PALM SUNDAY
The Triumphal Entrance Into Jerusalem
As the crowds acclaim him their King, Jesus entered into the holy city of Jerusalem. Jesus does not silence the people, and tell them he is not their King, but this king arrives on a donkey. He is not accompanied by an imperial court, nor is he surrounded by an army as symbolizing his power.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
As a sign of his kingship, Jesus imitated Abraham who rode a donkey when he took Isaac for sacrifice to the mountain. He imitated Moses who rode a donkey. He imitated David who rode a donkey, as did Solomon as a sign that he was David's successor.
Riding on a donkey is in itself a sign of Christ's kingly character. Yet he is received by simple people who see in him something more than a king. In Jesus they have that sense of the faith which says: here is the Saviour, for he does not enter the Holy City to receive the honors reserved to earthly kings, but he enters to be scourged, insulted and abused, as Isaiah the prophet had foretold.
He enters to receive a crown of thorns, a staff, a purple robe: his kingship becomes an object of derision. He enters to climb Calvary, carrying his burden of wood.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
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