And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
The multitude's answer was given as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey amid a rejoicing crowd, publicly identifying Him as Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. The crowds flocking from the surrounding region had been drawn by firsthand accounts of His works of mercy and by the raising of Lazarus, and they spread garments and branches while praising God and honoring Him as King. They hailed Him as Messiah, King, and Son of David, with hopes rising for a new kingdom and with the disciples expecting Him to take an earthly throne, free Israel from Rome, and restore its independence. The ride fulfilled Zechariah 9:9 of Israel's King coming to Jerusalem, He accepted their homage as prophecy had to be fulfilled, and the acclaim publicly directed attention to Him before His approaching sacrifice. That deliberate display at Passover pointed to His crowning sacrifice as Redeemer and as the antitypical Lamb voluntarily set apart for the sins of the world. The triumph shortly before His crucifixion foreshadowed His future coming in the clouds with power and glory with angels and rejoicing saints, while His tears over Jerusalem were a final appeal of rejected love pointing to the city's coming doom for failing to recognize its Redeemer.
Entry Setting and Crowd
This is Jesus riding in royal entry into Jerusalem, coming on a donkey amid a rejoicing multitude. The scene belongs to His triumphal riding into the city, with joyful shouts echoing on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.
The multitude's words publicly answer who He is, identifying Him as Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. That declaration was made amid the crowds accompanying Him into Jerusalem and amid praise for His merciful works, which many had experienced firsthand and recounted, stirring the whole multitude to acclaim Him. It was a public recognition during His entry into the city, when hopes for a new kingdom were rising.
The entry drew growing crowds flocking from all the surrounding region to join His progress into Jerusalem. They welcomed Him joyfully with palm branches and spread garments in His path, hailing Him as the Son of David. The public excitement and welcome drew attention to Jesus, while the rulers were alarmed that so many people were following Him.
The crowd was drawn by His works of mercy recounted firsthand by those He had healed and rescued. The raising of Lazarus had deeply affected the people and helped draw the multitude, and many wanted to see Him. The procession displayed the results of that work, as those He had healed or rescued, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead, praised God and honored Jesus as their King.
Hopes for a new kingdom were rising, and the crowds hailed Him as Messiah, King, and Son of David. They believed their emancipation from Roman rule and Israel's independence were near. The disciples shared the expectation that He would take an earthly, temporal kingdom and rule as a temporal prince, to be crowned to reign on David's throne.
Priests, elders, and rulers sought to still the multitude. They threatened those who acknowledged Him as the Christ, and at one point the adult crowd fell silent under the priests' and rulers' threats.
Prophecy Fulfillment and Foreshadowing
The ride on the colt fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy, including Zechariah 9:9, of Israel's King coming to Jerusalem in the Messiah's royal entry, and Jesus accepted the people's homage as that King. Prophecy had to be fulfilled, so that even the stones would cry out if the people held their peace. The multitude's naming of Him as Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee belongs to that fulfillment and records the crowd's recognition of Him during His entry into the city.
The public acclaim confessed His kingdom and honored Him as the Son of David with titles foretold by the prophets, hailing Him as Messiah and King. That recognition came despite the authorities' threats against those who acknowledged Him as the Christ, and it publicly directed attention to Him before His approaching sacrifice. When priests and rulers silenced the adult crowd, children continued the praise in the temple courts. Their praise fulfilled prophecy, and God's use of children to proclaim Jesus at His first advent shows He can also use children to give the message of His second advent to all peoples and lands.
Isaiah's prophecy connected with the entry presents Christ as God coming to His people, ruling with power and caring for them like a shepherd who gathers and carries the lambs, amid the people's praise and rejoicing. The entry deliberately drew all eyes to Jesus at Passover time to point to His crowning sacrifice as Redeemer at the end of His mission to a fallen world. As the antitypical Lamb He by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation for the sins of the world. The startling public demonstrations were ordered before His death to call the attention of all people to the sacrifice itself, to be the talk of every tongue and bring Jesus before every mind, to cause all eyes to follow His rapid progress to the final end, so that every fact connected with His death would be verified beyond doubt and the church in all future ages would make His death a subject of deep thought and study. In this one triumphant scene of His earthly life He remained true to the humiliation He had accepted, bearing the burden of humanity instead of appearing escorted by heavenly angels and heralded by the trumps of God, until His life was given for the life of the world.
