The Triumphal Entry 

John 12:12-50  

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation; humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.’ These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and they had done these things. John 12:12-16 

Oftentimes, events occur that are of significant importance that in the moment, we don’t realize the full impact. On June 16, 1981, I walked into a church office in Port Charlotte, FL and met a 19-year-old University of Florida student name Leigh Marshall. My heart definitely skipped a beat but I had no idea that I was meeting my life-long bride and soulmate. Fourteen months later were married and have spent the rest of our lives together. How could I know in that moment? 

Our passage today brings us face-to-face with one of the most monumental days in Jesus’ life and quite frankly, one of the most monumental days in world history. In God’s perfect and providential timing, the day has come for Jesus to officially and publicly proclaim Himself as Messiah and King of Israel. 

The buzz of Jesus’ amazing act of raising Lazarus from the dead was reaching a crescendo. The day before the triumphal entry, the following happened: 

The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not only for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 12:9 

The Jerusalem grapevine was aflame with the chatter of Jesus’ actions and speculation of His next move were taking on viral effects. Jesus’ reputation was going viral. The excitement of the crowd was heightened as Jesus approached Jerusalem on that day.  There was the sense that the King had arrived; a prince in shining armor, riding on a majestic steed! Actually, no. There wasn’t any armor and there wasn’t a mighty steed. In humility and riding on a young donkey, Jesus entered Jerusalem. 

Even though He entered humbly, His reputation of power was enough for the crowd to chant and honor Him. The people shouted “HOSANNA, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel”. The literal transliteration of Hosanna is “give salvation now”. 

The crowds spoke the truth. They unwittingly were fulfilling prophetic truth. Jesus was indeed bringing salvation in the name of the Lord and He was and is the King of Israel. But as was often the case, the people didn’t comprehend the full truth of Jesus. So, what was their motivation? 

John states that those who gathered to welcome Jesus were those who witnessed Him raising Lazarus from the dead and those who heard about it. Thus, revealing their motivation; hope that Jesus would use His power to overtake Rome’s oppression and be the physical King of Israel. Verses 17, 18 says,  

“Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. For this reason, also, the people went and met Him, because they heard He had performed this sign.”  

The people are ready to rumble. They would’ve followed Jesus anywhere.  Jesus could’ve whipped them into a frenzy. But He didn’t. Next time we’ll look at what He did do. 

Lord, you came the first time as a servant-king. You always seem to do things differently than we would. We look back with great gratitude that you brought salvation! Hosanna! You brought salvation that is beyond earthly power. Instead, You brought power to save for eternity. You are the King Eternal! We also look forward to when You come again as the Warrior King. Maranatha, Lord, come quickly! Amen!