The Triumphant Entry

The land of Judea was a political hot bed, and the people of the Israel were eagerly awaiting their Messiah to lead them to an independent country. They had tasted independence with the Maccabean revolt but since then had been conquered by one country and the next. By 55 B.C. E., Judea was under the rule of the Romans, and Gabinus was working to tear the country apart to insure little resistance.
He divided the country into five districts each ruled by its own administration. This was done to break up districts that had been in place since the time of Solomon and therefore popular resistance made assembling all the more difficult.
During a decade of unrest Herod put himself in power. By 47-46 B.C.E. he was working on ridding Galilee of “robbers.” Historians feel that these robbers were, in fact, rebel sects and, Herod’s tactics put him in direct conflict with the Sanhedrin. His own father, Antipater, prevented him from seeking vengeance against the Sanhedrin’s resistance.
When his father was poisoned in 43 B.C.E., the country was rocked and the fate of Palestine lay open. As the country lay in turmoil, the land was invaded and the Romans were pushed out of the county. By 40 B.C.E., the land had a Hasmonean king.
Herod, being one of the few leaders to survive, decided to travel to Rome to get help to retake Judea.
In Rome, he was declared and recognized as the King of Judea and stated his loyalty to Rome. He returned, gathered favor in the north, and laid siege on Jerusalem. His first attack failed, but by 37 B.C.E. the country was almost completely Roman once again.
Herod, with a past that angered the Sanhedrin, and having no real right to power, made the Israelites angry. While their resistances were frequently shot down, the people lay in wait for the day that they would be led to a great uprising against everything that oppressed them.
This set the political stage for the coming of Jesus. The time of his birth and life were a political powder keg and so many came to see him as the spark that would lead to war and then independence. With John the Baptist calling in the wilderness the world was readied for the ministry of Jesus.
Jesus’ ministry, short in length by consideration, was somewhere between a year to three years, depending on the interruption of the Bible. While short, it was full of miracles and excitement. He had shown several miracles including, healing the sick, feeding the multitude, and walking on water. Thousands heard his teachings and everywhere he went he was met with either joyous welcome or vicious scorn. He preached purity and righteousness, not piety and legalism, and this attracted the ‘outcasts’ but annoyed and frustrated the Pharisees and the religiously-educated. When it came to knowing Jesus, or even knowing of Him, it was impossible for anyone to be without an opinion.
People followed Him everywhere and multitudes massed everywhere he stopped. While it is hard to tell exactly how many people listened to his lessons it is clear that it was many. The only time a number is truly stated is when he feeds the 40,000. With the raising of Lazarus, Jesus prepared to complete His purpose on earth. The Passover was approaching and Jesus made His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His true purpose. He went with the sole understanding that He was to be killed. The entry into the city marked the beginning of the Passion Week that would forever reshape our world, and for the believers, redeem their souls.
The Triumphant Entry, Palm Sunday as it is now recognized, was to be the coming of the King of the Jews. Christ was an heir to the royal line, and as Jesus sat on a donkey’s foal, the people whole-heartedly expected the beginning of something great.
While this was not a strong horse deserving of a king or military leader, it made a definitive statement. This was not the proud triumphant entry of a war-conquest or even that of a statement of war. He was the meek ruler of peace and never had any intentions of an earthly kingdom.
Yet to those that knew their Scriptures, this was the fulfillment of prophecy that was written in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” While they were right in assuming this to be a prophecy fulfilled, they mistook it to be an earthly salvation. They were waiting for a Messiah who would save them from the Roman oppression, and they expected this to be the turning point.
Some in modern criticism wrongly say that Jesus expected to be received as the Messiah immediately. It is strange that someone would assume such a thing as it is obvious by the crowd’s actions that they were waiting to receive Him. In fact, it is more reasonable to assume that Jesus was largely indifferent to the fervor. He shows no interest or political agenda, because He had no political aspirations.
The crowds that encircled Him were predominately Galilean as it states in John. It would seem many of them had followed Jesus after seeing Him raise Lazarus from the dead. If this is an accurate understanding of the Scripture, then many of the people were naturally making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday of the Passover. While it is difficult to pinpoint the beginning of this parade, it can be said that it possibly started in a village or district outside the walls, presumably Bethpage.
While it would have been largely pilgrims who were surrounding Jesus, it is difficult to estimate how many, if any of the Judeans, would have been actively participating in this celebration. It is true that most would have known of Jesus and at that point, the scholars stop agreeing. Many scholars feel that Judeans would have already made up their minds and decided to be against Jesus, while others say that they would not have been timid bystanders. If they did not already had an opinion, surely they would have been caught up in the crowd mentality.
Regardless of where different people stood as far as the procession was concerned, it was obvious that the great multitude saw this as a truly special occasion. The people simply could not contain themselves. They spread their cloaks on the ground along with palms while others waved palms and were shouting, “Hosanna!” These activities were not spur of the moment events but were regular parts of Jewish custom.
The cry of “Hosanna” was usually a part of a marching procession and was largely reserved for the Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, an important Jewish holiday. The cry would be accompanied with waving of palms and Sukkot bouquet. The phrase is a shortened verse of the phrase, “anna adonai hoshi-ah-anna”. It was shortened largely because of the fact that the phrase would be continuously repeated, and therefore it would be easier to shorten it.
