Amy C Walters

The Triumphal Entry | Luke 19:28-44

Jesus has tried to keep a low profile so far in the Book of Luke. But when he enters Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, the crowds erupt in a huge celebration, their words echoing ancient prophecies about the Messiah. The timing and mode of Jesus’ entry reveals him to be the prophesied king.

We have come at long last to Jerusalem, a place we’ve been looking ahead to since Luke 9. And the next 10 stories we’ll cover in this blog are going to be about events that take place in the span of one week, Holy Week. 

This story starts with “When Jesus had said these things.” “These things” refers to the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27). In it, a nobleman goes to a distant country for an unspecified amount of time. He is opposed by citizens who hate him but he later returns as a king. So this parable provides a backdrop to what happens in this story. 

We’re told that Jesus is heading to Jerusalem, and he goes to Bethphage and Bethany. These are villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem. There, Jesus calls two of his disciples and sends them into the town to get a colt of a donkey. 

So there are a couple of notable elements to this. First of all, Jesus knows there’s a donkey colt there, where to find it, and that it’s never been ridden before. 

Second, the two disciples who get this assignment, they don’t even seem to question it. They just go and find it as Jesus has said, and they take the donkey. They follow Jesus’ instructions perfectly. Maybe the disciples are finally starting to get it and just do whatever Jesus asks, even if it sounds like a really strange thing.

Jesus does give them instructions on what to say if anyone asks why they’re taking the donkey. “The Lord needs it.” That’s it–no explanation of who “the Lord” is, no promise to return it, no effort to explain what it will be used for. 

And even as the disciples are untying the donkey, the owners come. They see these two random men seemingly stealing their donkey. So they ask, “Why are you untying the colt?” The disciples say just what Jesus told them, “The Lord needs it.” And apparently that was enough for these owners, because the next thing is that the disciples are taking that donkey up to Jesus. How amazing that the owners are just okay with that!

The disciples bring the donkey colt to Jesus. They put some cloaks on its back, and then Jesus begins to ride the donkey. 

As Jesus is riding, a spontaneous worship service breaks out. The people are taking the very coats off their backs and laying them down in front of Jesus. It’s like they’re saying, “We would give up everything for you.” 

And it’s not just a couple of people doing it–it’s a whole crowd. It likely includes the people who are traveling with him, but also people in Bethany and Bethphage and in Jerusalem who come out to meet him because they’ve heard about him. 

They all begin to rejoice and praise God in a loud voice “for all the mighty works that they had seen.” And they had seen a lot, hadn’t they? Jesus has healed people of so many different diseases. He’s fed crowds of thousands. He has calmed storms. He has raised the dead.

These are indeed mighty works that the people had seen. So this worship of Jesus is appropriate. 

The crowd also says, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” They also say, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 

This is quite the scene. There’s a lot going on–huge crowds, people shouting, coats flying. It’s very celebratory. 

It’s really interesting because up to this point in the Book of Luke, Jesus has been very low profile. He’s been very quiet in his approach to things, sometimes even going away by himself to escape the crowds. But here, he allows the worship and the celebration to build and to grow. 

Some Pharisees who are in the crowd don’t like it. They tell Jesus to rebuke his disciples. They recognize something that maybe the rest of the crowd doesn’t. Maybe they recognize the words the people are saying come from Psalm 118:26, which says, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, we bless you from the house of the Lord.” 

Or maybe they’re thinking of Zechariah 9:9, which says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This is a passage about the Messiah. It was a prophecy about how the chosen one, the Savior, would enter Jerusalem. Zion and Jerusalem are names for the same place. 

He’s calling the people there to rejoice because the king is coming, and he is righteous, he has salvation with him, and he is humble and mounted on a colt, a foal of a donkey.

This is a picture from hundreds of years before and yet it perfectly maps to what’s happening in that moment. And all of these events are happening on purpose.

Jesus chose this day and time and way to enter. It is no accident that the donkey is there, and that the owners make it available to Jesus. This also happens right before the Passover, when Jerusalem is full of people who have traveled there to celebrate the holiday.

Jesus has planned every last bit of this, because these things fulfill prophecy. Jesus is not just coming to Jerusalem as another Passover visitor. He enters as king.

Our key truth for today is that Jesus is the prophesied king. 

He’s the one that Zechariah spoke of hundreds of years before. He is the one who is righteous, the one who is bringing salvation, the one whom all the people should rejoice over.

He’s the reason that all of these strange, unlikely things are coming together for this moment. They are a clear announcement that Jesus is the Chosen One, the Savior, the Messiah. And this worship of him in this way is not only right, it’s necessary.

What does Jesus say when the Pharisees tell him to rebuke his disciples? “If they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out.” This is a moment that calls for worship and rejoicing, and if people are quiet, then creation itself will cry out that praise. It is right to happen in this way. 

We, too, should worship Jesus like the crowd that day. They worshiped him for all of the mighty works that they had seen. Those deeds prompted this huge celebration. 

So today as you go, think about all the mighty works that you have seen God do; in your life, in the lives of those around you, in your church, and in Bible stories. Think about those things, meditate on them, and let them compel you to worship Jesus the King. Because that’s who he’s revealing himself to be in this story: the prophesied King.