The king rode in on a what? - All four Gospels (see opening post)

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Mendalla

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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I am putting all four accounts here in Gospel order. The story is short in all of them and I am finding it interesting to compare and contrast them. Pick a fave or read ‘em all.

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 21:1-11 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Bible Gateway passage: Mark 11:1-11 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Bible Gateway passage: Luke 19:28-40 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Bible Gateway passage: John 12:12-19 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph. What does that mean? In the ancient world, especially Rome, a “triumph” was when a ruler or successful military commander paraded through the city to celebrate their victories and, frankly, to show off. They usually rode in a chariot or on a magnificent steed.

But Jesus enters Jerusalem on a “colt” or “donkey” or “donkey colt” or “donkey and colt” depending on which Gospel and translation you read. Definitely not a chariot or might warhorse for sure. He isn’t wearing full battle dress or fancy clothing, just his usual garb. He is escorted only by his followers, not Imperial legions.

And, yet, we get an image very like a triumph. People shouting his praises, waving branches, and laying their garb in his path. It seems like they are celebrating a victorious leader. But what victory? What are they really celebrating here?

One of the most interesting things about the triumphal entry story is that it appears in all four Gospels and the variations among them are relatively minor. The basic story, Jesus obtains a colt or donkey, usually with help from a couple followers. This is supported in Matthew and John by quoting Zechariah 9:9 (NRSVUE), which may also suggest what the triumph is celebrating:

Zechariah said:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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He then mounts his “steed” and enters the city as people shout and praise him with the famous “Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:26) Curiously, Luke leaves off the “Hosanna” part. Not sure why, though it is not part of the Psalm. Who the people are varies a bit, something worth discussing.

As I said, there are variations between the four, but they are fairly consistent in the broad facts. This suggests either that this is one of the more historical stories, well-documented in the early Christian community, or a rare case where John actually drew on the Synoptics or one of the same sources as the Synoptics.

What does the triumphal entry really mean about Jesus?

Why so much excitement if he was just a country preacher/prophet? John credits the resurrection of Lazarus (John 12:17-18), the Synoptics don’t really say.

Is that meaning different for us today than for those present?

Why the donkey/colt? Yes, fulfilling the verse from Zechariah plays a role, at least in the eyes of two of the writers, but why even there? It certainly is not the norm for a triumphant king or general.

What are your reactions to this story, which has to be one of the earliest examples of Christian triumphalism?
 
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And the crowds shouting "Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" have been inspirational to many composers over the years. Andrew Lloyd-Webber alone has written two "Hosannas".

First, from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar (1970, but the clip below is from the 1973 film), he and lyricist Tim Rice's take on this actual story:


And then in his Requiem from 1985. This is the original performance in St. Thomas' Church in New York City.

 
One of my favourite palm Sunday cartoons is Jesus riding a donkey and a foal simultaneously complaining about needing to fulfill scripture.

I read a long time ago that kings rode in on a donkey when they came in peace.

Spong or someone else wondered if this was actually a resurrection story.
 
jimkenney12 said:
Spong or someone else wondered if this was actually a resurrection story.
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So celebrating his return from the dead? Would like to read that to see what they were thinking. If it is actually a resurrection story, why do all four Gospel writers put it as one of the last major events before the crucifixion?
 
One interesting note, that I already alluded to, in John's version is the importance of Lazarus in it. Perhaps because of it being the "sixth sign", John puts it as a key motivator for the crowd.
So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him.
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Interesting how the Lazarus story carries all through from when it happens to this moment. Good writing, but if the event was so significant, why does only John mention the story?
 
I wondered why the verse from Zechariah was so important and learned the whole book was focused on a Messiah and the restoration of Israel. According to the author Jesus understood he was the Messiah. I believe there were hundreds to thoussnds of parents who named a son Yeshua i hope he would be the Messiah at the time.
 
I believe this happened before the crucifixion. I wonder if an inner circle had planned the whole week beforehand?
 
jimkenney12 said:
I read a long time ago that kings rode in on a donkey when they came in peace.
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This is a really appealing idea & I would love to go with it. Is there historical evidence to support it though?

Donkeys are very interesting animals.
 
