Triumphal Entry of the King

April 3, 2022 Background Scripture: Matthew 20:25 - 28; 21: 1 -11 Lesson Passage: Matthew 21:1-11 Jewish Leaders had sought for three years for Jesus to affirm his identity. That affirmation finally occurred in today's text. For three years, Jesus had purposely avoided such a public display of himself and his mission. On occasions when the masses tried to embrace him and declare him to be their earthly king, Jesus quietly slipped away. Jesus seemed content to remain rather lowkey and spend his time ministering to the overlooked, or outcast, members of society. He was criticized by the religious leaders for readily fellowshipping with those who were often despised by the Jews—such as tax collectors. But, in today's lesson, Jesus orchestrated a public presentation of himself as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. He rode into Jerusalem in the style of a king. The people cheered and place articles of clothing and palm branches along the path. He was hailed as Israel's king and a descendant of King David. In a parallel account, the Pharisees called out from the crowd and asked Jesus to rebuke his followers for what they were saying. Jesus declined to do so and thus endorsed what was being said by the crowd. After three years of undeniable evidence that clearly identified Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus publicly displayed his identity and mission. He knew that this too had to come to pass. This public presentation of Jesus would lead to his rejection by Israel. That is good news for every nation of people in the world. Salvation was made available to the world after Jesus was rejected by the nation of Israel as their king. It was necessary, and prophesied, that Jesus had to be offered to the Jews first. That seems like a strange turn of events given today's text. But within a week of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, there would be a crowd screaming "Crucify him!" Some have opined that it was the same crowd. That is not a surprising accusation given the fickleness of human character. However, there is nothing in the scriptures to substantiate such an opinion. How should believers today consider and understand this text? From a historical perspective, we should know that there was an event in time when Jesus publicly and formally offered himself to the Jews as their long-awaited Messiah. What Jesus did and the way he did it was prophesied centuries earlier by the prophet Zechariah. Sometimes it is not easy to recognize the present fulfillment of prophecy. Today, it seems obvious to us when we read the prophecy of Zechariah and we read the account in the Gospel that the two events are one and the same. The Jews then, as we do now, focused on the issues of the day with little to no regard for unfulfilled prophecy. We have the luxury of looking back at this as history. How well do we compare the current events of today with unfulfilled prophecy? Most importantly, we should see this from a theological perspective. As a non-Jewish person, I must embrace the importance of Jesus offering himself to the Jews first. It was their rejection of him at that time that made provisions for non-Jews to be saved and brought into God's covenant of grace. Their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah also paved the way for his crucifixion. The crucifixion was the public offering of the sinless Christ to God as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem as their king foreshadowed the real mission for which he came into the world. Robert C. Hudson March 5, 2022