The Entrance of the King: Understanding Jesus’s Triumphal Entry (John 12:9-19)

The moment Jesus entered Jerusalem, often referred to as the Triumphal Entry, was not merely a historical event; it was a profound declaration of the true nature of his kingdom and his identity. This grand entrance, detailed in John 12:9-19, provides the central message that "The entrance of the king shows us the kind of king that Jesus is". While many people expect a powerful ruler—a "lion type of figure"—who executes justice, defeats enemies, and offers worldly success, the Scriptures reveal Jesus also as the "lamb as sacrifice for sin," a King who willingly bore shame and guilt for his people.

Setting the Stage: From Devotion to Conflict

Jesus was traveling from Bethany, a town located only about two miles—or approximately a one-hour walk—from Jerusalem. The timing and location of his appearance drew immense crowds, setting the stage for his final week.

The Undeniable Proof: Lazarus

The gathering of the large crowd was sparked not only by Jesus’s arrival but also by the desire "to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead". Lazarus was, in effect, a "walking miracle," providing "undeniable proof" of Jesus’s divine authority and miracle-working power. The news of this resurrection would have spread quickly throughout the small town of Bethany (perhaps only two to three hundred people), ensuring that nearly everyone knew about the miracle. When Jesus and Lazarus were together, the draw was immense; people probably naturally wanted to ask questions like "What did it feel like?" or "Did you see a bright light?".

The Expansion of Sin: The Jewish Leaders’ Plot

Lazarus’s existence was a problem for the Jewish leaders. The chief priests viewed Lazarus as living evidence of Jesus's power and divine authority. Because many Jews were beginning to believe in Jesus on account of this sign, the chief priests quickly "made plans to put Lazarus to death as well". Their goal was to execute a "good old-fashioned cover up" by getting rid of the evidence and sweeping the miracle under the rug so they wouldn't have to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, King, or Lord.

This escalation reveals the relentless nature of sin and opposition. The root of the leaders’ hatred was directed toward Jesus, and that hatred then overflowed to attack his followers, like Lazarus. The "goalposts" of their opposition kept moving: first, they sought to kill Jesus, but realizing that wasn't enough to suppress the idea of Christianity, they branched out to destroy his followers. This illustrates how sin is never satisfied; it constantly grows and expands outward.

The Three Aspects of Jesus’s Kingship

What is fascinating about the Triumphal Entry is the timing: Jesus begins his final weeks and makes his grand entrance "just as those who opposed him begin to seek to kill his followers". The entry occurs the day after one of his "sheep" (Lazarus) was threatened with death. When a king’s subjects are in danger, it is time to go to war.

This immediate, proactive response defines the first characteristic of Jesus's kingship:

1. Jesus is Our Champion King

In typical monarchies, kings usually send soldiers to fight on their behalf, fighting themselves only as a last stand. But Jesus does not send an army; he himself goes to war. This reveals him as the Champion King, reminiscent of David and Goliath, where one chosen fighter stood on behalf of the whole nation. Jesus is the greater David, fighting not merely against physical enemies, but ultimately "against the spiritual forces that are at work to harm his people". His arrival signals that he is the chosen Champion who defends his threatened subjects.

2. Jesus is Our Deliverer

The arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem was timed perfectly for the Passover Feast, which was a required event under Old Testament law for Jewish males. Crucially, this was the "last feast that Jesus participates in before he dies".

The Passover Feast celebrates God rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt. During the original Passover, God told the Israelites to select a lamb, sacrifice it, and place its blood on their doorposts. When the angel of death came, it would "pass over" the houses marked by the blood of the lamb, saving the firstborn males.

By coming at the time of Passover, Jesus emphasized the heart of his mission: "The entrance of the king shows us that Jesus is our deliverer". He came to rescue humanity from the ultimate forms of bondage: slavery to sin and the domain of darkness.

The Misunderstanding of the Crowd

As Jesus entered the city, the large crowd took palm branches and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord even the King of Israel".

