The Hero

Jesus Acclaimed as Israel’s King

Picture: Jesus Acclaimed as Israel’s King 3TC 362.1

This chapter is based on Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19.

Five hundred years before Christ’s birth, the prophet Zechariah foretold the coming of the King to Israel: 3TC 362.2

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Zechariah 9:9 3TC 362.3

He who had refused royal honors for so long now came to Jerusalem as the Promised Heir to David’s throne. 3TC 362.4

On the first day of the week, Christ made His triumphal entry. Crowds who had flocked to see Him at Bethany went with Him. Many who were on their way to keep the Passover joined the assembly. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed in green, and their blossoms gave off a delicate fragrance. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up. 3TC 362.5

Jesus had sent two disciples to bring Him a donkey and its colt. Although “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10) are His, He was dependent on a stranger’s kindness for an animal on which to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity was revealed, even in the detailed directions given. As He foretold, the request, “The Lord has need of them,” was readily granted. The disciples spread their garments on the donkey and seated their Master on it. Jesus had always traveled on foot, and the disciples were amazed that He would now choose to ride. But hope brightened in their hearts with the thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power. Excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch. 3TC 362.6

Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry. Prophecy had foretold that the Messiah would come to His kingdom in this way. No sooner was He seated on the colt than the crowd proclaimed Him as Messiah, their King. In imagination, the disciples and the people saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem and Israel once more an independent nation. They all tried to outdo one another in paying Him honor and the respect of royalty. Unable to present Him with costly gifts, they spread their outer garments as a carpet in the path and strewed the leafy branches of the olive and the palm in the way. With no royal banners to wave, they cut down the spreading palm fronds, nature’s emblem of victory, and waved them high in the air. 3TC 362.7

Spectators mingling with the crowds asked, “Who is this? What does all this commotion signify?” They knew that Jesus had discouraged all efforts to place Him on the throne, and they were astonished to learn that this was He. What had brought about this change in Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world? 3TC 363.1

From the great numbers gathered to attend the Passover, thousands greeted Him with palm branches waving and with a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sounded the trumpet for evening service, but few responded, and the rulers said to one another in alarm, “The world has gone after Him!” 3TC 363.2

Why Jesus Permitted This Demonstration

Never before had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But He wanted to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. He, the One who fulfilled the symbol of the Lamb, voluntarily set Himself apart as a sacrifice. His church in all the ages to follow must make His death a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. The events that preceded His great sacrifice must call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as the one that marked His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene. This triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue and bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would remember these events and be led to search the prophecies. They would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. 3TC 363.3

This day, which seemed to the disciples like the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with clouds if they had known it was only a prelude to the death of their Master. He had told them repeatedly about His sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph they had forgotten His sorrowful words. 3TC 363.4

With few exceptions, all who joined the procession caught the inspiration of the hour. The shouts went up continually, 3TC 363.5

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
3TC 363.6

No Train of Mourning in This Triumph

Never had the world seen such a triumphal procession. All around the Savior were the glorious trophies of His loving labors for sinful man. These were the captives rescued from Satan’s power. Leading the way were the blind He had restored to sight. Those who had been mute, whose tongues He had loosed, shouted the loudest hosannas. Cripples whom He had healed leaped with joy. Lepers He had cleansed spread their uncontaminated garments in His path. Awakened from the sleep of death, Lazarus led the donkey on which the Savior rode. 3TC 363.7

Many Pharisees, burning with envy, tried to silence the people, but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. As a last resort they confronted the Savior with condemning and threatening words: “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful. But Jesus’ reply silenced them: “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” The prophet Zechariah had foretold that scene of triumph. If human beings had failed to carry out the plan, God would have given voice to inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with praise. As the silenced Pharisees drew back, hundreds of voices took up the words of Zechariah: 3TC 364.1

