake seeking further instruction and miracles of healing. He used the triumphant hour to show His divine power in an amazing fashion as He fed the five thousand, but He immediately checked the attempt of the Zealots to take Him by force and make Him King. Thus He gained the desired privacy in the time spent in the boat with the disciples and on the mountain top with God, and He granted the desires of the multitudes in so far as they harmonized with His mission of redemption. The triumphal entry was the second and final climax in the popular movement which Jesus inaugurated. The lines of comparison with the climax of His Galilean ministry are numerous and very evident. The absolute control which Jesus exercised over this final climax of His ministry is even clearer than when the crisis arose in Galilee. Since no one could foretell what Jesus would do, everything was tense with excitement and expectation. He had not even made any prearrangements with the owners of the colt He intended to ride. He selected two disciples and commanded them to go over to the neighboring village of Bethphage and do an extraordinary thing: they were told exactly where they would find an ass and her colt tied in front of a house which was situated where two roads met or in a curious bend in the road (so the Greek text of Mark 11:4 indicates). They were not told to go into the house and ask permission to take the animals, but to untie the animals and take them without asking permission. They were then to give explanation to those who questioned them: “The Lord hath need of him.” Not even the disciples knew, at first, what Jesus intended or the significance of His action (John 12:16). It was impossible for Peter or any of the apostles or the owners of the colt, who were evidently disciples, to report thoughtlessly what Jesus was about to do. No one knew. Jesus proceeded in exactly the same fashion in arranging for the upper room. He directed His disciples to go into the city, enter a certain street, and as they entered it at the proper intersection, they, at that very moment, would see a man walking along the street with a jar of water on his head — a man whom they were to follow. As he entered a house, they were to ask for the use of the upper room with the majestic declaration that the Lord intended to keep the Passover there. Thus did the King even in the very arrangements that were made reveal His divine authority and miraculous insight. The Motives of Jesus

Although Jesus brought it about that He entered the city in such startling Messianic acclaim, yet His purpose was not selfish ambition or vain display. The triumphal entry cannot be separated from the crucifixion, even as the latter cannot be separated from the resurrection. Jesus was deliberately coming up to Jerusalem to give His life as a ransom for the sins of mankind; it was God’s will that the sacrifice should be made in such a public manner that the attention of the world and of the ages should be concentrated upon it. He was not to be assassinated in a dark street or done to death in secret. The proof of the resurrection was to be made incontestable by the fact that the attention of the nation was to be concentrated upon the crucifixion. The triumphal entry threw down the gauntlet to the wicked leaders of the nation in such fashion that they not only brought about His death, but that they turned the nation upside down in the effort to disprove the fact of the resurrection and silence or destroy the people who proclaimed it. Thus the historic facts which are the foundation of the Christian gospel were tested in the most severe and terrible manner which the devil could invent at the very outset. Thus those in succeeding centuries, who, not having seen were yet to be asked to believe, should have the most complete and unshakable basis for their faith. The Spiritual Character of the Entry The triumphal entry was the prelude to the climactic teaching of Jesus in the furious days of discussion that followed in the temple. By this means Jesus sought to break the bonds of false tradition and false leadership which enslaved the nation. He earnestly sought to save the Pharisees and Sadducees themselves from the bondage of the devil. In addition to throwing the spotlight upon these discussions so that no one could ever forget them, the triumphal entry gave Jesus a unique opportunity to reveal again the spiritual character of His mission and program. This may not be evident at a glance: the idea of Jesus deliberately bringing it about that He should ride into the holy city amid the triumphal praise of uncounted thousands who excitedly hail Him as the Messiah seems to be just the opposite of the humble spiritual program which Jesus had promulgated. A closer study, however, shows that even in the hour of triumph, with the eyes of the nation upon Him, He pursued the same spiritual course that He had in the homes of the sick and the outcast as He taught and ministered. He was to be seen meeting “triumph and disaster” and treating “those two impostors just the same.”