I tried Google search and found two sites making that claim based on Israelite kings in about 6 different readings entering cities in peace on donkeys. I did not find any reliable references.
 
jimkenney12 said:
According to the author Jesus understood he was the Messiah.
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Apparently, the people did, too. But on what basis? John at least suggests the events of the Lazarus story had a role. In the others, though, surely it took more than a guy riding a colt and/or donkey into town for people to accept him as the Messiah. Or maybe they saw his followers celebrating and praising him and joined in the fun? Or maybe the whole thing is a bit exaggerated and only his followers were singing and such?
 
Some people are considered donkeys because of some metaphorical comparison although some leaders say there should be no place for comparison ... alter parts should be denied and thus things we call voids, vacancies, or holes for the passage of light! The hard types are thus broken down by what they missed.
 
An inclination of many preachers including myself in the past link the palm parade crowd to the crowd who shout out crucify him on Good Friday. There would have been thousands of people in Jerusalem. At most a few dozen took part in the palm parade. Most of the crowd on Good Friday would have been different.
 
jimkenney12 said:
Most of the crowd on Good Friday would have been different.
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Curious why you feel that most would have been different?

I have a sense that there are those who can be swayed to join a cause, and then swayed to join another. I'm not sure if media helps...but think of word of mouth and how it comes like a party....the current trend or cool act?
 
Donkeys were for 'poorer people." Wealthy, important people rode on magnificent horses, while the poor could only afford donkeys.
And one point not mentioned here is that pregnant Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and I do think that's a significant link.
The donkeys in both Jesus' birth story and Palm Sunday draw attention to Jesus' humble beginnings, and his lack of material wealth. Many Jews (and Romans) expected the Messiah to be a wealthy, prominent man who would ride an elite horse with a large escort of riders.

And probably one reason why the Holy Family was able to escape from Bethlehem to Egypt was because they had a donkey. Herod's soldiers would have been looking for a young "King of Jews," and were probably looking for a wealthy young family on magnificent horses. The shabby, bedraggled young family with a donkey escaped their notice completely.
 
The crowd asked for the release of the Zealot, Barabas. Most Zealots would not have bothered with Jesus. The traditionalists were not happy with a preacher who seemed to contradict a lot of their customs. Think about many church congregations. Leaders are not the only ones who object to change. They would have been in the crowd on Friday and not on palm Sunday.

Some of the people participating in the procession would have been in the crowd on Friday, but not all of them. Claiming that disrespect the people of every generation who persisted and persist in seeking justice and mercy for others, right relationships, and the other parts of following the Way. People like the wife of a New Brunswick Highway Patrol officer who was murdered by an escaped convict from the US. When everyone else was crying for the man to be sent to the US and executed, she pleaded for mercy for the man. When we claim everyone in the Palm Sunday crowd was in the Friday crowd, we excuse our own failures to stick to our beliefs.
 
jimkenney12 said:
The crowd asked for the release of the Zealot, Barabas. Most Zealots would not have bothered with Jesus. The traditionalists were not happy with a preacher who seemed to contradict a lot of their customs. Think about many church congregations. Leaders are not the only ones who object to change. They would have been in the crowd on Friday and not on palm Sunday.

Some of the people participating in the procession would have been in the crowd on Friday, but not all of them. Claiming that disrespect the people of every generation who persisted and persist in seeking justice and mercy for others, right relationships, and the other parts of following the Way. People like the wife of a New Brunswick Highway Patrol officer who was murdered by an escaped convict from the US. When everyone else was crying for the man to be sent to the US and executed, she pleaded for mercy for the man. When we claim everyone in the Palm Sunday crowd was in the Friday crowd, we excuse our own failures to stick to our beliefs.
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Hi Jim

I'm not suggesting that everyone was....but, just that there are those who are passionate, and those who are followers, who move in the direction the wind blows.
 
There are several references in the Bible to kings like Solomon entering cities on donkeys to show they came in peace. There is no mention in the Bible about Mary riding a donkey.
 
Some of the Palm Sunday crowd may have been frightened by the growing discontent with Jesus. Maybe they predicted the ugliness that was coming on Good Friday and chose to stay away from the mob scene.

I don't think a counterprotest would have been safe for the supporters of Jesus. They would have faced a crowd shouting "Crucify him. Crucify him."

And another thought. We talked in the Judas BPoTW hosted by @BetteTheRed about God's will in all of this. Maybe some of his followers stayed away because they did not wish to witness the inevitable
 
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