The royal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
echoes many details from the life of the ancient kings of Israel and
contemporary history.
The crowd around Jesus was aware of King
Solomon's royal procession on David's royal mule as he
was taken to be anointed
as king.
After he rode the royal mule to be
anointed, the crowd followed with shouts of "Long live King Solomon!"
and they blew the trumpets and played music on pipes and sang and rejoiced in
the royal procession. Riding the royal mule, and then later being seated on
David's royal throne, were both acts that confirmed that David's kingship was
legitimately being transferred to Solomon. Other narrations are found in the
book of Jeremiah (13:1-11) and Ezekiel (4:1-4).
William Shakespeare gives a vivid account
of the Roman triumphal procession. When Julius Caesar was returning after the
victory over the sons of Pompey, the common people took a holiday, decorated
the streets and shouted slogans for Caesar.
The Jews who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem that day were aware of the connections to Israel's past kings and practices in the contemporary empires. His entry on a donkey, the spreading of cloaks beneath Him, and palm branches waving—these all were acts for royalty.
The Jews were eagerly waiting for
the fulfilment of the Prophecy made by Zechariah, about 500 years ago.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey….. He shall speak peace to the nations; his
rule shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth"
(Zech. 9:9-10).
They had lived under foreign rule for
hundreds of years, with no son of David to rule on the throne. Finally, it
seemed, here was the one to reclaim the throne! Just as in the royal parade for
Solomon, now nearly ten centuries later the Jewish crowds in the same royal
city raised their voices in the royal procession. They rejoiced and praised God
for the mighty works Jesus had done, and said "Blessed is the King who
comes in the name of the Lord!
There was a great difference between the
imperial processions and the triumphant entry of Jesus. In the Roman Imperial
Processions, the picture bearers went ahead; the standard bearers moved ahead
of the king; the crosslets lined before the king. Unlike the Roman imperial
processions Jesus did not have any picture bearers. There were no bearers of
standards, trophies or crosslets. Jesus was in front and He led the procession,
because Jesus came as the king of peace. He was no ordinary king. He required
no special anointing from the priests, for He had been anointed with the Holy
Spirit in His baptism. He needed no officials to transfer authority, no
borrowed mule from the previous king to establish His legitimacy. He wore no
finery or royal robes, and marched with no other army than a small band of
fisherman. He carried no sword. He made no political promises.
But Jesus gave kingly orders. He ordered
his disciples, "Go off to the nearby village, you will find a tethered
colt, untie it and bring it here." These words reflected the power of
authority. So the disciples did not dare to question him.
Jesus made kingly demands too. In case
anyone questioned them, they were to answer "the master needs it."
The master needed a service from the owner of the donkey, and he had the right
to demand that service. As Jesus required the service of the owner of the
donkey he needs the service of each and every one of us today. He keeps on
sending a variety of messages to us with the impression, "the master needs
it."
The master's demands come to us through our
neighbours. When we place our Lenten sacrifices remember that the master needs
it. The master needs to extend support to an ailing brother. The master needs
it to quench the thirst of someone. The master needs it to satisfy the hunger
of a needy. The master needs it to provide shelter for a homeless. The master
needs it to alleviate the pain of the suffering.
Let us remember the words of Alice Cary,
"True worth is in being, not seeming: in doing, each day that goes by some
good." During this Holy week let us ask him, "Lord what do you want
from me."
Satish