Although the triumphal entry stirred selfish followers to false hopes, it did not stir Jesus to false speech or action. Here as everywhere else there is seen the absolute perfection of God Himself in the person of His Son. It gave dramatic opportunity to contrast the worldly and the heavenly, and to show once and for all that He would not barter His spiritual program for anything the world might offer. The ancient world was not unaccustomed to triumphal processions. Kings and military leaders had been accorded triumphs in every nation. Witness Pompey or Julius Caesar riding in a gilded chariot through the streets of Rome surrounded by famous legions in their armored might and followed by thousands of captives in chains carrying the rich booty of another war of conquest. Contrast with this the Son of God riding into Jerusalem on a young colt, the foal of an ass, surrounded by followers who sang of peace and of God’s coming kingdom. Jesus of Nazareth was riding into Jerusalem not to destroy His foes, but voluntarily to give His life to save them and all others who would accept God’s mercy. Verily Caesar in all his glory was not arrayed as this One who came with the purity and simplicity of heaven. The Colt

Only Matthew informs us that two animals were procured. He was particularly interested in recording this historical incident because it fulfilled so exactly the prediction of Isaiah and Zechariah. John points out the fulfillment of the prophecy, but he quotes it freely and mentions only the colt. Mark and Luke mention only the colt and record the significant statement of Jesus that it was “a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat.” Gould insists that this is a false report by Mark and Luke since Jesus would not have described the colt thus. According to the presupposition on which this objection rests, Jesus would never have declared Himself the Son of God and the Saviour of the world! Gould holds that the fact that the colt had never been ridden was an undesigned coincidence discovered and connected later with the incident by the writer. What a strange, futile, helpless gospel, modern skeptics would write as they try to cut and trim history to fit fancy! “Historical realism” is the high-sounding title the modernists like to use to dignify their aberrations, but it is only skeptical unreality without any historical basis except their own imagination. Here a little, and there a little, they would remove the historic details that show the majesty and deity of Jesus, and thus they reduce Him to purely human stature. The same miraculous insight that enabled God’s Son to know where the animals were and that their owners would grant Him the use of them, enabled Him to know what manner of animals they were. The critics try to claim that Jesus had made previous arrangements with the owners, but there is not the slightest suggestion of this in the text. The writers do not state that it was a miracle, even as they do not usually declare this; they merely state the facts and allow the reader to accept or reject the inevitable implication according to his faith or unbelief. The arrangements for securing the colt also rested on the miraculous insight of Jesus. He was accustomed to use this method whenever there was occasion to reveal His deity. What greater occasion than at the triumphal entry? Mark and Luke place as strong emphasis upon Jesus’ deliberate choice of an animal whereon no man had ever sat, as is later placed upon the tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid.

Reasons for the Choice

Matthew pauses to answer the natural question as to why Jesus should have chosen such an animal. The action of Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Jesus was not proceeding thus because the Old Testament had predicted it and He was seeking deliberately to fulfill the predictions, but because God was directing His conduct even as He had centuries before foretold the event. Some hold that Jesus chose this animal because by this choice He made public claim to be King. They cite the case of Absalom (2 Samuel 18:9) riding on a white mule as part of a public declaration of rebellion against his father and of royal honors for himself. But none of the evangelists record that Jesus rode on a white mule; the color of the animal is not mentioned; it was simply a colt, the foal of an ass. This was the poor man’s beast of burden. It was not the animal of war, the horse, but it was even the humblest of the animals of peace. The prophecies quoted by Matthew seem rather to indicate that although the Messiah is to enter Jerusalem riding in triumph, His meekness is to be indicated by the lowly animal which He is to ride. Matthew says the disciples “brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and he sat thereon” (Matthew 21:7). Although he does not make clear which animal Jesus rode, the three other writers state that He rode the colt. Strauss made a great play on the obscurity of Matthew’s description, claiming that he suggests the ridiculous proposition that Jesus rode both animals at once. The statement of Matthew declares that Jesus “sat thereon” (i.e., on the garments — the noun last mentioned); the colt is the last mentioned of the two animals and is therefore the one to which he naturally refers. Allen, urging the Two-source Theory, declares that Matthew in copying from Mark was “not quite careful to make the details harmonious. The Lord could not ride on both animals, and there was no need, therefore, to place clothes on both” (Commentary on Matthew p. 220). But Professor Allen is not quite careful to make his comments harmonious. Mark has nothing to say about the mother of the colt; so how could Matthew have introduced it from Mark? The reason for the disciples’ action in placing their garments on both animals is apparent: they did not know which animal Jesus planned to ride.