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
3TC 364.2

When the procession reached the top of the hill, Jesus and all the multitude stopped. Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, bathed in the light of the setting sun. In regal grandeurs, the temple towered above all else, the pride and glory of the Jewish nation for many centuries. The Romans also took pride in its magnificence. Its strength and richness had made it one of the wonders of the world. 3TC 364.3

While the setting sun made the heavens glow, its radiant glory lighted up the pure white marble of the temple walls and sparkled on its gold-capped pillars. From the hill where Jesus stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow, set with golden pinnacles, shining as if with glory borrowed from heaven. 3TC 364.4

Jesus Breaks Down in Tears

Jesus gazed on the scene, and the crowds hushed their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turned to the Savior. They were surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears and His body rock back and forth like a tree in a storm. A wail of anguish burst from His quivering lips, as if from a broken heart. What a sight for angels to witness! What a sight for the glad throng of people escorting Him to the glorious city, where they hoped He was about to reign! This sudden sorrow was like a note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. Israel’s King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but of uncontrollable agony. The crowd was struck with a sudden gloom. Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend. 3TC 364.5

Just ahead of Jesus was Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which for centuries the animals for sacrificial offerings had been led. This gate was soon to open for Him, the great Fulfillment, toward whose sacrifice all these offerings had pointed. Nearby was Calvary, the scene of His approaching agony. Yet His was no selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not affect that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God, scorned His love, and was about to take His life. He saw what she could have been if she had accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. How could He give her up? 3TC 364.6

Israel had been a favored people. God had made their temple His dwelling place; it was “beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth.” Psalm 48:2. In it Jehovah had revealed His glory, the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But all this must come to an end. Jesus waved His hand toward the doomed city, and in grief He exclaimed, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!” The Savior left unsaid what could have been the condition of Jerusalem if she had accepted the help that God wanted to give her—the gift of His Son. Jerusalem could have stood out in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power, with no Roman banners waving from her walls. The Son of God saw that she could have been liberated from bondage and established as the leading city of the earth. From her walls the dove of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the world’s crown of glory. 3TC 365.1

But the Savior realized she now was under the Roman rule, doomed to God’s punishing judgment: “But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” 3TC 365.2

Jesus saw the doomed city surrounded with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding on the dead bodies of their children, and parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from one another—natural affection destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews would lead them to refuse to submit to the invading armies. He saw Calvary set with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and not one stone of its massive walls left on another, while the city was plowed like a field. 3TC 365.3

As a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. “How can I give you up? How can I see you devoted to destruction?” When the setting sun would pass from sight, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be over. While the procession was standing still on the Mount of Olives, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. While the last rays of sunlight were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Savior’s love? Beautiful, unholy city, that had stoned the prophets and rejected the Son of God—her day of mercy was almost gone! 3TC 365.4

Yet again the Spirit of God would speak to Jerusalem. Before the day was done, another testimony to Christ would be heard. If Jerusalem would receive the Savior entering her gates, she might yet be saved! 3TC 365.5

But the rulers in Jerusalem had no welcome for the Son of God. As the procession was about to descend the Mount of Olives, they intercepted it, asking the reason for the commotion. As they questioned, “Who is this?” the disciples, filled with the spirit of inspiration, repeated the prophecies concerning Christ. 3TC 366.1

Adam will tell you: It is the Seed of the woman that will bruise the serpent’s head. See Genesis 3:15. 3TC 366.2

Abraham will tell you: It is Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace. See Genesis 14:18. 3TC 366.3

Isaiah will tell you: “Immanuel,” “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 7:14; 9:6, NRSV. 3TC 366.4

Jeremiah will tell you: The Branch of David, “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jeremiah 23:6. 3TC 366.5

Daniel will tell you: He is the Messiah. See Daniel 9:24-27. 3TC 366.6

John the Baptist will tell you: He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29. 3TC 366.7

The great Jehovah has proclaimed: “This is My beloved Son.” Matthew 3:17. 3TC 366.8

We, His disciples, declare, “This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world.” 3TC 366.9

And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him: “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:24. 3TC 366.10