The Last Week · Day 1 of 8
Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a borrowed colt while crowds spread garments and branches and shout Hosanna. It is a public, deliberate claim to be the promised King, yet a King of peace, not a warhorse. He weeps over the city that does not know its day of visitation. The week that ends at a cross and an empty tomb begins here.
“And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”Matthew 21:9
What happened
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem near Bethphage and the Mount of Olives, He sends two disciples to bring a colt no one had ridden, telling them what to say if questioned. They set their garments on it, and He rides toward the city. Great crowds, many having heard about the raising of Lazarus in John's account, spread their clothes and cut branches, going before and after Him and crying Hosanna, blessing the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Luke records that when Pharisees ask Him to rebuke the disciples, He answers that the very stones would cry out. As the city comes into view, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, foretelling its coming ruin because it did not recognize the time of its visitation. He enters the temple and looks around, and the whole city is stirred, asking who this is. The crowds answer that He is the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee.
What it means
The entry is a staged and public fulfillment of prophecy. Zechariah had spoken of a King coming lowly and riding upon a colt, and Jesus enacts exactly that. He does not slip quietly into the city but presents Himself openly as Messiah in the days before Passover, when Jerusalem is crowded with pilgrims. Yet the manner corrects the expectation. The crowds hope for a liberator who will break Rome, and He comes bringing a peace they cannot yet see. His tears reveal the gap between what the people want and what they need. The King has arrived, and the movement of the week is toward a throne shaped like a cross, where the true deliverance will be accomplished for those who could not save themselves.
How it points to Christ
Here Jesus openly receives worship due to God alone and refuses to silence it, for the stones themselves would praise Him. He is the King foretold by Zechariah, humble and riding on a colt, coming not to be served by armies but to give His life. The Hosanna, which means save now, is more true than the crowd understands, for He will save, though not from Rome. His weeping shows the heart of the Savior who comes to the very city that will reject Him, still longing to gather her. This is the shepherd King entering to lay down His life for the sheep, the beginning of the road to redemption.
Questions people ask
What happened on Palm Sunday?
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed colt as crowds spread garments and branches and shouted Hosanna, blessing the One who comes in the name of the Lord. He deliberately fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy of a humble King. Luke records that He wept over the city, and He entered the temple as the whole of Jerusalem was stirred and asking who He was.
Why did Jesus ride a donkey into Jerusalem?
He was enacting Zechariah's prophecy of a King who comes lowly, riding upon a colt, bringing peace rather than war. A conqueror would arrive on a warhorse. By choosing an unridden colt, Jesus presented Himself openly as Messiah while correcting the crowd's hope for a military liberator, pointing instead toward the peace He would win at the cross.
What does Hosanna mean?
Hosanna comes from a Hebrew cry meaning save now, or save, we pray. Drawn from Psalm 118, it was both a plea and a shout of praise as the crowds welcomed Jesus. They meant it as a call for national deliverance, yet the word was more true than they knew, for He came to bring a deeper salvation than freedom from Rome.