Why Two Animals? The reason for two animals being brought is as apparent as why two disciples were sent after them. It was a very bold thing they were asked to do, and the two could help to confirm the testimony that was to be given when their conduct was challenged. As for the colt, it would be much more tractable if accompanied by its mother. This was not a matter of moment in respect to Him who could command the wind and the waves to obey His will, but it would be of assistance to the disciples in performing their mission. Moreover, when one studies the prophecy in the Old Testament, the way both animals are mentioned makes it particularly fitting that both should be present here. This part of the prophecy is not to be dismissed as mere Hebrew parallelism, for the writer could have used some other angle of emphasis in the second line of the couplet. The entirely incidental manner in which both animals are at the gate of a home at the exact time needed, a fact which Jesus knew by supernatural knowledge, indicates the guiding hand of God’s providence bringing about the fulfillment of that which He had predicted. The King Comes

While Jesus was acting with the primary purpose of doing the will of God, everything which He did had both purpose and effect in view. There was always the objective of leading men to faith in Him and to eternal salvation. No matter how humble the animal He rode at the triumphal entry, the very fact that He rode while all the others walked made clear His declaration of royalty to the nation and to the ages. The crowd instantly recognized this and proclaimed it with ecstatic joy. Jesus had continually made the veiled claim to Kingship, although He had refrained from making any clear public announcement. Gibson points out that even such a seemingly humble declaration as “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven” implies that Jesus is King. When the people tried to offer Him the crown after the feeding of the five thousand and were planning to take Him by force and make Him King, He refused it for their conception and motives were worldly. Now, however, the time has come to make clear to the nation His claim. In spite of the fact that it will immediately precipitate the crisis which will lead to His death, the declaration of divine Messiahship must be made. It was not vain show or worldly display on the part of Jesus. Both the Old Testament predictions and the Gospel narratives make plain the humility of Jesus. He coupled with this claim to Messiahship such a bold revelation of the spiritual character of His Messiahship as to encourage the people to accept Him as the Christ and to change their conception of what the Christ should be. The Carpeted Highway The crowd was in a frenzy of delight not merely because Jesus was deliberately entering the Holy City where the national leaders had publicly decreed His arrest if anybody would report His whereabouts, but because He was riding into their midst in triumph! They made a carpet for Him to ride upon from their cloaks (the gala attire of the great festival), from the branches which they broke off the nearby trees, and from palm branches. These last grew in the hot Jordan valley and probably were brought up the highway with them or were furnished by the multitude which rushed out from the city to meet the concourse of people descending the Mount of Olives. In 1Ma 13:51 Simon was accorded a triumphal entry into Jerusalem in which palm branches were used. Revelation 7:9 shows that to carry palms was a “mark of triumphant homage to a victor or a king.” The branches of palms and of willows were waved at the Feast of Tabernacles in the processional recitation of Psalms 118:1-29. Because of this some critics, with customary perversity, have attempted to argue that this must have been the Feast of Tabernacles and that the Gospel narratives are in error in affirming that this was the Passover; but the citations from 1 Maccabees and Revelation are sufficient to show that palms could have been used at any time in welcoming a victorious hero or a king. The Catholics still carry palm branches on the Sunday before Easter, which they call Palm Sunday; in countries where they are unable to secure palms, they use willows. The Two Crowds

During the day which Jesus had spent in Bethany the crowd accompanying Jesus from Jericho had scattered to their respective lodging places. The exciting news which they spread caused others to join them as they surrounded Bethany on the day after the Sabbath. Many probably had camped at Bethany. At the triumphal entry there were two distinct multitudes that joined. One surrounded Jesus at Bethany when He sent for the colt; these seem largely from Galilee for they took a particular pride in announcing that in their midst was “the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:11). A second throng came out of the city to join those who were already at Bethany (John 12:12, John 12:13). In such a time when the whole nation converged on the capital, a continuous stream of new arrivals must have been in evidence. By the time the procession arrived in the city, everybody within its limits was stirred to inquiry (Matthew 21:10).

