Main Idea
Jesus’ victory is greater than we usually settle for, but His victory is the power through which we can live and overcome.
Story of Palm Sunday
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Jesus and the crowd are on the way to Jerusalem, and as they draw near, they come to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives. When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, After Jesus said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mountain that is called Olivet, On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem
And Jesus sends two disciples to a village to find a colt, a young donkey, and to bring it to him. He tells them if anyone has a problem with it, to just tell them the Lord needs it. Jesus then sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them on immediately.” He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” He sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
And in case we miss the significance of this moment, we are told that this act of Jesus is being done to fulfill the words of the prophet Zechariah - Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:“Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold your King is coming to you,Humble, and mounted on a donkey,Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” as it is written: “Do not fear, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things for Him.
They go and do so, and everything plays out like Jesus said it would. The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus,
So, they bring back the donkey and they use their cloaks to make Jesus a saddle to ride on. and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks. and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it;
And as Jesus begins to ride toward Jerusalem on this young donkey, people begin to pave the way by spreading their cloaks on the ground and by spreading branches from trees nearby, including palm branches - hence the name Palm Sunday. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him,
And as Jesus is riding and this crowd is creating a path of cloaks and branches, the crowd runs ahead of Jesus shouting:Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David!Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord!Blessed is the King of Israel!Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!Hosanna in the Highest! Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,“Hosanna to the Son of David;Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord;Hosanna in the highest!” And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:“Hosanna!Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;Hosanna in the highest!” And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting:“Blessed is the King, the One who comes in the name of the Lord;Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” and began shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel!”
And yet, while there is all this joy, all this expectation, there are some in the crowds who are hesitant. Some of the Pharisees tell Jesus to rebuke the disciples who are crying his praise. And Jesus tells them that if these stop speaking, the stones would cry out And yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!”
And so Jesus enters Jerusalem When He had entered Jerusalem, And Jesus entered Jerusalem When He approached Jerusalem,
proclaimed as King by the crowds, but opposed by some. And as he comes into Jerusalem, he looks at the city and he wept over it. He said, if you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes…because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will put up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
And the city is stirred up by the procession and this commotion and they ask who is this guy? And the crowds say that He is Jesus, the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee. all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
And so Jesus continues his procession into Jerusalem and he heads to the Temple, the place where God is meant to be dwelling in the midst of His people - the center seat of devotion and allegiance to the God who rescued His people out of Egypt, and has been their faithful, covenant keeping God. And Jesus entered the temple area and came into the temple area; And Jesus entered the temple grounds
And as he comes, he looks around at everything. and after looking around at everything,
And drives out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and he overturns the tables of the money changes and the seats of who were selling doves. And He said to them the words of the prophet, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He *said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, “It is written: ‘And My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
And instead of the commerce of worship, those who were blind and those limped came to Him in the temple area, and he healed them. And the children start shouting in the temple area, Hosanna to the Son of David. And those who were blind and those who limped came to Him in the temple area, and He healed them.
And this time, it's not the Pharisees, but the Chief Priests and the Scribes who get offended, and they ask Jesus do you hear what these children are saying? And Jesus replies, have you never read ‘from the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself? But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”
And finally, after a day full of pomp and circumstances, praise and conflict, cleansing and healing, Jesus and the Twelve left Jerusalem, and headed back to the city of Bethany, and spent the night there. And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
Resources Used
Ancient Christian Commentaries on Scripture: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Zondervan Exegetical Commentaries on Scripture: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Hauerwas, Stanley Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible - Matthew
Morris, Leon Pillar New Testament Commentary - Matthew
Wright, N.T. Matthew for Everyone, Mark for Everyone, Luke for Everyone, John for Everyone