The Triumphant Entry

Transcription

1 The Triumphant Entry Mark 11: And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2 and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 "And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. Jesus was preparing to enter into Jerusalem for the last time. This entry would come to be known as His Triumphant entry. Contrast this with the Roman understanding of the procession of triumph, the parade of victory 2 On the day of his triumphal entry into Rome, the victorious general wore regalia that identified him as near-divine or near-kingly, and a laurel wreath of victory was held above his head. He rode in a chariot through the streets of Rome in unarmed procession with his army and the spoils of his war. At Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline Hill he offered sacrifice and the tokens of his victory to the god. Thereafter he had the right to be described as vir triumphalis ("man of triumph", later known as triumphator) for the rest of his life. After death, he was represented at his own funeral, and those of his later descendants, by a hired actor who wore his death mask (imago) and was clad in the all-purple, gold-embroidered triumphal toga picta ("painted" toga). Has it ever crossed your mind why the Romans allowed the entry of Christ into Jerusalem in what has become known as the Triumphal Entry? Remember the Romans were there to quell insurrection, to hold in check the turbulent Jews, and yet, even when the people of Jerusalem were lining the streets proclaiming praise to Jesus as King, there was no interference on their part! Note what a Triumphant procession looked like in Rome. 3 1) The Roman conquering general appeared as close to kingly as possible, Jesus wore His everyday garb, no finery or kingly garments, wearing nothing to indicate His Deity. 4 2) The conquering general had a wreath held over his head to show to the people his victory over the enemy, Jesus would wait for a little over a week, and then God the Father would raise Him from the dead and Satan s grip over death would be broken and the strong man defeated. Mark 3: "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27 "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. 1

2 6 3) The victorious general rode into Rome on a chariot which sometimes had the kings or generals he had conquered chained to its wheels. Not their crowns or even their heads, them. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. 7 4) The hero would go to the Temple of Jupitor where he would offer a sacrifice to Jupitor. Jesus would wait a week and then Himself as a sacrifice for all mankind. 8 5) After this the general would be honored through his life with the name triumphator. Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah, the Savior, to all who would recognize Him as such and faithfully obey him. Mark 11: And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat upon it. 8 And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!" 11 And He entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking all around, He departed for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. Given their idea of a triumphant entry, it was as if they saw what was happening and considered it to be a joke. The Jews were welcoming their king, and he was riding a donkey, dressed in traveling clothes, sitting on someone else s cloaks. The Romans had no respect for Jesus nor the Jews. Jesus purpose in riding into Jerusalem was to make public His claim to be the Messiah and King of Israel in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Matthew tells us that the King coming on the foal of a donkey was an exact fulfillment of Zech 9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus rides into Jerusalem as just what the Jews had been looking for, a conquering King, the king they had been looking for since the time of David and Solomon. They thought Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise that a king from the line of David would sit on the throne forever. Jer 33: 'Behold, days are coming,' declares the Lord,' when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 'In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she shall be called: the Lord is our righteousness.' 17 "For thus says the Lord, 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 2

3 As it was, Jesus was indeed that Messiah, but not as the people thought or wanted. He didn t come to restore physical Israel to greatness, He came to restore man to a covenant relationship with God. Jesus, in His acceptance of their homage, the spreading of cloaks was an act of homage for royalty, 2 Kings 9: And they said, "It is a lie, tell us now." And he said, "Thus and thus he said to me, 'Thus says the Lord," I have anointed you king over Israel. "'" 13 Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king!" He was openly declaring to the people that He was their King and the Messiah they had been waiting for. Indicative of the importance of this event is the fact that all four Gospels record it, Matt 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12: The people just didn t understand that He was not offering Himself to Israel as her King. He had announced at the outset that all should "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" Matt 4: From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." However, this was not an worldly kingdom He was going to establish, but a spiritual Kingdom, founded on His Deity and perfection, perfected in the hearts of those who believed and would repent, ruled from heaven and established on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2. Matt 16: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The Roman triumphal entry was to honor the conquering hero for his victory, to give him glory and praise for his accomplishments. Jesus entered Jerusalem in a state of humility, not dressed in fine clothes, not riding a magnificent chariot in order to help illustrate that His kingdom was not of this world. The real impact is that had He so chosen, the people would have crowned Him their king and fought to overthrow the Roman rule. Jesus illustrated that He could have made that choice, but didn t. Not then. There is a foreshadowing in the event of His triumphant entry, a deliberate demonstration of what Jesus was capable of doing in the long run for those who would receive Him as their Lord and Savior. While Jesus didn t enter Jerusalem to claim kingship then, there is time coming when He will. 3

4 Jesus entered Jerusalem to show that He was indeed the Messiah, and, to deliver himself to die by the hands of His enemies. The kingdom that He was going to establish was dependent upon His sacrifice, His death. Some might call this a delicious irony, Jesus was delivering Himself as a Sacrificial Lamb to Be Slain, but He was also preparing to establish the Kingdom of God over which He would rule as King to prepare His people for the time when He would have a Triumphant victory procession in the skies to deliver that kingdom back to God. He is the King who has yet to come. To reinforce His claim as Messiah, He caused the silence of His enemies. Not a word or a single act of opposition is recorded or indicated as the whole city, with some three million celebrants, roared out a thunderous, unanimous welcome, "Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." But they all, including His disciples, misunderstood. The disciples thought that since He had power over death, having already raised a boy Luke 7: And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" 15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. a girl Luke 8: But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she shall be made well." 51 And when He had come to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. 52 Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep." and Lazarus John 11: Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" 41 And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. 42 "And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me." 43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." Here is God incarnate, deity on Earth, He has the power over death, the natural and logical conclusion is that He would not die. But He came to die John 12: "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 "Father, glorify Thy name." Jesus states that the purpose for His coming was to be the culmination of God s plan to restore man to Him. There is a twofold price to be paid for sin. 4

5 19 1) Physical Death Rom 5:12 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. 20 2) Spiritual Death Rom 6: But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus He would not give up the purpose He came to accomplish just because He could have been king. What does that tell you about importance that He placed His purpose? He did not value the thought of being King of the Jews to equate to being the Savior of the world. He came to reconcile the enemies of God the Father, and this could only be accomplished through the shedding of His blood to satisfy God's justice for the sin of mankind and to change the sinner into a saint 2 Cor 5: For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. His enemies were confused and scared, they kept silent not because they finally accepted His teaching and purpose, but because of the fear which this demonstration of acceptance produced. They saw the people accepting Jesus as their king, in spite of their denouncing Him. Keep in mind that Jesus had on many occasions condemned these leaders, His enemies, what would happen if He were made to be king? Matt 5: "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. He knew that the scriptures had prophesied His entry, as we saw in Zech. 9:9, and He fulfilled that prophecy. A fore-shadowing pointing to when He would come again to take His Kingdom home to God. How sad that those who were so eager to accept Him as King, turned out to be the same ones that rejected Him as Savior. Do you accept Him as Savior? When He comes again in glory, will you be part of His kingdom that he presents to God? Or do you reject Him as your king? 5