Independence of the Accounts The four-fold account of the triumphal entry offers powerful evidence of the independence of the narratives. The intricate maze of varying details, points of interest and emphasis that is found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John defies any sort of analysis that points to interdependence or origin from common “sources,” or any analysis that attempts to destroy the essential unity and truth of the accounts and to prove that they are contradictory. Zealous Form Criticism enthusiasts find in this section the same sort of distressing dilemma as the hunter who is suddenly confronted by an angry porcupine which he is compelled to approach and to attempt to seize. A multitude of differences in detail, minute and deadly, face the critic who argues (1) that Matthew copied from Mark, Luke from Mark and Matthew, or (2) that Matthew copied from Ur-Mark and Q, and Luke from all three, and that John used the three preceding Gospel narratives. Only John gives the chronological note that dates this triumphal entry “on the morrow” which may mean after the arrival at Bethany or after the anointing by Mary or both. Only Mark gives the chronological note that places the triumphal entry as to the time of day: he states “it being now eventide” as the procession finally entered the temple and Jesus looked around on all things. Why did the others omit this pointed notation, if they were merely copying? Such differences offer no real difficulty in regard to witnesses or writers who record facts and events from an independent viewpoint. As to the time of day, Andrews supposes that it was about noon when Jesus left Bethany and hence by the time the vast crowd had reached the temple area, it was late in the afternoon. Other scholars suppose that He did not leave Bethany until the middle of the afternoon and that He arrived in the temple shortly before sunset.

Relation of the Accounts

All four accounts make plain that the procession started from Bethany (Mark and Luke mention both Bethany and Bethphage; Matthew mentions only Bethphage). The first three carefully record the details of how the colt was secured; john does not mention this, but summarizes “Jesus, having found a young ass.” John was familiar with the other Gospel accounts (everybody admits this), but his knowledge of what they had said did not lead him to copy — he rather refrained from repeating thrice-told details and abbreviated such in order to record new facts. Both Mark and Luke record the words of Jesus that the colt He was asking them to bring was one “whereon no man ever yet sat.” Critics would seize this as indicating Luke had copied this phrase from Mark, but immediately the sharp point of the omission of this phrase in Matthew halts their progress. And what a significant difference this is! Mark, according to their theory, is supposed to have represented Jesus as merely a heroic man, or at least to have kept subdued any intimations or declarations of deity, whereas Matthew is supposed to have written later and to have exaggerated and invented to make Jesus the Son of God.

Exceedingly embarrassing to such a theory is the fact that it is Mark who records and Matthew who omits “whereon no man ever yet sat”! Critics attempt to argue that Matthew copied in confused form the statement from Mark: “And straightway he will send him back hither,” which they interpret to mean a promise of Jesus to return the colt shortly and which they declare Matthew interpreted to mean an assurance that the owners of the colt would straightway send the animal desired. Such a contention is without foundation, for they cannot even prove that Jesus in His original instructions did not give assurance to the apostles that the owners would grant the use of the animal and also assurance to the owners that it would be returned, in which case the two writers are reporting different details of the command. Mark is very explicit in describing exactly where the colt would be found, and it reminds one again of the probability that Peter (who directed the writing of Mark according to early Christian scholars) was one of the two disciples who were sent to secure the colt.

