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Entrance
Here begins a
whole new section in Luke's gospel. The journey to Jerusalem (9:51
- 19:27) is over. Recall the words of "the voice of
one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight'..." (Luke
3:4-6). The long, crooked, and rough road to this day
is now a b-line. The destination is no longer distant. The time
has come to enter the city of Shalom (Jeru-shalem), which hasn't a
clue as to what truly makes for God's peace (19:41-42)
- does it even today? Remember the words of Isaiah which Jesus
claimed as his own, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has
sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight
to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor." (Luke
4:18-19, Isaiah
61:1-2) The hour has arrived when the stones that
greeted those words earlier (4:28-30)
will not miss.
However, that
moment is not yet. The One anointed to bring good news comes to
the gates of the city, to the doors of the temple. There is a
festal procession. Is this crowd consciously greeting this rabbi
from Nazareth as a triumphant king, as the coming Messiah, or are
they just all wrapped up in the celebration of a religious
festival? Here comes yet another pilgrim. "Blessings!"
Luke hints that there is a bit of awareness of his
"king"-ship, but all too quickly those around him will
dissipate, even his closest disciples, leaving him alone among
enemies with a sarcastic sign above his head "This is the
king of the Jews," and the bitter question and comment
from soldier and criminal, "Are you the Messiah?"
and "Save yourself !" (23:35-39).
For now, though,
the sun shines above a bright day. Whether those around him truly
know what they are saying, Jesus is welcomed into David's city as
God's anointed. Before reading, perhaps we should lay down our own
"cloaks" before him. |
{28} After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
{29} When he had come near Bethphage
and Bethany, at the place called
the
Mount of Olives,
he sent two of the disciples,
{30}
saying,
"Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it
you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.
Untie it and
bring it here.
{31}
If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?'
just say this, 'The
Lord needs it.'"
{32}
So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
{33}
As they were untying the colt,
its owners asked them, "Why are
you untying the colt?"
{34}
They said, "The Lord needs it."
{35} Then they brought it to Jesus;
and
after throwing their cloaks on the
colt,
they set Jesus on it.
{36}
As he rode along,
people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
{37}
As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives,
the
whole multitude of the disciples
began to praise God joyfully with a loud
voice
for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
{38}
saying,
"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"
{39}
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
"Teacher, order
your disciples to stop."
{40}
He answered,
"I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would
shout out."
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Parallels
There is considerable agreement between the four gospels as to
the events of this day. Jesus arrived with his disciples. He entered
Jerusalem seated on either a colt or a donkey (or both), surrounded
by a multitude. This crowd shouted a blessing of this one "who
comes in the name of the Lord." A connection to Psalm 118:25-27
seems obvious for all four accounts.
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Psalm 118:19-29
{19} Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may
enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. {20} This
is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through
it.{21} I thank you that you have answered me and
have become my salvation. {22} The stone that the
builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. {23}
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
{24} This is the day that the LORD has made; let us
rejoice and be glad in it. {25} Save
us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you,
give us success! {26} Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We
bless you from the house of the LORD. {27} The LORD
is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal
procession with
branches, up to the horns of the altar. {28} You
are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I
will extol you. {29} O give thanks to the LORD, for
he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. |
This Psalm is the last of a group of Psalms (113-118) known
as "the Egyptian Hallel" (hallel
= praise), and was used as part of joyous festivals,
such as the Feast of Tabernacles or Passover. The language
of these Psalms looks back to the Exodus, but the whole
history of God's preservation of Israel is included. A
service of thanksgiving, this Psalm is centered "in a
person who has survived a dangerous crisis. This celebrant
stands at the gates of the temple courts accompanied by a
congregation of worshipers. There he gives testimony of his
escape. After a ritual of admission, he enters with (them)
and gives thanks to the Lord in a liturgy in which (all)
participate." (Mays,
Psalms, p. 375)
The New
Testament has drawn heavily from the well of this particular
section of Psalm 118 (for verses 22-23, see Mt.
21:42-44/Mk.
12:10-11/Lk.
20:17-18, Acts
4:11-12, Eph.
