The Triumphal Entry

On Palm Sunday it is the ancient tradition of the church to celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. After all, a very large crowd of Jewish pilgrims were filling the city to celebrate Feast of the Passover. It was a time of great Messianic expectation. God had delivered Israel from Egypt on that first Passover, and the time would come when God would deliver Israel from all their enemies by revealing his Messianic King.

So it was appropriate for Jesus to enter into Jerusalem on the first day of Passover week. And while it is certainly true that his triumphal entry was very different from how a victorious Roman general would enter the city of Rome, the manner of his entry fulfilled Messianic prophecy (see Zechariah 9:9). After all, the Messianic Kingdom was to be very different from the Roman Empire. While first century Jews had maybe lost sight of that fact, the way Jesus entered Jerusalem clearly communicated that he was the promised Messianic King. 

While Jesus was, by birth, the rightful King of Israel, the actual King of the Jews, the nature of the Kingdom he was announcing was far different than the one expected. He did not come to reestablish the great kingdom of his forefather David but rather a universal kingdom of truth, of righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A kingdom, citizenship in which was to be made available to anyone who acknowledged Jesus as their King. 

The crowd celebrated his Messianic entry, declaring Jesus to be "the son of David" and "he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 21:1-11). They cried out, "Hossana," calling on Jesus to save them. But what did they think they were asking for? What did they really want Jesus to do for them? Whatever it was, they were so disappointed in him that by Friday morning they were heard to cry, "Crucify him" (Matthew 27:17-23). 

Palm Sunday was a declaration by Jesus that he was the expected Messianic King and a demonstration of the nature of his Kingdom. But the real triumphal entry was yet to come.

Most Jesus followers believe that the triumph of Jesus occurred Easter Sunday morning, when the stone was rolled away and Jesus rose from the dead. There is no question that the resurrection of Jesus was the seal on everything that had been accomplished. If Jesus had stayed in the tomb, all he had worked to accomplish would have been for nothing.

But the triumph of Jesus, the real Triumphal Entry, occurred on Friday afternoon. Here is how Paul described it: "When you were dead in your sins...God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:13-15). Here Paul uses the traditional way of describing the triumphal entry of a victorious Roman general into the city of Rome. Jesus had triumphed over "powers and authority," not just the enemies of Rome (or the enemies of Israel). Jesus not only triumphed over them, he triumphed so extravagantly that he "made a public spectacle of them." He didn't just defeat them, he humiliated them, he annihilated them. He took away their power and authority and left them naked to await the final consummation of all things.

Notice that Jesus did not finish his victory on Sunday morning but on Friday afternoon. Just before Jesus died at 3:00, he knew he needed to be able to make a loud and clear declaration. He must have been dehydrated and parched, so he made a simple request. "I am thirsty." And after taking a drink, was able to shout for all to hear - including powers and authorities - "It is finished" (John 19:28-30). At that moment, "the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51). The traditional barrier between God's people and the real Presence of God was suddenly removed. The final victory of Jesus was so powerful, "The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open." The attempt of Satan to establish an alternative kingdom had been defeated. Sin had been defeated. Death had been defeated. "The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life." All that remained was for the curse to be removed at the end of the age (Revelation 22:3). 

"I am making everything new" (Revelation 21:5). Jesus won the victory that day, but it was a far greater victory than anyone had anticipated. It was a victory for all people and all time. Since that day, the Kingdom of God has been advancing, and will continue to advance until the full harvest of redeemed humans has been reaped (James 5:7, 8). And so, while we will rejoice in the public demonstration of the victory of Jesus on Easter Sunday, today we will acknowledge that death and sin have been defeated. Indeed, "it is finished."