Fulfillment of Prophecy

Both Matthew and John call attention to the fact that Jesus’ action fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, while John’s reference is brief and his quotation free. Only Matthew records the fact that two animals were brought and pointedly shows how this fulfills in amazingly accurate fashion the exact prediction of the prophet. Allen claims that “the editor” (of the Gospel of Matthew) deliberately prepared the reader for the prophecy by “inserting” into the record an account of the mother of the colt. In other words this is not history, but pure invention in order to make the readers believe that the prophecy was thus fulfilled to the letter. And we are asked to believe on the mere ipse dixit of a critic that a Gospel writer, who urges truth and righteousness in the highest degree man has ever known, himself bolsters his appeal for truth by lying without limit! The Shouts of Praise A study of the parallel passages will show in what interesting fashion the reports of the plaudits of the crowd vary. Evidently some of the people shouted one thing and some another; and yet all had the same general content and purpose. “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9). “Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest” (Mark 11:9, Mark 11:10). “Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38). “Hosanna: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (John 12:13). What diversity of detail amid such unity of testimony! Jesus is being hailed as the Messiah, the King, the Son of David; the kingdom is being acclaimed; the praise of God and the fulfillment of His purposes declared! The word “Hosanna” is primarily a prayer rather than an acclamation: “Save now.” It came to mean an exclamation of praise, “Hail.” It seems to mean here a prayer that the Lord will grant His blessing upon the Messiah in the midst and upon those who have associated themselves with Him; a prayer that the expected glory of the Messiah may now be accomplished. “Hosanna in the highest” may mean a prayer that God will save them and bring them into the blessings of the highest, i.e., heaven; or if the word is used as an acclamation, it may mean, “Let those in the highest heaven rejoice!” It would, if the latter meaning be correct, be similar to the joyful cry of the angels when Christ was born, “Glory to God in the highest.” In the cry, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” the verb must be supplied in the Greek and it may be either imperative or indicative: “Let the Messiah be blessed” or “The Messiah is blessed since He comes in the name of the Lord.” The mention of the kingdom in Mark’s report, and of the title “King” in the reports of Luke and John, makes absolutely clear that the people were hailing Jesus as Messiah and King. It is impossible for any critic to maintain that Jesus was not declaring Himself as the Messiah in accepting this homage. The people were expecting Him to restore the lost glory of the reign of David. They were permitted to hail Him as King, even though they did not understand clearly His spiritual mission. Jesus mingled instruction of the most dramatic character with His acceptance of their acclaim. The enemies of Christ were quick to seize upon the triumphal entry to bolster their charges before Pilate a few days later that Jesus claimed to be a king and was in fact a rival of Caesar. Luke reports the remarkable new element of praise: “Peace in heaven.” Plummer suggests that this is a paraphrase of “Hosanna in the highest”: “Heaven is the abode of God, and there is peace there because man is reconciled to God, or perhaps because peace is now prepared for man in the heavenly kingdom” (Commentary on Luke, p. 448). Evidently those who were crying aloud the praise of Jesus in terms of “Peace in heaven” were the more spiritually minded among the multitude, and there must have been many of these. If the meaning of the cry is “Let the peace that is in heaven be upon the earth,” then here is another parallel to the song of the angels (Luke 2:14). Zechariah 9:9, Zechariah 9:10 says “He shall speak peace unto the nations.” The apostles and intimate disciples would have known the facts about the song of the angels at the birth of Jesus and this may be their joyous cry taken up by the crowd. Some of the shepherds may have been present also. To these disciples it would mean: “Now has come the supreme moment of which the angels sang at His birth”; to an excited and worldly minded element in the crowd, bent on starting a bloody revolution against Rome, it would introduce the thought of peace as God’s most precious gift rather than war. After all, even those who plan war look forward to ultimate peace.

Use of the Old Testament

Quoting from Psalms 118:25, Psalms 118:26, the people sang the praises of the Messiah. Some hold that this Psalm was written at the laying of the foundation stone of the second temple or for the dedication of this temple. Others claim it was written for the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated after the return from captivity (Ezra 3:1). As they saw Jesus about to enter the city in triumph, their praise found a natural expression in the words of this Psalm which was used at the Feast of Tabernacles (and as some hold at the Passover, also). At any rate they were accustomed to the words of the Psalm, and the fact that they broke forth in unison thus at the triumphal entry is no more surprising than for a congregation today to begin to express their joy in some familiar Christian hymn. John specifically informs us that the disciples did not understand at the time that the course of Jesus was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy in such amazing fashion, so we are not to search in Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 62:11 for the meaning of the shouts of praise. A close study of these wonderful Messianic passages will help us, however, to appreciate the way in which Jesus fulfilled the predictions. Notice the emphasis in Zechariah on the spiritual character of the Messiah’s mission, His justice, saving power and humility, and the sharp contrast between the ass, the animal of peace — and the horse, the animal of war. Zechariah 9:10-12 contains most beautiful and impressive material, especially Zechariah 9:12, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope.” The entire sixty-second chapter of Isaiah is full of thrilling Messianic predictions.

