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 Jewswere 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