Christ's Triumphant Entry

April 10th, 2022.

Today is widely known as Palm Sunday. It's a day when Christ had a triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a tied colt. He entered the city to shouts of Hosanna - "save us now" according to the Bible.

Crowds of people spread their cloaks and branches across the road under his feet and sang psalms of praise to him, as if he were a king. To understand why Jesus entered Jerusalem so triumphantly is to understand the significance of today's event.

This special day was the one where he had his disciples and people wave palm branches as he rode in on a donkey.

At that time, we first see Christ in action, doing something that nobody else had done. That is turning an animal into a means of transportation. Instead of riding on an expensive steed or an eagle, Christ used an animal that had no other purpose in life other than to be ridden. This was symbolic of the humble life he lived. It showed that he was willing to stoop low to prove his connection with the people.

Every Sunday the week before Easter marks Palm Sunday, a day when Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a Mounted Donkey.

According to the book of Matthew, this was the beginning of Christ’s final week of living on Earth. It was also the beginning of his mocking and torture. The palm branches that were waved in Christ’s honor were also used to make a crown of thorns.

On his way to Jerusalem, Christ and the disciples entered the city through the eastern gate on a tied colt. They were welcoming by people throwing down their cloaks in front of Him. He was treated like royalty and many believed He was the Messiah that had come to save them. It was in that moment that Christ announced His true mission, to be a suffering servant and to die for our sins. His coming was not to be a triumphal celebration but a suffering and death. It was truly a glorious day as Christ leads us triumphantly into our new life because of His resurrection from the dead.

Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, the crowds waiting for Jesus were so enormous, the Gospel of John gives witnesses to the fact that even before he arrived at the city his clothes were already all covered with dirt from the crowds touching them.

Now what does that tell us about our society today? Well, obviously there are many people today, who are waiting for a change and good news. Time and time again, Jesus offered hope to people who had lost all hope of redemption.

Many of us are familiar with the story of Palm Sunday, but we may not know that this is one of the most important days of all for Christians. For example, on this day Mary the mother of Jesus met the Apostle John for the first time and he became a great friend of Jesus.

"As they were coming near Jerusalem and Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ Then they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. Some of those standing there said to them,

‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they let them go.

The christian story, as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John begins when Jesus returns to the Sea of Galilee after a period of teaching and healing in cities and villages throughout Galilee.

Poets, preachers, and prophets were common on the street of Jerusalem at that time and people were interested in their charismatic stories. One day, a man named Jairus came running up to Jesus seeking help for his twelve-year-old daughter who had died and was seemingly dead. Jesus responded by saying that there was still hope to be had. We may call this situation a tragedy but for Jesus it was an opportunity for him to give hope to those who felt hopeless.