Luke’s Account

Luke has recorded some nine chapters of immensely important material practically all of which is found only in his narrative. The triumphal entry marks the close of this new material as he proceeds to narrate, as do the others, the climactic events of Jesus’ ministry. He omits the account of the supper in the home of Simon the leper, while recording sayings and incidents not found in the other narratives. The most important addition of Luke in regard to the triumphal entry begins in Luke 19:37. He tells that the crowd was mingling testimony to the miracles of Jesus with the cries of praise. He notes the important move of the Pharisees to quiet the multitude and forestall the triumphal entry of Jesus, and the response of the Master to them (Luke 19:39, Luke 19:40). The scene of Jesus weeping over the city and His words of anguish and dreadful warning are found only in Luke (Luke 19:41-44). Luke also states that the bystanders who questioned the apostles (Mark 11:5) were the owners of the colt (perhaps bystanders first objected and then the attention of the owners was called to the apostles); and that the tumultuous outburst of the multitude occurred just at the crest of the Mount of Olives as they were about to start the descent into the city.

Cumulative Effect of the Miracles The fact that the crowd was strongly moved by many people who had been healed and who now added their testimony to the supernatural power of Jesus, shows that there was a powerful element present who testified from spiritual motives. John verifies this declaration of Luke in his own way by declaring: “The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, bare witness” (John 12:17). Bernard claims that there is a discrepancy between Mark and John because of the different motives described as exciting the enthusiasm of the people, but John merely states an additional and specific source of excitement. It is not hard to imagine the force of the testimony of the man born blind, the lame man who had been healed at the Pool of Bethesda, blind Bartimaeus and his companion who had just been healed at Jericho, and Lazarus who had recently been raised from the dead. The kingly claims of Jesus as He rode in triumph were supported by the testimony of those who had been healed; this was both natural and inevitable.

Diverse Elements

There must have been other elements in the crowd besides the spiritual group of disciples headed by the apostles. The Zealots, who had been filled with excited dreams of the fulfillment of their plans to start the rebellion against Rome that would free the nation, had undertaken to capture Jesus’ movement at the climax of the Galilean campaign. When He fed the five thousand, they were so enthusiastic in their support that they swayed the multitude to the effort to take Jesus by force and make Him King. Jesus had thwarted them by dismissing the crowd and sending His disciples across the lake in the boat while He went into the mountain to pray. By walking on the water He rejoined the disciples at a moment when they desperately needed His help and at the same time left the Zealots camping in vain on the eastern side of the lake. The Sermon on the Bread of Life preached the next day at Capernaum broke up definitely the attempt of the Zealots to capture His movement, even as it ended His popularity in Galilee: He was not the type of Messiah the worldly minded multitudes wanted.

It cannot be doubted that these political fanatics, bent on military action, were present in the throng at the triumphal entry. There is nothing definite in the narrative to indicate this, but the whole background and setting of the scene would indicate it. These two elements in the crowd undoubtedly reacted upon one another: the spiritual, to purify the crude fanaticism of the Zealots; the worldly minded, to give false impetus, motives, and objectives to the nobler element of the crowd. In between these two elements there must have been that large and uncertain portion which is always present in a great crowd — the people who do not think much, do not believe anything very strongly, or stand fast against much opposition. Inasmuch as they were swept along with the enthusiasm of the hour the same reasons, which caused the collapse of Jesus’ Galilean campaign, caused the people to turn away from Jesus a few days after the triumphal entry: they were dismayed at His refusal to use His power to defend Himself and at the calm continuation of His purely spiritual program. During the days of furious combat which followed the triumphal entry, the tide of popular favor was held breathlessly in an even balance with the multitudes supporting Jesus up to the moment of His arrest, but turning with a mighty rush toward the Pharisees to be on “the winning side” under the propaganda of the hirelings whom the hierarchy sent forth among the crowd. Since He permitted Himself to be taken by His enemies, there was nothing that His disciples could do. An evil minority which is desperate and unscrupulous often thus wins its way even when the vast majority of the good people observe with horror the course of events. Thus did such a magnificent display of devotion swiftly change into opposition or despair. Nothing is quite so fickle as the affections of an excited multitude. The Pharisees’ Challenge