2:19-22, 1
Peter 2:6-10). Verses 25-27 provide the backdrop for
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - a fitting connection, since the
time frame for the gospel story is the beginning of
Passover, and this Psalm functions in that setting. Pilgrims
to Jerusalem would have been familiar with the liturgy.
"Save us" in Hebrew is "Hosi anna" (in
short form, "Hosanna"). A cry for help, it
is also an affirmation of faith in God who saves - who
passes over the children of Israel (Exodus
12:21-32), who parts the waters (Exodus
14:21-32), who provides a deliverer (like Moses or
David), and who brings home the exiles.
"Blessed
is the one who comes," who enters the temple "in
the name of the Lord" - i.e. the pilgrim coming to
return thanks or seek deliverance, the Davidic king entering
as God's anointed, or (as in later Judaism) the coming
Messiah. (for more on Messianic expectations
in Ps. 22, 118, and 102, see The
Messiah in the OT in the light of rabbinical writings)
The "festal procession" (literally the
"sacrifice," though this rendering is
unlikely) is to be "bound with branches."
The Mishnah
(Sukkah
iv:5f) "describes how on the Feast of Tabernacles the
procession of worshippers used to go around the altar. They
also carried the "lulab," a bundle of
branches made up from myrtles, willows, and palms. During
the procession the altar was covered with branches." (Anderson,
Psalms, p. 804) "...as the branches
touch each other, as well as the 'horns of the altar,'
its quality of holiness (is imparted on the participants).
Other commentators translate 'ropes' instead of 'branches'
and see in this the widespread custom of using ropes to mark
the congregation off as a holy people, thus separating them
from what is regarded as profane." (Weiser,
The Psalms, p. 729)
Other resources on Psalm
118 can be found at
"The
Text this Week." |
Of
course, the differences between the gospel accounts are obvious. In
Mark and Luke the beast of burden carrying Jesus is a young colt
("polon") that has never been
ridden, while John pictures a young donkey ("onarion"),
and Matthew presents both a donkey ("onon")
and a young colt ("polon").
This detail is tied with a passage from the prophet Zechariah (9:9),
which Matthew and John quote. If one follows the Hebrew text (MT)
of Zechariah, the "triumphant king" will come
seated "upon an ass, even upon a colt, the foal of an
ass." The Greek version (LXX)
says he will arrive "upon a draft animal ("hypozygion,"
similar to an ass "onon") and a new ("neon")
colt or foal ("polon").
Matthew's quote follows the LXX rendering (substituting
"onon" for "hypozygion"), as well as the
"and," while John translates the Hebrew, making it
singular, "a donkey's colt."
The synoptic
gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) agree that
the disciples are sent with instructions, concerning what to do and
say, from Jesus to obtain the beast(s), where John simply says
"having found (one) Jesus sat upon" it. He
doesn't mention the cloaks thrown upon the back(s) of the
animal(s), whereas the others do. The three also tell that people
spread their cloaks upon the ground. Luke makes no mention of
vegetation also strewed in the way. For Matthew, it's "branches
("kladous") cut from the trees
("denodron")." With Mark, it's
"wisps of twigs ("stibadas"),
cutting from the fields ("kopsantes ek
ton agron")." John is the only one who writes
of "branches of palm trees" ("baia ton
phoinikon"), though there is no mention of laying them on the
ground. The crowd went out to meet him with the palm
branches. Is the crowd surrounding Jesus, in Luke's gospel, any more
than his own disciples? One wonders.
With words from the
festive psalm, all (disciples, crowd?) shout a blessing to this one
"who comes in the name of the Lord," whom Luke and
John identify as the "king." Luke omits the "Hosanna!"
The synoptics add some extra material, each slightly different, but
John is short and sweet. Luke and John add a section (though each is
different) of addedum to this entrance scene, where Matthew and Mark
head straight into the city, and the passion that there awaits.
