Jesus' Triumphal Entry
Palm Sunday
Pastor Debbie Bentley
Part of Pastor Debbie Bentley
March 24, 2024

This is Palm Sunday and I want to bring the focus in on Jesus and prepare you to walk through this coming week of remembrance with Him. This is not just another Sunday nor will next week be either, as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

Why do we have days of remembrance?

God, in the Old Testament, specifically commanded the Israelites to set aside feast days in order to remember miraculous events in their history. It was a way for their children to learn about the workings and commandments of God and it gave them specific times to rejoice and reflect. Also the feasts were prophetic of what Jesus would accomplish by His entrance into the world.

His death and resurrection coincide and fulfill the Feast of Passover, when the Israelites, led by Moses, were freed from Egyptian bondage and were saved from the death of their firstborn by the blood of the lamb, which was spread across the doorposts and the lintels of their houses.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, saves us from eternal damnation and gives us life everlasting.

So let’s look at these events in Jesus’ life as He prepares Himself to face and endure the cross. It was the last week of His ministry and He had been living all of His life in preparation for these final events.

The Night Before His Triumphal Entry (Saturday night)

John 12:1-3

“Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”

Spikenard was a perfume worth 300 pence or denarii, which was about $54,500 dollars in today’s money. It was close to a year’s wages. Judas Iscariot complained that it could have been sold and given to the poor. However, he was not concerned about the poor, but he was greedy and he did line his own pockets with money that the disciples were given. This may have been the event that started him toward his downward spiral to perdition and betraying Jesus.

The Next Day (Sunday)

John 12:12-13

“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Matt. 21:1-11 (NKJV)

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away. This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (This is a quote from Zechariah 9:9).
The disciples went and did as Jesus instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Galilee.”

Why a Donkey?

Unlike a horse that is a sign of war, a donkey symbolizes peace and stands for meekness and humility. A king would ride on a donkey to show he was in charge in that place. Kings used to have whole fleets of royal donkeys. When a king came to conquer he rode on a horse. When Jesus comes again He will be riding on a white horse.

Rev. 19:11

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”

The Word “Hosanna”

“Hosanna” means, “Save, please”. It is viewed as a plea for divine help. The people were, in other words, honoring Jesus as their Messiah, coming to save them.

Psalm 118:25-26a

“Save now, (Hosanna) I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD.”

The Stones Would Cry Out

Luke 19:37-40

“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; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

The Cleansing of the Temple

Shortly after Jesus arrives at Jerusalem He enters the Eastern Gate (Golden Gate), which goes right up to the Temple Mount. At that time it was open. It is now bricked up and closed. In Jewish tradition the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate, which was mainly reserved for the High Priest.

There are two doors to this gate. The southern door is called the Door of Mercy. The northern one is called the Door of Repentance. Jewish tradition also says that the Shekinah Divine Presence used to appear through the Eastern Gate and will appear again when the Anointed One, the Messiah comes according to Ezek. 44:1-3. The gate has been open and shut several times over the centuries, but it was shut for the final time by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman in 1541. It is said that he may have sealed it to better defend the city or because he wanted to prevent the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy of the Messiah’s return through it.

Ezekiel’s Shut Gate

Ezek. 44:1-3

“Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.”

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that Jesus immediately enters the Temple and sees the moneychangers and those that sold merchandise. He became angry and took a whip and began to drive them out of the Temple. He said it was supposed to be a house of prayer and they had made it a den of thieves. Jesus spent the next few days in the Temple teaching and healing people. Some of His most noteworthy teachings and declarations were given at this time. He also had encounters with the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The Children’s Praise

Matt. 21:15-16

“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 has perfected praise?”


At night Jesus would either go back to Bethany or to the Mount of Olives.

As the week progresses Jesus sets his face more and more toward the cross and what will be His ultimate triumph, the securing of our salvation and His glorious resurrection.

The world has its heroes today, but all of them have flaws. They may be good people, but they are not perfect and most of them have ulterior motives to benefit themselves in the end.

Jesus was the only One who lived a perfect, sinless life and yet He became the Servant of all. God come in the flesh to save us.