There was a fourth element in the crowd at the triumphal entry: the omnipresent enemies of Jesus, plotting, heckling, desperately seeking to stay the rising tide. Only Luke tells us of their effort to silence the mighty paeans of praise: “And some of the Pharisees from the multitude said unto him, Teacher, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said, I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:39, Luke 19:40). The work of the Pharisees, busy with their hostile propaganda among the crowd, had been in evidence at Jericho in the efforts to silence Bartimaeus and in the criticisms of Jesus for eating in the home of Zacchaeus (Luke 18:39; Luke 19:7). Now in desperation they approach Jesus with a demand that He silence the multitude, for the moment they had dreaded most is at hand: Jesus is actually permitting the crowds to hail Him as Christ and King; He is moving toward the temple area and they foresee the glory of a triumphal entry — something must be done to stop this tidal wave descending upon Jerusalem. All they can think of doing or dare attempt is to protest to Jesus and to demand that He rebuke the disciples. Whether this means the apostles were especially leading the demonstration or the whole multitude is classed as “disciples” in this protest, we cannot tell. Nothing could be more magnificent than the reply of Jesus as He solemnly warns that there is nothing which can silence this outburst of praise for the Messiah. It is God’s will! If the people should become so utterly blind and deaf as not to realize or declare the presence of God’s Messiah, then the very stones would cry out. What a rebuke is this: the very inanimate stones have more intelligence, devotion to God, faith, love, and gratitude than the Pharisees! Lange supposes Jesus refers to the crashing of the stones in the fall of Jerusalem: “the stones crying out,” but this is a mystical interpretation which is rather doubtful. The motive of the Pharisees in their objection was of course selfish as they fought desperately to retain their control on the nation, but they were entirely too shrewd and subtle to have based their protest to Jesus upon their own unbelief in Him and their determination to thwart His triumph and destroy Him. They probably based their protest upon an appeal to fear — the fear that such a rash affair as this would be likely to engulf the nation in another futile and bloody outbreak against Rome. They may have made this evident by a significant gesture at the Tower of Antonia as they cried: “Teacher, rebuke thy disciples,” for the Roman soldiers armed for instant service to put down the slightest attempt at revolt among this rebellious people must have been watching with the closest attention this strange cavalcade descending the Mount of Olives. The Lament over Jerusalem

“And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:41-44). Is there to be found elsewhere in all literature such a dramatic contrast as this? The multitude wildly hailing the King and proclaiming the approach of the kingdom — the Messiah pausing at the brow of the mount as the first view of the city is seen and weeping over the utter destruction of Jerusalem which is to be the direct result of their blind rejection of the Son of God! Jesus was not misled by the enthusiasm of the hour; He could read the hearts of friend and foe, and the events of the future. The Greek verb is very strong; it indicates “wailing and sobbing.” It is impossible to determine at all times whether or not Jesus chose to use His miraculous foresight and anticipate His course and its results. But it seems that this scene is entirely spontaneous as He looks upon the holy city and bursts into tears and utters these tragic words of condemnation and lament.

We should remember that Jesus was not weeping over His fate, but theirs: His thoughts were not of His death, but of the terrible fate of the city. Instead of these resounding shouts and songs He could hear the shrieks and groans of the dying as the fierce Romans destroyed the city. Thus, in the most inimitable fashion Jesus chastens His friends for the worldly praise that has not yet realized the purely spiritual character of His kingdom and warns His enemies of the terrible fate that awaits those who fight against God. On the way up from Jericho, Jesus had paused to issue a warning to those who were expecting “the kingdom of God was immediately to appear” — a warning that was couched in The Parable of the Pounds. This acceptance of regal honors as He rode into Jerusalem must have seemed to some to be contrary to the spiritual warning He had just before issued. The apostles, also, must have been struggling hard to forget the terrible predictions Jesus had made of His death at the hands of His enemies. Suddenly in the midst of this glorious celebration which seemed to be sweeping straight toward a material Messiahship, Jesus wept over the holy city doomed by its own unbelief. Thus Jesus tempered false hopes and dreams and sought to call His disciples to the spiritual kingdom which He was to inaugurate. “There is much in the triumphal entry which tells of royalty. There is also something which adds, ‘My kingdom is not of this world” (Godet).