Christ's Triumphal Entry

Much can be said of the triumphal entry that Jesus made as he headed toward the temple on what we often refer to as Palm Sunday. This event was clearly a fulfilment of ancient prophecy (Zech. 9:9) and even alluded to as early as Gen. 49. The unabated display of Christ as King and Messiah stood in stark contrast to his previous dealings where Bible readers are regularly reminded that His time had not yet come. Christ’s time had now come and in kingly fashion Jesus commandeered a beast of burden on which none had ever ridden and entered Jerusalem like that of the newly appointed King Jehu in 2 Kings 9:13 where garments were spread before him on the ground. One could study Ezekiel’s vision (10:18-19) of the departure of the glory of God from the temple and how Christ’s entrance into the temple marked a return of the glory of the Lord to the temple once again as a full and final sacrifice was only days away.

While all the aforementioned aspects of Palm Sunday are worthy of our time in study and prayerful thought, consider the fact that so many during this time expected Christ to reign and rule so as to overthrow Roman occupation and the oppression that came with it. Yet we learn later that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Many who hailed Christ on Sunday later walked in disappointment as Jesus hung on the cross, their expectations dying with him.

Jesus’ triumphal entry is a timely reminder that the Lord regularly works in ways that may not align with our expectations.  The Gospels reveal to us often that there is far more to Jesus than meets the eye and much of what he did required closer examination to fully understand. As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus keep in mind that the Lord is at work in your life. His depth is vast, his judgements unsearchable and his ways are inscrutable. Even when the Lord doesn’t work how we’d like it is important to understand that our unmet expectations in no way diminish his lordship. He is the King who conquered death and we have every reason to believe that he reigns supreme over every aspect of our lives. Let’s celebrate our King this week and praise him even if we don’t fully understand all that he is doing as we can rest assured that he’ll work for our good and his glory.