What Really Happened on Palm Sunday?

© C. O. Bishop 4/13/19 revised 3/25/2021

Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; Zechariah 12, 14, etc.

Introduction:

I have frequently heard preachers say that the very people who praised Jesus, shouting “Hosanna” to Him as he rode into Jerusalem on the young donkey, were the same ones who, a few days later, were howling for his crucifixion. I’d like to examine that claim this morning. Especially in light of what the scripture says regarding the coming Judgment of Jerusalem, it seems important.

We have read so much of the coming Judgment, in various prophecies. It becomes difficult to even imagine the complete return to blessing that will follow. But let’s look carefully at the frequently made claim; that “Jesus’s followers-at-large turned against Him.”

Matthew 21:1-11

¹And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, ² 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. ³ And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

⁴ All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

(Here is the Prophecy!)

⁵ 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.

⁶ And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, ⁷ And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

⁸ And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

¹¹ And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Fulfilled Prophecy!

Verse five, above is a partial quote of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Not all of the Gospel accounts mention that there were two animals, but this prophecy should have been ringing in the ears of the watching Jews, regardless. So the important question becomes, “Who were the ‘multitudes’ in verses 8, 9, and 11?”

Luke 19:29-40

²⁹ And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

³⁰ Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

³¹ And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. ³² And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. ³³ And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? ³⁴ And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

³⁵ And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. ³⁶ And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.

Another Fulfilled Prophecy

³⁷ And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the DISCIPLES began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; ³⁸ Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

This one originated in Psalm 118:25, 26 and Zechariah 9:9

³⁹ And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. (They were not His disciples, by their own words, but they were amongst the multitude)

⁴⁰ And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

⁴¹ And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

⁴² Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. (This is judicial blindness!)

⁴³ For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

⁴⁴ And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Where Was Jesus Coming From?

If we back up a few verses, to Luke 18:35-43, we see that Jesus had just passed through Jericho, heading up to Jerusalem. En route, if we read all the gospel accounts of this visit, he healed three blind men; one as he entered Jericho, and the other two as he left. He also encountered Zacchaeus, and transformed his life forever. But he was headed for Jerusalem all the time.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany and Bethphage, just outside of Jerusalem, he was in the town where he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and where his friends Mary and Martha still lived with their brother, Lazarus. He was among friends, who had seen His miracles and had heard His teaching. These were people who loved Him. These friends, his disciples, gathered to walk with him to Jerusalem. We are not talking about just the twelve, now: Luke says it was a whole multitude of His disciples…a crowd. But they were a crowd who genuinely liked Jesus, even if they weren’t really sure who He was. So, Jesus was coming from Bethany into Jerusalem.

Who was Following with Him?

Turn back to Matthew, and notice what happened when this multitude of His disciples began to announce His coming as the King, coming in the name of the Lord: as they entered Jerusalem, the whole city (Jerusalem) was stirred up, and asking, “Who is this man??” The crowd of disciples answered that Jesus was the prophet of Nazareth, of Galilee. Did they not understand that He was also the Savior…the Messiah? Maybe not, but the word “Hosanna” means “save us now!” So, they at least saw Him as “a” savior of some sort…a deliverer. Maybe they only thought He would deliver them from the Romans.

But we need to differentiate between the crowd of disciples, confused though they may have been, and the city of Jerusalem, whose response, eventually, was to kill Him.

Turn back to Matthew 23:37-39, please: Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem again (a different day).

Now: compare this passage with the one we just read, in Luke 19:37, 38. In that passage; who were the ones shouting “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord?” It was the multitude of His disciples! The inhabitants of Jerusalem were just “stirred up” by the call—they did not receive Him as their King.

Why Jerusalem?

Jerusalem is the City of the King: they were the ones who had to officially receive Him. God says that the Jews finally will turn to Jesus as their Messiah, weeping over their sin, and the fact of their guilt, having crucified the Messiah. But, where will it occur? At Jerusalem! And, when will it occur? After the tribulation! How do I know? Jesus says so!

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus gives the time frame, saying:

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (The Tribulation Saints) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

MORE Fulfilled Prophecy!

Zechariah 14:3-5 gives us the specific location: on the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem, just as the angelic messengers foretold in Acts 1:10, 11.

³ Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. ⁴ And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

⁵ And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Acts 1:10, 11 (At the ascension.)

¹⁰ And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ¹¹ Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Repentance in Jerusalem

Zechariah 12:10 says the inhabitants of Jerusalem will completely repent, weeping over the One they Crucified.

¹⁰ And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

This is what Palm Sunday was all about: Jesus made His final offer to Jerusalem during that visit, and He was rejected. But the One they judged, illegally, and with total prejudice, is the Judge of all the Earth, and who Judges righteously, without prejudice…without respect of persons. How do I know? Jesus says so! He said that the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son. (John 5:22)

The Day of the LORD

So, the “Day of the Lord” about which we studied some time ago, is the entirety of what Jesus just barely began to warn against in Matthew 24. It begins with what we call the Rapture, as taught in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18; it continues directly into the Tribulation, as seen in 1^st Thessalonians 5, and it culminates in the return of Christ and the Millennial Kingdom; ending with the Great White Throne Judgment, in Revelation chapters 19 and 20.

In Matthew 24, Jesus described only the Great Tribulation and the coming of the King: Why? Because Jerusalem had just rejected the King. His disciples were scattered, during the trial and the crucifixion: they were not the ones howling for his death. It was Jerusalem, proper, finally rejecting their King by calling for his execution, just as Jesus had predicted. This is why the message in Isaiah predicts Judgment on Jerusalem, (among other places) as the chief offenders. It was Jerusalem, as Jesus said, who routinely rejected and killed the prophets.

What were the Disciples Doing?

The ones who had shouted, “Hosanna” (the disciples) were terrified that they would be executed next. Remember that when Jesus first met with the eleven after the resurrection, they were hiding in a locked room for fear of the Jews. All the disciples were scattered. Jesus predicted this, too: (Matthew 26:31 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” He was quoting Zechariah 13:7.)

And that is exactly what happened!

But Good News is coming! Next week, on the resurrection day, called Easter, we will examine “The Rest of the Story.”

Lord Jesus, direct our hearts to apply your Word correctly: to read carefully, seeking earnestly to see the light of your countenance in the written Word. Help us to apply your Word to our lives, and to walk as your disciples.