The Caesar’s had
their triumphal entries into the city of Rome when the Roman generals, against
all odds, defeated their enemies. Today, we look at the Triumphal Entry of
Jesus into Jerusalem.
I will not take the
time to compare the two, other than Caesars rode the way on gallant horses whereas
Jesus rode on the back of a donkey. Imagine how silly it would look if Caesar
had done that! Jesus was followed by the multitude who praised Him, saying,
Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is He that comes
in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (Mat 21:9)
First off, consider
the Hebrew word, “Hosanna.” It means “save us now” or “save we pray.” Hosanna points
toward the ability of Jesus, as the son of David to save them. Indeed kings
could always save about anyone they chose. To the multitude, Jesus on the
donkey would have been like David on His steed.
They knew that
Jesus was not the literal “son” of David, but that the donkey was carrying the
genes of David in a humble manner. For them, it was as if David was riding the
parade, and a new kind was taking the throne of David.
Although Jesus
could save both their bodies and souls by default, it is written:
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear Him (Jesus) which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell. (Mat 10:28)
Jesus had the Power
and Authority to either save or perish, and the crowd realized that. They may
have praised Jesus that day because the Law could kill their bodies but not
their souls. As it turned out, their faith was short-lived, for the following
week their faith waned with few of the multitude seriously taking a knee to Jesus
who was about to prove that He is God.
As king, Jesus
could save their bodies but probably nobody thought that Jesus could also save their
souls, or even that their souls was of primary importance to Jesus.
Perhaps, hosanna to
them, was the save them now as any king might do. Save them from what?
Caesar or his legions? Or save them from the coming wrath of the law that Saul
(soon to be Paul) sought for them?
After Saul changed,
he revealed the source of the fright:
The very God of
peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes
5:23)
Saying, “hosanna”
was asking to be saved now! Paul wrote that after Jesus died and was
resurrected. They would be preserved with sanctification until the coming of the
Lord, and at that time, they would be saved.
There is a huge difference
between preserved and saved. “Preserved” comes from the Greek
word, “tereo” — to be guarded. Guarded where? From impure things in the
world, just as a vessel properly cleaned can preserve what is within.
On the other hand, “saved”
is what remains viable for usage when the container is opened. Indeed, Christ preserves
now but saves later. When is a person saved? Upon their expiration date.
Sanctification is
Christ guarding us from the world. How is that done? By the Holy Ghost of Jesus
who is always with us as “Emauel.”
It was not yet time
for hosanna. Salvation would not come now but preservation would soon be.
Salvation is not
the flesh:
Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you
see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Pet
1:8-9)
The following week,
Jesus has all but been abandoned for the people wanted salvation right then but
by the next week Jesus was not riding in victory but nailed to the cross like a
common criminal. They failed to realize that salvation is not now, but when
Jesus is ready. When is He ready? At the end of your faith.
Faith is not a one-time
event; it is a lifetime commitment. Their hosannas lasted one week. How long
will your hosanna last?
According to the
key verse, the people said, “Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.”
Jesus did that; He came in the Name “Ya Saves” (Yeshua). However,
they called Him, not the “Son of God” but the “son of David.” He came in the name
of the Lord, but they saw Him coming as an heir to the throne of David. It
would be the royal House of David to whom they were saying their hosannas.
They indeed ran after
Jesus and even spread a carpet of palm leaves for Him to ride on. What did not
happen? They failed to bless Jesus.
A blessing is another
mysterious thing. What does it mean to you? People of all eras have asked kings
for blessings, but now they were about to bless the coming king.
“Blessed” in the
Greek is “eulogeo.” The “eu” means good and “logeo” means
the “Logos.” They believed that they should speak well of Jesus which
they did, but they only mouthed it at that time. The next time, they remained as
silent as church mice. Blessed would mean that they understood that Jesus was “The
Word” of God in the flesh.
They failed to see
Christ on the other animal; the invisible God that was on His steed. They saw Jesus but not Yahweh. Savvy
Jews would have seen Yahweh riding alongside Jesus. In fact, the crucifixion
was about one thing: that the man Jesus is the invisible God, and that Jesus is
who He said He is: “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).
The multitude on
Palm Sunday should have saw that! Why two donkeys? One for the Father and one
for the Son of God; no wonder the foal of a donkey?
They followed but
what should good Jews hac done? Blessed Jesus.
They should have
eulogized Jesus, acknowledging that He and the Father are One and that He is
the spoken Word of God (John 1:1-14).
Jews should have
went one step further. Bless in the Hebrew is “barak.” They should have literally
taken a knee to Jesus as God since the barak means that.
Asses in ancient
times in Hebrew culture were considered to be symbols of service and humility
unlike the white steeds of the Caesars who would ride horses to show their
power. Vespasian Caesar did that soon after his triumphal entry into Rome after
his “foal” Titus destroyed the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
Jesus, via the ass,
was Him taking a knee to mankind rather than them taking a knee to Him as some
would do in mockery a week later (Mat 27:29).
The ass seems to
have been symbolic of the camel who takes a knee to mankind when the
domesticated camel kneels to carry the riders. The ass could have represented
to letter gimmel in the Hebrew aleph-bet, characterized by the footprint
of a camel.
Figure 1: Camel footprint
A camel or an ass;
what’s the difference” The rider. The donkey was a beast of burden like the
camel, and it seems that the invisible Hebrew letter gimmel that represents the
Holy Ghost was at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding a donkey.
In a sense, rather
then them taking a knee to Jesus, Jesus was taking a knee for them.
Hosanna is
just a word, but a blessing is an action. Words cannot save, but taking a knee
to Christ does.