Some scholars feel that these actions revived memories of the festival, where the people remembered being freed from Egyptian oppression and their journey to the Promised Land. The scholars claim that these connections would have further driven the spur of Jewish excitement as they figured that the Roman oppression’s end was also at hand.
This is another area of dispute, as others feel this is trying to draw too much from the event. They point to the fact that in addition to being used for Sukkot, the cry of “Hosanna” was also used at other solemn occasions in connection with the waving of palm leaves. This would also be commonly used as a greeting that included a rephrasing from both parties.
Regardless of how reverent the actions, the shear numbers of those who gathered showed just how important it was. The Pharisees understood the importance of the celebration, as most accounts show the Pharisees either confronting Jesus directly or mumbling amongst themselves about the event. While they did not understand the true reasoning for the event, everyone knew something big was about to happen, and in this sense they were so right.
This event was essential to the story of Jesus, as many scholars both in the camp of the “Jesus of History” and the “Jesus of Faith” believe. Both parties feel that without this event in Jesus’ life, the story is incomplete.
The gospel writers, in retrospect, had a full understanding of the importance of this event, and all four felt a need to record it. Even though they all wrote about it, all the accounts differ slightly, just like nearly every previous time where they all report on a shared event.
Mark and Luke include two locations, Bethpage and Bethany, while Matthew only mentions Bethpage. While all three agree that two disciples are sent for the donkey, they all slightly differ. Matthew claims that Jesus sends for both the mother donkey and the foal, by saying, “Bring them.” While Mark and Luke both agree that it was only the foal.
Matthew does not mention the disciples being questioned when they take the donkey, while both Mark and Luke do. Mark further mentions that the donkey’s return is promised. The three gospels have Jesus get on the donkey using the disciple’s coats as a saddle. John, up to this point, omits everything.
They all agree that there is a multitude of people out there celebrating the arrival. Matthew and Mark say that the people laid their cloaks and plant leaves in the road, while John’s account mentions the leaves and omits the cloaks. Among the three it is unclear as to what type of leaves were placed on the road; one says tree leaves, another leaves of the field, but John states plainly that it is palm branches. Luke opts to not include the fact that anything is placed in the road. Matthew, Mark, and John, all use the phrase “Hosanna,” but Luke instead uses other phrasing as they retell the actual procession into town.
Luke tells that the Pharisees take an active approach by requesting Jesus to rebuke His followers to which Jesus replies that if His followers are silenced, then the rocks would cry out. John, though, has them take a more passive-aggressive approach and has them discussing the event and finalizing their plans. Both Mark and Matthew say nothing about the religious elite being anywhere in attendance.
While the gospels disagree, it does not mean that the gospels are wrong, in fact, the Bible is infallible. What it means is that the gospel writers each had their own individual points they wished to make. Luke is focused on showing Jesus to be the perfect son of man, while Matthew is showing Jesus to be a king. John is proving Him to be the Savior while Mark is portraying Jesus as a servant. In each light, they record their accounts, adding or omitting facts to highlight certain aspects of Christ’s character
This is probably why John chooses to omit the events in Bethany and Bethpage but makes the connection of prophecy, highlighting Him as Messiah. Matthew includes the prophecy to highlight Him as King.
In addition to the qualities that they wished to present they also were writing to different people. This is probably why Luke opts not to mention the waving of branches or the shouting of “Hosanna”. His focus was the Gentiles who would not necessarily have understood the importance of the event, so he does not include it. He does loosely translate the cry of “Hosanna” so that the Gentiles will understand that the multitude had high expectations.
The triumphant entry was neither the first, nor the last event where the accounts show differences. While the gospel authors chose to do this, you will find that none of the differences are in conflict.
This event is essential for both the “Jesus of history” as well as the “Jesus of faith”. The difference is how the event is viewed. For those of the Jesus seminar, it is a sign that Jesus is ready for a pushing forward of His socio-economic change. In their version of the account, it would seem that like many other parts of the gospel He is looking for a moral and physical change. “The image that comes out of our work is not a Jesus who was an apocalyptic visionary as much as He was a social revolutionary. And that is a massive step in our understanding of Jesus,” says John Dominic Crossan. In this sense, the ride would seem very in line with this Jesus. Yet it is equally important, if not even more so, for the “Jesus of Faith”. The triumphant entry fulfilled prophecy and this, marked the definitive turn in Jesus’ life from ministry to His Passion and our salvation.

Works Cited

Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Vol. 2. Grand Rapids. 27 Nov. 2007.

Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ:the Orgins of the NT Image of Jesus. 2nd ed. Yale University, 2000.

Huffman, J.A. With Christ During Passion Week. Butler, Indiana: The Highley P. 27 Nov. 2007.

KJV BibleKohler, Kauffman. “Hosanna.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 26 Nov. 2007 <www.jewishencyclopedia.com>.

Thomas, Robert L., and Stanley N. Gundry. The NIV Harmony of the Gospels. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

Tudno, John. Revised Common Lectionary. Norwich: Canterbury P, 91.

Wide Margin Bible (New International Version)

. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

. 27 Nov. 2007 <www.biblegateway.com>.

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