The people were quoting from the Hallel (Psalm 118:25-26), where the psalmist writes, "Save us, we pray, O Lord". The word "Hosanna" literally means "Save us, Lord". They were celebrating and declaring Jesus to be the Messiah and God’s anointed one.

However, the kind of king they were celebrating was different from the kind of king Jesus truly was. The palm branches had taken on powerful nationalistic symbolism dating back to the intertestamental period with Judas Maccabeus. Judas Maccabeus was a military leader who led insurrectionists to defeat oppressors and reconsecrate the Jewish Temple. When this victory was achieved, the people celebrated with music, praise, and palm branches. As a result, the palm branch became a powerful symbol of "Jewish nationalism," symbolizing the desire to throw off Roman oppressors and establish an independent Jewish state. This symbolism was so pervasive that palm branches were even minted on early Jewish coins during the first and second centuries.

The crowd, seeing their king arrive, believed he was coming as a military conqueror—a victor who would establish a human kingdom and rule—to throw off the Roman government's oppression. They fundamentally misunderstood that Jesus was not there merely to celebrate the Passover; "He was there to become their Passover lamb".

The Statement of the Donkey

In stark contrast to the crowds' expectation of a military hero riding a powerful warhorse, Jesus deliberately found a "young donkey's colt and sat on it". By taking this colt, Jesus was directly "appropriating Zechariah 9:9 to himself," fulfilling the prophecy: "Fear not daughter of Zion Behold your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt".

Jesus did not ride the donkey because he was tired; the journey from Bethany was only an hour’s walk. Instead, by choosing a small, gentle animal instead of riding in "with armor and chariots and and weapons of iron," Jesus was proclaiming, "I am the Messiah... I am the king," but he comes humbly, not as a military conquest.

3. Jesus is Our Sacrificial Lamb

The most potent declaration of Jesus's identity as the Sacrificial King is found in the precise date of his arrival. Passover begins on the 15th day of Nissan. John 12:1 states that Jesus arrived at Bethany six days before the Passover (the 9th of Nissan). The triumphal entry into Jerusalem occurred the day after that, placing his arrival on the 10th day of Nissan.

The significance of the 10th day of Nissan is rooted deeply in Exodus 12:3. Old Testament law required: "on the 10th day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses a lamb for a household".

By entering Jerusalem on this exact day, Jesus was deliberately identified as the Passover Lamb chosen by God. He was the Lamb selected by God "to be sacrificed for sins on behalf of the people". The entrance of the king shows us that "Jesus is our sacrificial lamb," meaning "the king himself would be sacrificed for the sins of the people". He is the "lamb king," the king who delivers through death.

The Prophecy of Global Reach

The significance of these events was lost even on those closest to him. The disciples "did not understand these things at first," only remembering the meaning of the scriptures and the events "when Jesus was glorified". Just as the providence of God often works in our lives (where we don't understand the circumstances until we look back later), the disciples only saw the complete story God was weaving after the fact.

Meanwhile, Jesus's following gained immense momentum. It was no longer a situation of just one person witnessing to another; "It's entire crowds witnessing to other entire crowds". The crowds from Bethany came to Jerusalem and bore witness to the crowds there regarding the sign of Lazarus. This emphasizes the critical importance of testimony. Every person transformed by God's grace has a story to share, and people need to hear that personal story of what God has done.

However, the greatest story is the overarching narrative of Christ: his perfect life, his death for sin, his resurrection, and his future return. Even as the crowds gathered, the alarmed Jewish leaders recognized the momentum. The Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing Look the whole world has gone after him".

Unwittingly, the Pharisees were prophesying. This statement foreshadows Jesus’s own declaration later in John 12:32: "And I when I'm lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself". Jesus is not merely the king of the Jews; he is the "king of the Gentiles, the Greeks, the barbarians, the slaves, the free, the men, the women". He is the Savior of the world, meaning that regardless of history, origin, or group affiliation, "there's only one king for you".

Salvation arrived riding on a donkey. The entrance of the King confirms that Jesus is our Champion, our Deliverer, and most profoundly, our Sacrificial Lamb.