Sunday: The Triumphal Entry
Daily Lesson for Sunday 25th of August 2024
Read Mark 11:1-11 and Zechariah 9:9-10. What’s happening here?
Half of this story involves Jesus sending two disciples to a nearby village to retrieve a donkey for Him to ride on into Jerusalem. Why is so much time spent on this account?
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
The answer is twofold. First, it demonstrates Jesus’ prophetic powers, enhancing the dignity of His arrival and linking it to the will of God. Second, this aspect of the story links to Zechariah 9:9-10, which speaks of the king as riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is reminiscent of the entry of Solomon into Jerusalem on a donkey (1 Kings 1:32-48), when Adonijah tried to usurp the throne, and David commanded that Solomon be immediately crowned.
“Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 569.
Jerusalem is located in a hilly region at an elevation of about 2,400 feet (about 740 meters). In Jesus’ day its population was perhaps 40,000–50,000, but this swelled at Passover. The city covered only about 250 acres, but the temple mount covered about 37 of those acres. The beautiful temple complex dominated the city.
Jesus entered from the east, descending the Mount of Olives and likely entering through the Golden Gate onto the Temple Mount (a gate now bricked shut). The entire city was stirred by His entry, everyone recognizing the significance of His symbolic action. The crowd that accompanied Jesus shouted “hosanna,” a term originally meaning “save now” but eventually coming to mean “praise to God.”
The time for secrecy, which Jesus had insisted throughout most of Mark, has passed. Now Jesus openly enters Jerusalem using a well-known royal symbolic action. He enters the temple, but because it is late in the day, He simply looks around and then retires with the twelve disciples to Bethany. What could have turned into a riot or revolt instead ends with Him quietly retiring. But the next day will be different.
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The idea of riding on the donkey invokes the idea of humility. Why is that such an important trait, especially for Christians? What have we, in light of the Cross, to be proud about? |
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There is an irony that this final week begins with popular acclaim and ends with popular denial. No doubt some people praising Jesus in the triumphal entry were yelling "Crucify Him!" at the end of the week. Such is the nature of crowd emotions and their loyalty.
And using the wave metaphor from yesterday, the triumphal entry was the peaking of the wave, while the crucifixion was the final rush of water over the rocky shore.
Critics claim that Jesus intended to ride this wave and take the Jews to victory but that something went wrong as he was not the Messiah. The reality of course is much deeper than that. If we go back over this quarter's study we read that Jesus went to considerable lengths to point out that the messianic message was not about an earthly kingdom that would beat up the Romans and ultimately rule the earth. It was about sacrifice, unselfish love, and service.
One of the most influential books in the last 100 years is Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", He took to task the notion that scientists marched towards their understanding of new ideas in an almost linear fashion. He advanced the idea that Science goes through a series of "paradigm shifts" as one idea becomes untenable and is replaced by another.
The time for a paradigm shift in our perception of the meaning of salvation occurs during this week leading up to and concluding with the crucifixion. Two centuries later we need to ask ourselves; which side of the paradigm shift do we stand on?
My question is prompted by the idea that sometimes we get so involved with interpretations, history and lifestyle, that we fall short in our relationship with Jesus.
Are we still trying to ride the crest of the wave when it has already broken on the shore of our spiritual experience?
Thank you for your detailed interpretation @maurice can I have any materials on fall of communism , libya as well ? The lessons of Daniel 11 ?
Much appreciated
Thank you, Ed, but I am not sure how the fall of communismm orr Libya have to do with today's lesson. I encourage readers to comment and contribute to the current lesson topics.
sure it wasn't about today's lesson. I'm approached by a post Soviet companion asking for such materials. This is after hearing some SDA sermons . So I thought it would be nice to ask here
Ok Ed, thank you for the explanation.
As we come to the close of the book of Mark, we se that there was clearly a change in the direction of Jesus's ministry. However, was there a change in the thought pattern of the disciples, the people and the religious leaders of Jesus's day?
Jesus knew that the time had come for the fulfillment of his mission. So he allowed himself to be hailed as a king at that point in time. However, many of the people, including the disciples, were hailing him as a deliveror from Roman dominance. How could they not see and understand Jesus's true mission? They were present and saw first hand his miracles. They heard his explanations of his mission from his own mouth, but they still did not understand. How could we know that they did not understand?
The very next week, the same people cried out, "crucify him" and Jesus's disciples abandoned him. How could the one who was supposed to deliver us from Roman bondage allow himself to be arrested, and then be condemned to die? Isn't he the same person who performed spectacular miracles, including bringing dead people back to life, calming raging seas and billowing waves, healing leprosy, turning twisted joints and atrophed muscles to normal appendages in the blink of an eye? What had changed? What was happening? Or had he changed? Had his mission changed? No, no, no. The problem was that the people and disciples were stuck in their traditional way of thinking, their human way of thinking. This human way of thinking was, "what is in it for me."
