The Road to the Cross: The Triumphal Entry
April 4, 2019
An ancient hymn echoed faintly throughout the corridors of Jerusalem, a crowned city sitting atop a mighty hill.
“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
Every week, for ages, believers would sing this song in anticipation of the coming Messiah. Psalm 24 was a favorite of the people, for it promised that the earth and its fullness belonged to God. And it promised that the city of Jerusalem would be the place to which the King would return for the rescue of his people.
But for hundreds of years, the people had laid in anguish, struggling under the oppression of former captors and foreign invaders alike. The Assyrians, the Persians, and the Romans had brought much affliction over the course of several centuries, and Israel longed for the coming Messiah—the Anointed and Holy One of God—who would rule with equity and fairness and bring perfect peace and welfare and restoration to God’s people.
“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”
With anticipation, believing Israel held fast hope, though others had rejected the promise. “The Messiah is coming soon… We just don’t know exactly when.”
“Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!”
One Sunday morning, a light clip-clop, clip-clop was heard coming up the hill and through the gates of Jerusalem. The echoes of Psalm 24 had not long left their lips, before news of a rider on a donkey began spreading… A donkey! This was certainly no king on a war-horse. Rather, a donkey conveyed peace in the midst of warfare. And even a young colt rode in tandem with her. Innocency and humility were on display.
“Look, it’s Jesus! Christ is here!”
The people in Jerusalem had no sooner heard that Christ had arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover than they began making way for him. Throwing off their cloaks and laying them out before him, they praised him. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Peace had made his way to Israel. The one who has healing in his wings had come for the rescue of his people. And he who came to triumph over Israel’s enemy—Satan, sin, and death—had come for his own.
Foreigners and unbelievers alike were stirred up. “Who is this man!?” “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee,” replied those who had seen and heard of him.
This Jesus was the Prophet long-awaited, who is himself the word of God made flesh. He was the King who would establish his rule for all eternity. An he was the Priest who would make atonement for the sins of his people. He would soon shed his own blood on their behalf—the righteous atoning for the unrighteous. And his active obedience and perfect righteousness would be attributed to his own—all for love’s sake.
This same Jesus we know as our Lord and our God. The return of this same Jesus we ourselves now anticipate.
“He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
