John 12:12-15 12On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13they took branches of palm trees and went out for a meeting with him, and they were crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
The story of Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem is retold in all four New Testament Gospels. Each author gives a slight difference in keeping with the major themes of his Gospel. John connects this event with the raising of Lazarus. Jerusalem was full of people from all over Israel, Galilee, and more distant lands. Word had spread about Jesus. Some of the excitement may have been due to news about Lazarus, and some may have come through word of mouth about Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry. Although there was great excitement and anticipation of Jesus being the Messiah, the people did not understand the significance of what was about to happen. The time had come in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies like Daniel 9:24-27 that predicted the death of the Messiah.
The crowd’s misunderstanding comes through in their shouts as Jesus made his way from Bethany to Jerusalem, a short distance of two miles. Palm branches made for a visible highway of honor. Branches of date palms were plentiful in that area and became symbolic of Judea. Hosanna is the transliteration of the Hebrew hôšî‘â nā’, which means “give salvation now” and was used as a form of praise based on Psalm 118:25. The crowd continued to shout words from Psalm 118:26. The original psalm was sung as a form of blessing on those who were going to Jerusalem. The specific implied application was to the messianic king. Luke 19:38 has similar words about the king but in a different order.
The Synoptic Gospels give a longer account of how Jesus sent two disciples to find a donkey and its colt for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem on. John’s account is compressed and gives Jesus as the one who found the donkey, but that may simply be John’s way of summarizing the longer story that did not fit his purposes. The fuller story is one of the many other signs Jesus did that John did not write about (20:30; 21:25). John understood that Jesus’ entry was a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. Jesus did not choose to enter the city in a way that would create a riot or revolution but on a gentle way that modeled his ministry. The words people needed to hear were Fear not. These words are not found in any version of Zechariah 9:9 but are inserted to replace “Rejoice greatly!” However, the context of this verse refers to the ending of war and the creation of a new covenant. The coming of Jesus would begin a new day for Israel and all who put their faith in him.
For older posts, click here.