My friends, we are all born to response in like manner, except we allow the Holy Spirit to change us from carnal to spiritual in nature. We cannot do this in our own strength. Only the Holy Spirit can do this for us. But, we have to want it! That is why Jesus said in Matt 5:6, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they will be filled." Yes we need to know the doctrines, and be able to quote scriptures, and be good lifelong church goers, but most importantly, we need to be changed by the Holy Spirit. One sign that we need the spirit, it the feeling that we are "good as we are."
My prayer is for the in filling of the Holy Spirit, so that he can take full control of my life, and that he will use me, as he chooses, to fulfill his mission.
Not to be "Proud" but to "Rejoice and Glory," in Jesus' Salvation for us and also for His Ruling over us too as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, even now as we "Eagerly await His Soon Second Coming!"
I'm blessed by the comments I read here
All power and glory and honor must be given to God, not to Christians. Believers are to trust in God Who fights for them and never let them down. We better live this.
According to the Bible, Jesus chose to ride a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfill a prophecy from the Book of Zechariah, symbolizing a peaceful and humble approach to his rule, as donkeys were associated with peace in ancient Middle East, unlike horses which were linked to war. This decision also demonstrated Jesus's meekness and avoided potential conflict with Jewish zealots who might have seen him as a military leader if he had ridden a horse.
The triumphal entry was the fulfillment of many Israelites hopes and dreams of what à "Jesus administration" was going to look like. In many ways it was Jesus's apex of popularity. I believe that Jesus drank it all in knowing what lay in store for Himself.
People, even today, are easily manipulated. Like today, there were competing factions seeking to influence the "polling numbers". No doubt the religious leaders were shaking and their plans to eliminate Jesus were put into hyperdrive, after seeing this wave surge of Jesus popularity. No doubt the Roman authorities were also concerned and wondering where this was going. I'm sure that security was ramped up in Jerusalem because of it.
A lesson to the wise. Don't get too caught up in the excitement when people speak well of you. People are fickle and easily swayed. You could be less than a week from your own "crucifixion".
What we do, must be for the applause of heaven, not earth. We could one day be sitting on "top of the world". The next day the world can roll over on you.
The only praise that matters is to hear, "Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord". (Matthew 25:21) That's the only "atta boy" (or girl) that matters. That's the praise that I want to hear. Everything else is just noise.
"A lesson to the wise. Don't get too caught up in the excitement when people speak well of you. People are fickle and easily swayed. You could be less than a week from your own "crucifixion"."
Appreciated all of your comment but this one should particularly take on personal application. Yes!
Made me think of these verses:
John 2:23-25 (KJV) 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
A simple question: why did the (presumably) owner/attendants let the colt go? Did the two disciples mention Jesus by name? Or did they say "The Lord ...." verbatim? If the latter, then wouldn't the owner then ask: "who is this you call The Lord?" Either way, the two disciples mentioned "Jesus" by name.
Still, why would the owner let the beast go? Was it because Jesus was famous by then? Was it a cultural manner to lend whatever your fellow citizens need?
Somewhere I read that the availability of the colt was pre-planned. This argument would undermine Jesus' prophetic power. But I have no plausible explanation otherwise, thus, the question.
Hosanna! So excited! Finally He is stepping up! Hurrah!! Wait a minute. What just happened? Where did He go?? Many would turn on Him who had been hopeful supporters.
After His crucifixion even the disciples hid in fear thinking they might have backed the wrong candidate!
• Some hated Him because He threatened their economy/positions of power.
• Others were disappointed because He didn't take power!
○ Careful of my expectations!
○ They may not only disappoint. They make send me in a downward spiral.
• Don't be lifted up by my own popularity.
○ People change opinions quickly.
Jesus, the son of God, walked with humility, rode with humility! I am a child of God. Why should I think I have anything to be proud of since it was the denial of self, suffering and the cruel death of Jesus that gave me the hope of being called a child of God?
I often wonder why it is called the "Triumphal Entry".
It's actually a heartbreaking demonstration of failure.
Not God's failure, but the people's failure.
It's what "could have been", had they accepted Christ as their Messiah and Savior.
But here we see Jesus fulfilling His part, but it ends in Him crying bitterly as He sits on that donkey overlooking the doomed city.
Luke gives us the emotional side of that scene.
First the rejoicing Luke 19:37-38, and then the bitter tears.
Of course, it's not complete failure, it will be fulfilled in the earth made new, but what would it have been like if Jesus, as the Messiah from sin, and bringer of righteousness had been accepted back then?
Jesus knew that he was going to the cross. It seems to me that he was allowing that public attention, centering around himself, in order to lead the people to the central act of his mission: Crucifixion, death, resurrection ascension into heaven, sitting at the right hand of God, climaxing in the promise of his coming again. (Acts 1:11) Only then would the kingdom of glory be established, prior to the kingdom of grace, Christ had established in his mission on earth. (Matthew 12:28; Matthew 25:31) We are living between the "already now" of the kingdom of God and the "not yet" of the kingdom still to come.
Due to the misunderstannding of the real mission of Christ, the public was clamouring for his crucifixion later and even the disciples had to learn the truth on their way to Emmaus later. (Luke 24:44-45)
We also may learn later some deeper aspects of biblical truth, we do not understand right now.
Winfried Stolpmann