Parallels (in NRSV) are highlighted
in this way:
in all four (yellow),
in three of four
(green), in two of four
(blue) |
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Matthew 21:1-9 |
Mark 11:1-10 |
Luke 19:29-38 |
John 12:12-15 |
| {1} When
they had
come near Jerusalem
and had reached Bethphage,
at the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples,
{2} saying to them, "Go
into the village ahead of you, and immediately
you will find a
donkey tied, and a
colt with her; untie
them and bring them
to me. {3} If anyone
says anything to you, just
say this, 'The Lord
needs them.' And
he will send them immediately." |
{1} When
they were approaching
Jerusalem, at Bethphage
and Bethany, near
the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples
{2} and said to them, "Go
into the village ahead of you, and immediately
as you enter it, you
will find tied
there a colt that
has never been ridden; untie
it and bring it. {3} If
anyone says to you, 'Why
are you doing this?' just
say this, 'The Lord
needs it and will
send it back here immediately.'" |
{29} When
he had come near
Bethphage and
Bethany, at the place called the
Mount of Olives, he sent
two of the disciples,
{30} saying, "Go into
the village ahead of you, and as
you enter it you will
find tied
there a colt that
has never been ridden. Untie
it and bring it here.
{31} If anyone asks
you, 'Why are you
untying it?' just say this,
'The Lord needs
it.'" |
|
| {4} This took place to fulfill what had been spoken
through the prophet, saying, {5} "Tell the daughter
of Zion, Look, your
king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on
a donkey, and on a colt,
the foal of a donkey." |
Old Testament quote not in
Mark/Luke
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(Zechariah 9:9)
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O
daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant
and victorious is he, humble and riding on:
- (MT) a donkey, on a
colt, the foal of a donkey."
- (LXX) a draft animal and a new
foal." |
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(from end of section below)
as it is written: {15} "Do not be afraid, daughter
of Zion. Look, your
king is coming, sitting on
a donkey's colt!"
(end of section) |
| {6} The disciples went
and did as Jesus had directed them; |
{4} They went
away and found a colt
tied near a door, outside in the street. As
they were untying it, {5} some of the bystanders said to
them, "What are you doing, untying
the colt?" {6} They told them what Jesus had said; and
they allowed them to take it. |
{32} So those who were sent departed and found it as
he had told them. {33} As
they were untying the colt,
its owners asked them, "Why are you untying
the colt?" {34} They said, "The Lord needs
it." |
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| {7} they
brought the donkey
and the colt, and put
their cloaks on them,
and he sat on
them.
{8} A very large crowd
spread their cloaks on the
road, and others
cut branches from the
trees and spread
them on the road. |
{7} Then they
brought the colt
to Jesus and threw their
cloaks on it; and he sat
on it.
{8} Many people spread
their cloaks on the road, and others
spread leafy branches
that they had cut in the fields. |
{35} Then they
brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their
cloaks on the colt,
they set Jesus on
it.
{36} As he rode along, people kept spreading
their cloaks on the road. |
(from
end of section below)
{14} Jesus found a young donkey
and sat on
it;
(continues
above)
{12} The next day the great crowd
that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to
Jerusalem. {13} So they took branches
of palm trees and
went out to meet him, |
| {9} The crowds that went ahead of him and that
followed were shouting, "Hosanna
to the Son of David! Blessed
is the one who
comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna
in the highest heaven!" |
{9} Then those who went ahead and those who followed
were shouting, "Hosanna!
Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the
Lord! {10} Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the
highest heaven!" |
{37} As he was now approaching the path down from the
Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to
praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power
that they had seen, {38} saying, "Blessed
is the king who
comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the
highest heaven!" |
shouting, "Hosanna!
Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the
Lord-- the King
of Israel!"
(continues above) |
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More resources on Matthew 21:1-9 can be found at
"The
Text this Week." |
More resources on Mark 11:1-10 can be found at
"The
Text this Week." |
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More resources on John 12:12-15 can be found at
"The
Text this Week." |
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Luke 19:39-44 |
John 12:16-19 |
| {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
"Teacher, order your disciples to stop." {40} He
answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would
shout out." {41} As he came near and saw the city, he wept
over it, {42} saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized
on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are
hidden from your eyes. {43} Indeed, the days will come upon you,
when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround
you, and hem you in on every side. {44} They will crush you to the
ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave
within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize
the time of your visitation from God." |
{16} His disciples did not understand these things
at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that
these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
{17} So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus
out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.
{18} It was also because they heard that he had performed this
sign that the crowd went to meet him. {19} The Pharisees then said
to one another, "You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world
has gone after him!" |
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