This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 21:8-11, Mk. 11:8-11, Lk 19:36-40
We want Jesus to win. We want people to love Him as much as we do and be in awe of Him even more than we are. We want this for people today, and we even want it for those who encountered Him during His time on the earth. For that reason, we may misunderstand how people reacted as Jesus entered Jerusalem on His humble little donkey.
And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:8-10)
As we first read this, it sure seems as though people are in love with Jesus. They’re giving Him a royal procession and throwing palm leaves and cloaks in His path. They’re shouting praise and treating Him as the King of Kings and Prince of Peace. They weren’t just doing this for everyone who entered Jerusalem for the Passover, and onlookers excitedly told people who they thought Jesus was.
However, Matthew isn’t the only one who gives us perspective on Christ’s entry. John records the same moment with an important detail that is, unfortunately, much more fitting to why most crowds were usually excited for Jesus.
So the crowd, who was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness about Him. For this reason also the crowd went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. (John 12:17-18)
Sometime before Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. Obviously, this was quite the talk of the town. Many people had heard of Jesus providing food and healing people of their physical ailments, but He had recently done something only recorded a few times by the Old Testament prophets. Unsurprisingly, people were excited to check out what this prophet could do.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing; look, the world has gone after Him.” (John 12:19)
The Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders of the time and did not like the attention Jesus received. In John 12:9-11, they had even tried plotting to kill Lazarus to get people to stop following Jesus. And as they looked at this crowd shouting praise, singing songs, and treating Him like one of the prophets they’d read about in the Old Testament, the Pharisees were livid.
However, the Pharisees didn’t have much to worry about at the time. People were excited for Christ, but just like the people who followed Him to have their physical needs met, these people would also have their fervor die down when He didn’t put on the show they were hoping for. Jesus was becoming a legend, but to many, He wasn’t truly the Savior they wanted.
There’s no doubt that there were some in the crowd earnestly singing praise to the Messiah who would redeem them from sin. Luke 19:39-40 shows some Pharisees telling Jesus to keep His disciples quiet. We see later that some people are convinced of Christ’s saving power. In seven days, when He rose from the dead, many more who had a shallow faith would understand who Jesus was. But, at this point in Christ’s journey, we must be careful not to assume too much about the emotional excitement controlling such a massive crowd.
Stop and think: An entire crowd was excited for Jesus, but for different reasons. Some wanted physical needs met, others wanted to be entertained by a miracle man, a few were likely there because they had to be, and a faithful few loved Him as their Savior. If you want Jesus today, what’s the true motivation behind your desire?
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