After His crucifixion these events would be remembered and connected with His trial and death, leading people to search the prophecies, prove Him the Messiah, recognize Him, and multiply converts to faith in Him in all lands. The disciples' high hopes were shattered when the Master they believed would reign was stretched upon the cruel cross beneath mocking, taunting Pharisees and then crucified and buried, with the darkness of death closing about them in a disappointment greater than the disappointment over 1844. After He rose and appeared to them their hope revived, showing He was true to His promises with sweet consolation for His people and rich reward for the true and faithful.
The triumphal ride shortly before His crucifixion foreshadowed His future coming in the clouds with power and glory, accompanied by the triumph of angels and the rejoicing of the saints. The entrance together with His tears over Jerusalem pointed to the city's coming doom for failing to recognize its Redeemer, with His tears as a final appeal of rejected love and compassion to a people who rejected Him. The chapter's fruitless fig tree and the fig-tree lesson immediately following warn against professing to serve God without bearing fruit in one's life to His glory.
Call to Faithful Response
Christ's riding into Jerusalem is the coming of the Son of God to this world to draw all men unto Himself. That coming calls His followers to walk in the light of His glorious example. It calls them to maintain the truth in its purity. It calls them to push the triumphs of His cross and to extend His kingdom without questioning the cost in labor and trial and suffering.
Preaching this entry exalts and lifts up Jesus. Such preaching proves that keeping the law is not being saved by law, but exalts Jesus even more than do those who bring that charge. The message draws large crowds. It brings conviction that leads to baptism and to uniting with the church.
The account of Christ's journey to Jerusalem at the time of His triumphal entry expresses the longing to see the despised and rejected Christ crowned and seated on His throne.
The multitude's answer was given as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey amid a rejoicing crowd, publicly identifying Him as Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. The crowds flocking from the surrounding region had been drawn by firsthand accounts of His works of mercy and by the raising of Lazarus, and they spread garments and branches while praising God and honoring Him as King. They hailed Him as Messiah, King, and Son of David, with hopes rising for a new kingdom and with the disciples expecting Him to take an earthly throne, free Israel from Rome, and restore its independence. The ride fulfilled Zechariah 9:9 of Israel's King coming to Jerusalem, He accepted their homage as prophecy had to be fulfilled, and the acclaim publicly directed attention to Him before His approaching sacrifice. That deliberate display at Passover pointed to His crowning sacrifice as Redeemer and as the antitypical Lamb voluntarily set apart for the sins of the world. The triumph shortly before His crucifixion foreshadowed His future coming in the clouds with power and glory with angels and rejoicing saints, while His tears over Jerusalem were a final appeal of rejected love pointing to the city's coming doom for failing to recognize its Redeemer.
Entry Setting and Crowd
This is Jesus riding in royal entry into Jerusalem, coming on a donkey amid a rejoicing multitude. The scene belongs to His triumphal riding into the city, with joyful shouts echoing on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.
The multitude's words publicly answer who He is, identifying Him as Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. That declaration was made amid the crowds accompanying Him into Jerusalem and amid praise for His merciful works, which many had experienced firsthand and recounted, stirring the whole multitude to acclaim Him. It was a public recognition during His entry into the city, when hopes for a new kingdom were rising.
The entry drew growing crowds flocking from all the surrounding region to join His progress into Jerusalem. They welcomed Him joyfully with palm branches and spread garments in His path, hailing Him as the Son of David. The public excitement and welcome drew attention to Jesus, while the rulers were alarmed that so many people were following Him.
The crowd was drawn by His works of mercy recounted firsthand by those He had healed and rescued. The raising of Lazarus had deeply affected the people and helped draw the multitude, and many wanted to see Him. The procession displayed the results of that work, as those He had healed or rescued, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead, praised God and honored Jesus as their King.
