The Triumphal Entry Wasn’t Really All That Triumphant

The traditional emphasis makes for a really good Sunday School story and coloring pictures. We all remember the pictures of happy children shouting “Hosanna!” and laying palm branches in front of Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowd was happy, but the key players in the events that would take place in the next week were not.

The hypocrisy of the crowd.

It’s not that the crowd was evil, it’s that the crowd was doing crowds do—they were looking for a show. They had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and wanted to get a glance at him.

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead (John 12:9).

Resurrection was a remarkable event. Perhaps some wondered what he looked like after being in the grave for three days. They wanted to see Lazarus and the One who called Him from the grave. They glorified Him out of curiosity and spectacle not out of faith. In a few days, many in this same crowd would shout, “Crucify Him!”

The doubt of the disciples.

The underlying plot dynamics make the Triumphal Entry of Palm Sunday look quite different. The planning for this trip to Jerusalem starts when Jesus is in Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16). After Peter’s great confession, Jesus starts talking about how He plans to return to Jerusalem, suffer persecution, die, and rise again the third day. Peter thinks this is a bad strategy and rebukes Jesus for talking about it. What an idea? The disciple rebuking the Master after just confessing that Jesus is the Christ! What it reveals is that the Messianic identity of Christ was exciting to the disciples because they believed He would set up the Kingdom. They were interested in their roles in the Kingdom.

Jesus then spoke very clearly about the importance of self-sacrifice in following Christ (Matthew 16:24-27). It is a clear indication that the path ahead for them was through suffering. I can hear Judas thinking, “I didn’t sign up for this!”

So as the disciples walk alongside the Lord as they enter Jerusalem, their minds are filled with mixed messages. Would it be true? Would Jesus die here? And if He does, will suffering follow for the disciples too? Maybe they hoped against hope that they just misunderstood Jesus.

The plot of the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were there at the Triumphal Entry too. They were frowning. They heard about Lazarus’s resurrection from the dead and saw it as the greatest their greatest existential threat. In fact, they were so disturbed by the miracle that they plotted to kill Lazarus. They were deep into the plot to kill Jesus and just had to find a way to do it without bringing the wrath of the crowd down upon them.

They finally shouted out to Jesus to rebuke His followers for praising Him.

But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:40).

The treachery of Judas.

Judas also walked along beside Jesus. According to John’s chronology, there had been a growing problem with Judas all along. We are not sure why Judas joined the Twelve. We are not even exactly sure how or when he became part of the group, but what we do know is that Jesus chose him knowing the traitorous nature of his character.

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve (John 6:70-71)

Judas also chose Jesus. He was not compelled to follow Christ. Maybe it was the miracles, or the intrigue of the Kingdom, or the possibility of personal advancement that drove him. However, even when many walked away from Christ, Judas remained (John 6:66).

My perception of Judas is that he was the ultimate con man. He gained everyone’s trust. They even let him take care of the money! The final straw came at the fateful dinner in Bethany when Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with the expensive ointment. Not only did Jesus allow her to do it and waste all that money, but He also did it in the honor of the death He was expecting for Himself.

 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; ^[a]she has kept this for the day of My burial (John 12:7).

Judas was greedy. The extra money in the purse would have allowed him to steal more easily, and the idea that he would accept such lavish treatment in honor of impending death was just too much for him. Matthew (Matthew 26:14) and Mark (Mark 14:10), both record this as the moment when Judas slipped away to make initial contact with the chief priests to betray Christ.

So, according to John’s chronology, as Judas walked along beside Jesus going into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, his plan to betray his master was already in motion. That day must have looked very different to Judas. For the rest of the disciples, there was doubt and fear, for Judas the adoration of the crowd posed a potential threat to his plan.

The sorrow of Jesus.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the scene before us on Palm Sunday is the one that Luke paints.

As the crowds adored, the disciples doubted, the Pharisees raged, and Judas schemed—Jesus wept.

He did not weep for the fate that would befall Him in the coming days or for the fact that He was betrayed by His friend. He wept for the city of Jerusalem. The humanity of Christ is in full view as He weeps—weeps for this happy city that will be destroyed brutally in the near future.

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus saw the reality. This crowd of people who so enthusiastically cheered would for the most part reject Him and condemn Him to death. There would be many who would believe in Jerusalem, but the destruction of the Beautiful City would come in 70 AD when it would come under the judgment of God at the hand of the Romans.

It was a mixed day indeed—a day of cheering, fearing, scheming, jealousy, and sorrow all occurring at the same moment as Jesus rode into Jerusalem—hardly triumphal.

The real triumph was coming a week later when Jesus would conquer sin on the cross and death when rose from the tomb.