The Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem #
The Feast of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem also marks the beginning of the days of His saving Passion. Yet in the festal services, we hear almost no forewarning of those sorrowful days when even nature itself shared in the suffering of its Creator in the flesh: “The sun was darkened, the earth trembled, the rocks split apart, and the veil of the temple was torn.” Instead, today’s hymns resound with unmingled joy:
“God is the Lord and hath revealed Himself unto us! Celebrate the feast and, rejoicing, come forth; let us magnify Christ with palms and branches, crying with songs: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, our Savior!” (Canon, Ode 9, Irmos).
Christ is He of whom the Law and the Prophets bore witness—the One foreshadowed of old by the king and priest Melchizedek, the One whose coming was foreseen and sung in the psalms of the prophet-king David, the One glorified as the Beloved and Heavenly Bridegroom in the songs of Solomon, who built a temple in His honor and offered sacrifices therein. Now this King of Peace enters His holy city—not as conquerors of nations, with weapons and mighty armies, but in humility and gentleness, bringing not news of military victory but the tidings of the resurrection of a man four days dead.
On His way to Jerusalem, Christ visited Bethany and the house of Lazarus—whom He had recently raised from the dead—and his sisters. Then, coming with the apostles to the village of Bethphage near the Mount of Olives, the Lord, as the Evangelist Matthew recounts, “sent two disciples, saying unto them, ‘Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.’ All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.’ And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set Him thereon.” (Matthew 21:1–7)
The prophet mentioned here is Zechariah, who prophesied of Christ five centuries before His coming. The Book of Zechariah is filled with transparent references to Gospel events; even such a detail as the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey did not escape the spiritual vision of the saint.
The Evangelist continues: “And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. 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 21:8–9).
The word “Hosanna” means “save, we pray”—a fervent and insistent plea for salvation. This cry of the people, too, fulfilled an ancient prophecy: “Save now, I beseech Thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 117:25–26), cried the prophet-king David a thousand years before Christ, foreseeing in the Spirit the future entrance of the Savior of the world into the city David himself had made the capital of his kingdom.
Some of the disciples even called Christ “King” outright. Fearing that this would reach the Romans—who then ruled over Judea—and incur their wrath, certain Pharisees said to the Lord, “Master, rebuke Thy disciples.” But He answered them, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:39–40), affirming that all was being done by God’s will and in fulfillment of the words of the prophets.
Having entered the city amid the rejoicing of the multitudes, the Lord went to the Temple of Solomon and drove out those who profaned the holy place for profit, those who bought and sold and changed money there. He said to them, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13). He then healed many who were sick with various afflictions. The evangelist continues: “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto Him, ‘Hearest Thou what these say?’ And Jesus saith unto them, ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?’” (Matthew 21:15–16).
Here the Lord again refers to the prophecy of David, who wrote of the Savior—the Messiah who would come from his line: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength.” (Psalm 8:1–2)
“Once, the righteous elder Simeon met the Savior, took into his arms the Creator of the ages in the form of a child, and confessed Him as Lord and God; now, in place of wicked elders, children welcomed the Savior, like Simeon,” comments St. Methodius, Bishop of Patara, on this Gospel event. “Instead of an embrace, they stretched forth branches and blessed the Lord God, seated on a donkey as upon the cherubim: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! […] David prophetically concealed this mystery in letters; the children, opening this treasury, proclaimed its riches with their tongues, and through words of grace clearly called all to partake of it.” (Homily on Palm Sunday)
At night, Christ would withdraw to the Mount of Olives for prayer, and in the morning He would return to the city and spend the whole day teaching in the temple. The entire multitude was filled with great enthusiasm, seeing His miracles and hearing His preaching. The Jews believed that Jesus would take upon Himself the royal crown and deliver them from Roman rule, restoring the kingdom of David and Solomon in renewed power. But they, as the Apostle Paul writes, had “a veil upon their hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:15) and, failing to understand the true meaning of the Scriptures, did not comprehend that Christ was not a king of the Jews, but the King “of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” They did not know that He had not come to conquer the world by force, but to offer Himself as a sacrifice for its salvation. They did not know that, even as He approached Jerusalem, He had foretold to His apostles:
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him; and the third day He shall rise again.” (Matthew 20:18–19)
None of this did the Jews know; and when all that had been appointed by the Providence of God began to be fulfilled, they—though they had received so many testimonies of His goodness and miracles—rejected Him whom they had just welcomed and glorified as the true Messiah. They delivered Him up to Pilate for crucifixion, requesting that a murderer and brigand, Barabbas, be released to them instead. But the unbelief and cruelty of the ungrateful Jews, like the power and military might of the Romans, proved powerless before the will and providence of the Triune God. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus became the glory of His kingship. The most precious blood which He shed became the redemption for the sins of the world and established the New and Eternal Covenant between God and mankind. His Resurrection, which freed from hades the souls of the righteous held there, filled with light “heaven, and earth, and the nethermost regions.”
“The spirits of the righteous cried out with joy: Lo, a New Covenant is bequeathed unto the world, and the people shall be renewed by the sprinkling of the divine Blood,”—so the festal canon proclaims today (Ode 6, Irmos). Rejoicing brightly in this feast, the Church prepares to carry this joy through the sorrowful days of the Passion, unto the radiant celebration of Christ’s Resurrection.
Stikhera at “Lord, I Have Cried,” Tone 6
Today the grace of the Holy Spirit hath gathered us together, and all of us, taking up Thy Cross, cry aloud: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
He who hath heaven for His throne and the earth as His footstool, the Word and co-eternal Son of God the Father, humbled Himself today, sitting upon a dumb beast, and came to Bethany. Therefore, the Hebrew children, bearing branches in their hands, praised Him with voices crying: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the coming King of Israel!
Let us also come forth today, the new Israel—the Church gathered from among the Gentiles—and cry out with the prophet Zechariah: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Proclaim it, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: meek and bringing salvation, riding upon an ass, the foal of a beast of burden. Let us keep feast as children, bearing branches in our hands and exalting Him: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the coming King of Israel!
Foreshadowing His glorious Resurrection, the Blessed One raised from the tomb His friend Lazarus, who had been dead four days and had begun to stink, calling him forth by His word. Therefore, now mounting a colt as upon a chariot, He symbolically tames the nations, O Savior. Then the beloved Israel offered Thee praise from the mouths of innocent infants and babes, beholding Thee, O Christ, entering the Holy City six days before the Passover.