Hopes for a new kingdom were rising, and the crowds hailed Him as Messiah, King, and Son of David. They believed their emancipation from Roman rule and Israel's independence were near. The disciples shared the expectation that He would take an earthly, temporal kingdom and rule as a temporal prince, to be crowned to reign on David's throne.
Priests, elders, and rulers sought to still the multitude. They threatened those who acknowledged Him as the Christ, and at one point the adult crowd fell silent under the priests' and rulers' threats.
Prophecy Fulfillment and Foreshadowing
The ride on the colt fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy, including Zechariah 9:9, of Israel's King coming to Jerusalem in the Messiah's royal entry, and Jesus accepted the people's homage as that King. Prophecy had to be fulfilled, so that even the stones would cry out if the people held their peace. The multitude's naming of Him as Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee belongs to that fulfillment and records the crowd's recognition of Him during His entry into the city.
The public acclaim confessed His kingdom and honored Him as the Son of David with titles foretold by the prophets, hailing Him as Messiah and King. That recognition came despite the authorities' threats against those who acknowledged Him as the Christ, and it publicly directed attention to Him before His approaching sacrifice. When priests and rulers silenced the adult crowd, children continued the praise in the temple courts. Their praise fulfilled prophecy, and God's use of children to proclaim Jesus at His first advent shows He can also use children to give the message of His second advent to all peoples and lands.
Isaiah's prophecy connected with the entry presents Christ as God coming to His people, ruling with power and caring for them like a shepherd who gathers and carries the lambs, amid the people's praise and rejoicing. The entry deliberately drew all eyes to Jesus at Passover time to point to His crowning sacrifice as Redeemer at the end of His mission to a fallen world. As the antitypical Lamb He by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation for the sins of the world. The startling public demonstrations were ordered before His death to call the attention of all people to the sacrifice itself, to be the talk of every tongue and bring Jesus before every mind, to cause all eyes to follow His rapid progress to the final end, so that every fact connected with His death would be verified beyond doubt and the church in all future ages would make His death a subject of deep thought and study. In this one triumphant scene of His earthly life He remained true to the humiliation He had accepted, bearing the burden of humanity instead of appearing escorted by heavenly angels and heralded by the trumps of God, until His life was given for the life of the world.
After His crucifixion these events would be remembered and connected with His trial and death, leading people to search the prophecies, prove Him the Messiah, recognize Him, and multiply converts to faith in Him in all lands. The disciples' high hopes were shattered when the Master they believed would reign was stretched upon the cruel cross beneath mocking, taunting Pharisees and then crucified and buried, with the darkness of death closing about them in a disappointment greater than the disappointment over 1844. After He rose and appeared to them their hope revived, showing He was true to His promises with sweet consolation for His people and rich reward for the true and faithful.
The triumphal ride shortly before His crucifixion foreshadowed His future coming in the clouds with power and glory, accompanied by the triumph of angels and the rejoicing of the saints. The entrance together with His tears over Jerusalem pointed to the city's coming doom for failing to recognize its Redeemer, with His tears as a final appeal of rejected love and compassion to a people who rejected Him. The chapter's fruitless fig tree and the fig-tree lesson immediately following warn against professing to serve God without bearing fruit in one's life to His glory.
Call to Faithful Response
Christ's riding into Jerusalem is the coming of the Son of God to this world to draw all men unto Himself. That coming calls His followers to walk in the light of His glorious example. It calls them to maintain the truth in its purity. It calls them to push the triumphs of His cross and to extend His kingdom without questioning the cost in labor and trial and suffering.
Preaching this entry exalts and lifts up Jesus. Such preaching proves that keeping the law is not being saved by law, but exalts Jesus even more than do those who bring that charge. The message draws large crowds. It brings conviction that leads to baptism and to uniting with the church.
The account of Christ's journey to Jerusalem at the time of His triumphal entry expresses the longing to see the despised and rejected Christ crowned and seated on His throne.