Why start the season of Advent with a reading about Palm Sunday? It’s easy for us to lose sight of Jesus’ mission around this time of year—to only see him as a baby in a manger. This reading from Mark sets our eyes on what our Savior came here to do—to rescue us from our sins.
(Read Mark 11:1-10)
We know this day as Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. This was not the first time Jesus had come to Jerusalem since he began his ministry. The gospel of John mentions three other times Jesus had visited Jerusalem (2:13; 5:1; 7:10). But this was the last time, and Jesus knew what he faced. Three times he had explicitly told his disciples that he would suffer and die there and on the third day rise again (Mark 8:31,32; 9:31; 10:32-34). So he went, ready to carry out the Father’s will and to redeem mankind by his suffering and death. The disciples had confessed him as Christ, although they did not fully understand what that meant. In Jericho, Bartimaeus had addressed him as the Son of David. Others had called him the Son of God. He came into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday to make a statement to the effect that he was all of those, but not in the sense that the disciples and the crowds understood. His statement concerning himself on Palm Sunday was understood properly by the disciples only after his ascension (see John 12:16) and by many of the people and even large numbers of priests after Pentecost (see Acts 6:7). For us the events of Palm Sunday support our faith in him as our Savior, Redeemer, and King.
Having come to the Mount of Olives in the vicinity of Bethany and Bethphage, Jesus commanded two disciples to go into the nearby village and get a colt they would find there. If anyone was to ask them why they were untying the colt, they were to say that the Lord needed it and would return it shortly. Everything happened just as Jesus said. Certainly that strengthened their faith in him, for it was evidence of his supernatural knowledge. In fact, the very words he told them to speak declared who he was, declared his deity: “The Lord needs it.” That the owners of the colt (see Luke 19:33) permitted the disciples to take the colt and its mother (see Matthew 21:7) indicated they too knew Jesus and trusted him. Undoubtedly they knew about the many miracles he had performed, particularly the last one—the raising of Lazarus. They were not about to doubt that he actually needed the colt and that he would send it back shortly.
Jesus’ command to bring a “colt . . . which no one has ever ridden” was a significant part of the statement Jesus made that day. It suggested according to Scripture (see Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; 1 Samuel 6:7) that the colt as yet unused was to be used for a sacred purpose. What could be more sacred than to carry the Son of God into Jerusalem to begin his passion? But it had an even greater purpose. It reminded all who saw him ride into Jerusalem of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus did this deliberately. He was pointing his disciples and the entire multitude to this prophecy and was thus also making a statement for us and all men to heed today. His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt also demonstrated that he was not a messiah in the political sense, as his disciples and so many others hoped, but the humble servant of his heavenly Father. Jesus chose to ride on the colt, even as the prophecy had stated. When they brought the colt to Jesus, the disciples threw their cloaks on the colt to serve as a comfortable saddle.
What was the reaction of the crowd? It was made up of those who had been with Jesus almost the entire day and those who, hearing he was present (see John 11:56; 12:12,13), came out to meet him. They scattered their cloaks on the path where Jesus would ride and welcomed him as their king, even as the followers of Jehu had once welcomed him (see 2 Kings 9:13). The scattering of palm branches (see John 12:13) and other foliage (see Matthew 21:8) in his path was patterned on the words of Psalm 118:27: “With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was a triumphal procession, although at the moment most of the crowd did not know that his real triumph would come later that week when he would conquer sin and death.
The words with which the crowd welcomed Jesus tell us even more about our Savior. Most of these words (and the four evangelists naturally give different statements, for the crowd must have numbered in the thousands) are taken from Psalm 118:25,26: “O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” To come in the Lord’s name means to come carrying out his plan of salvation. That indeed was Jesus’ assignment, although the crowd did not know it. Speaking of him as the coming one is also understood messianically in Scripture: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his” (Genesis 49:10). Even more plain is Zechariah 9:9 quoted just previously. Read also Psalm 40:6-8, applied to Christ in Hebrews 10:5-10, and Malachi 3:1. The first to recognize him as such were Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna. The first to proclaim his coming was John the Baptist (see Mark 1:7; Luke 3:15-18; John 3:31).
The next words of the crowd, as quoted by Mark, reveal still another facet concerning who Jesus is: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” These words point to Jesus as King, even as the crowd explicitly said, according to John 12:13: “Blessed is the King of Israel!” Jesus is the messianic King not just because he was a descendant of David—many of his descendants did not become kings—but because he is that King of David’s line whom God promised. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:6,7). Read also Psalm 132:11 and Jeremiah 23:5. Jesus wants the deeds and the words of Palm Sunday to march into our hearts, so that we too may acknowledge him for who he is.
This blog post is an excerpt from The People’s Bible: Mark. You can check out the book here. The People’s Bible series is a Bible commentary for everyone. The authors of the series have served as pastors, college teachers, or seminary professors. Each author began with the original Hebrew or Greek text and then worked to bring the message of God’s Word to Christians who are looking to dive deeper into their study of the Bible. Two important truths guide all the commentaries: First, the Bible is God’s inspired Word and is therefore true and reliable. Second, the central message of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ.