The Triumphal Entry

In the 90’s Disney World would invite church groups to come out to the parks and hotels and play the part of “screaming fans” for their convention guests.

Large corporations would rent various venues and bus their folks in.

Disney would put up velvet rope barricades for us to stand behind and literal red carpets for the guests to walk on.

We were given fake cameras, little notebooks and pens.

When the guests arrived we supposed to act like it was the red carpet at the Oscars.

After the initial shock, the guest nearly always really got into it and hammed it up big time.

No doubt is was fun. And with big groups it could exhausting.

At the end of it, every screaming fan got a couple of passes to the parks and the group would get a donation from Disney.

Scream and then go home. Not much impact made on the “screamers.”

Disney wanted their paying guests to have a fun experience.

The paying guests played their part and usually had fun.

We just wanted free passes to the park.

As I read the accounts of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on His final visit, I was reminded of those times when we cheered on people we didn’t know and didn’t really care about.

By contrast, the disciples and pilgrims streaming into Jerusalem were quite aware of Jesus and His activities. The parade goers were delighted to see Him.

But we know how this part of the story ends. Jesus, abandoned, on trial, the once-delighted pilgrims now screaming curses and death.

As disciples, what do we learn from the coronation parade?

During these moments, Jesus makes a definitive public statement of exactly who he is.

But, as we have seen throughout the gospels the truth about the King is ignored in favor of their own agenda.

A Donkey Makes a Statement

Luke 19:28–35 NLT

28 After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. 29 As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. 30 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem very deliberately echoing King Jehu’s coronation parade.

He is also bringing to mind the prophecy of

Zechariah 9:9 NLT

9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.

A Crowd Cries With Delight

Luke 19:36–38 NLT

36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. 37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. 38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

The disciples and the pilgrims on the way to celebrate Passover did not miss the significance of Jesus’ actions.

Their intent all along was to shove Jesus into their version of Messiah. He always resisted this.

Now, he has apparently decided to go along with it. (They’re wrong.)

We can understand their desire to have a King.

Pharisees Begin to Fuss

Luke 19:39–40 NLT

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” 40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

There are always two sides. The crowd is uncritically excited about Jesus.

The Pharisees discern part of the truth of what’s going on here, but interpret incorrectly as well.

They see a threat to their established order becoming a reality.

Jesus alludes to

Habakkuk 2:11 NLT

11 The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

It’s no surprise that, following this conflict with the Pharisees, Jesus reveals his heart for Jerusalem and the world.

Jesus Reveals His Heart

Luke 19:41–44 NLT

41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Instead of puffing out his chest and strutting like a WWE wrestler working the crowd, Jesus begins to weep.

In this moment we begin to discern what the week ahead will be like for Jesus.

He weeps for a city that named “peace” because it has no peace.

The one named Prince of Peace by Isaiah will be rejected and murdered in just a few days.

In fact, their misplaced faith will result in their city being destroyed in just a few decades.

After the Parade

After doing screaming fans at Disney, we’d go home tired but enriched by a couple of valuable passes to the parks. Some people used them, others gave them away, some stuck the passes in a drawer and forgot about them until it was too late and they had expired.

Use them, gain something from them, toss them away, forget about them.

As disciples I have the same application when it comes to this coronation parade.

We are lead to ask what we expect King Jesus to mean to us. What are our motives in cheering him on as he rides into Jerusalem?

Will we metaphorically lay out the red carpet for Him only to take it up and go home?

Do we find it easier at times to wish (like last week) that Jesus wasn’t quite so controversial? Maybe a little more everyday?

There are times we go from Hosanna! to Crucify! with appalling ease and speed.

What will you do with your King?

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