Faithful and true
Palm Sunday on the Catholic/Protestant calendar inaugurates what is known as Holy Week or Passion Week. This week more than a billion believers around the world will be reflecting on the events leading up to the death of Jesus on Good Friday and raising their voices in triumphant celebration on Resurrection Sunday. Many, however, are unaware of the prophetic significance of this week. The events that unfolded that first holy week in Jerusalem not only inform us of what Jesus has done, but they also inform us of what Jesus is yet to do. Passion Week is profoundly prophetic.
On Palm Sunday we remember what is known as the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Although Jesus had explicitly told His disciples three times the reason for the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem (Matt 16:21; 17:22; 20:17), they were still having trouble grasping what was about to happen. Have you ever been so excited about an opportunity and your imagined outcome that you don’t hear the Lord speaking plainly to you about what to expect? When they arrived that Sunday on the Mount of Olives, He directed the disciples to go into the city. He gave them specific instructions on the location and place where they would find a donkey and its colt. Upon finding this particular pair of equine, they were to simply say to the owner, “The Lord needs them.” Lo and behold, they did as Jesus directed them, and… it worked. They brought Him the pair as He sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem to the east. This took place, according to Matthew’s gospel, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Zechariah.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9
At the outset of Passion week, Jesus began with the fulfillment of a prophecy. One does not have to do much work to see the detail and precision by which He approached Zechariah’s prophecy. He mounted the colt and rode down into Jerusalem. He did not ride “the spiritual donkey of humility” or substitute another animal for a donkey. He really rode the colt, the foal of a donkey.
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." - Matthew 21:7-11
He rode down the Mountain and into the city where a crowd had gathered to meet Him. They sang out triumphal choruses of, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”. He indeed rode into the city to triumph, although His triumph would not be as expected. His conquest would not be over Rome, or the power structures of the day. He rode into Jerusalem with His eyes set on a hill called Golgotha. There on that hill, He was going to triumph over the sin of the world. And in a tomb in a garden, He would triumph over death, hell, and the grave. The crowds lifted their voice in jubilation as Jesus rode through the city gate, welcoming the one whom they hoped would redeem Israel from all her troubles. Five days later the same crowd would be shouting “Crucify Him!”. Why? He came in a way they didn’t expect. He didn’t do what they wanted Him to do. Have you ever worshiped Him passionately one day, only to accuse Him of inaction the next day? Oh, how the offense over our unmet expectations pollutes our worship!
Jesus, give us eyes to see that you are working for our good even when the answers don’t come in the way we expect.
Jesus chose this young donkey as His chariot of choice. The creator of the universe was not riding a noble steed, or an angelic creature but a simple and lowly donkey. Zechariah foresaw that this King who was coming would be humble. He had no show to put on or reputation to bolster. He was demonstrating what He told His disciples in the previous chapter, “but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:26-28) His first entry into Jerusalem was to lay down His life as the suffering servant, to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world, to give His life as a ransom. He still chooses lowly things to carry His presence.
His first triumphal entry culminated with a crucifixion. His next triumphal entry will culminate in a coronation.
He chose this donkey’s colt to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah. Why so specific? Why so much attention to detail? He fulfilled Zechariah 9:9 with detail and accuracy so that we would hold fast to the promise that He will fulfill verse 10 in the same manner, with detail and accuracy.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and 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. - Zechariah 9:10
Zechariah assures us that there is yet another triumphal entry that is coming when the man Jesus will ride back into the city of Jerusalem for the salvation of His people and the restoration of the earth. The man who rode on the back of the donkey will ride on a white horse. He will stand on the same Mount of Olives over Jerusalem a second time and ride in to take His seat on David’s throne and his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. A few chapters later, Zechariah sees the second triumphal entry in detail.
Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east... And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. - Zechariah 14:3-4, 9
The Man who was crushed as a ransom for sin on the cross will return to crush the head of the Serpent and his offspring. In love and justice, He will remove wickedness from the earth forever. The one who came as a suffering servant the first time will come again as a conquering King. He will rule over the nations from Jerusalem and end all wars. He will reign in righteousness and restore all things. In fact, the vast majority of the prophecies in the Bible are about the second triumphal entry, not the first. When He returns, those who are eagerly waiting for Him will call Him Faithful and True. He will be Faithful to fulfill every promise. He will not overlook or over-spiritualize one prophetic promise of Scripture. He will fulfill every word with the detail and accuracy that He did in the first triumphal entry. Every word that was spoken by the prophets will prove to be True when He arrives again. I know there is much talk and debate about the prophetic at this moment and whether it can be trusted. For sure men and women have used and abused the prophetic gift, but I know for sure you can trust Jesus and His prophetic promises in the Scriptures. He will not change, edit, or erase them. He will fulfill every one. So resoundingly clear will it be, as He takes His place as King in Jerusalem, that the name by which we will call Him will be The Word of God.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. - Revelation 19:11-13
As it was on the first Palm Sunday, so it will be at the last. Another crowd will gather. It will be a multitude from every tribe, people, and language standing before the Lamb with palm branches in their hands. They will be prepared and waiting, ready to sing to the King as He marches up the hill of the Lord the second time, not for a cross but for a crown.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" - Revelation 7:9-10
Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.