April 13, 2025
"Jesus Enters Jerusalem"
John 12:112-19
Each year on Palm Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ entering the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. He did this to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures pertaining to this event. He also did it to assure the world that God’s plan of salvation was on track. This is the real reason for our celebrating Palm Sunday.
I’m not sure everyone understood the significance of Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem. In verse 16, John writes, “At first his disciples did not understand all this...” It wasn’t until some time later that the disciples understood Jesus’ actions. The Holy Spirit opened their minds to understand.
We are in a different position, however. We have the complete written record of God’s plan of salvation, which makes it easier for us to understand. We weren’t living in the moment when these events, such as Jesus’ entering Jerusalem, happened. The complete narrative is before us. We have the entire context, which is the entire Bible.
Taken by itself, the act of Jesus entering Jerusalem is hard to interpret. But if it is connected to events that happened afterward, we can begin to understand the significance of it.
I’m sure some might look at Jesus’ entering Jerusalem on a donkey as nothing special. It’s just an ordinary event. It’s nothing to jump up and down about. People back then always used animals for travel. On the surface it does look like a simple, ordinary event. But if we put it into context, it becomes much more.
I hope that we will have a deeper understanding of Palm Sunday. The event of Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey very much figures into God’s plan of salvation for us.
The animal that Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem is very significant. We need to remember that God doesn’t do things haphazardly. There is always a reason behind what
He does. His choosing to ride a donkey is no exception. There was a reason why Jesus chose to ride a donkey instead of some other animal.
A donkey is a humble animal. It’s not known for its speed or quickness. It’s not an aggressive animal. It’s really a peaceful animal. I suppose at times it can be a stubborn animal. In earlier times it was used to transport things. This is the animal Jesus chose to make His way into the city of Jerusalem, where the people showered Him with praise and glory and honor.
Jesus could have certainly obtained a horse for the occasion, but had He done that, He would
have sent the people a different message. His entire reason for choosing a donkey was to send the message that He had come in peace. His reason for coming into the world in the first place was to make peace between us and God, to reconcile humanity and Gd.
Sin had put a barrier between us and God. Jesus came to remove that barrier. And to assure humanity that that was His intention, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The purpose of Jesus’ first coming was to make peace between us and God by satisfying God’s demand of sacrifice. Jesus died for our sin; He died in our place.
The penalty of sin is death. People may think sin is no big deal, but in God’s eyes it is. It doesn’t matter what we think or how we regard sin. God says it is a big deal, and so it is a big deal. It’s so big a deal that its consequence is death. Something has to die to pay the penalty. In Old Testament times it was animals. Their blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. In New Testament times it was Jesus. He became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. This was how peace was made between us and God.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, this is what He intended to accomplish. He signified this by riding on a donkey. Riding in on a horse would have sent a different message, perhaps that Jesus had come to make war. But war wasn’t His intention.
When Jesus comes a second time, it won’t be to make peace. He will come to judge the world and not save it. There is no mention of donkeys in the Book of Revelation. The animals there are horses. Jesus will come in power and might the next time.
Back to our text. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey as a sign that He has come in peace. And the crowds of people give Him a great welcome. They even acknowledge Him as a king of Israel. It seems that the crowds have embraced Jesus and all that He represents.
But by the end of the week, things in Jerusalem take a drastic turn. The festive mood turns dark and violent. The authorities have had enough of Jesus. They didn’t like what they had witnessed on Palm Sunday. Jesus posed a serious threat to them. They had seen how the people had gone after Jesus. If Jesus were allowed to remain alive, they would be out of a job. No one would follow them anymore. They would lose their influence and authority over the people. So, they plotted to kill Jesus.
It’s apparent that the religious authorities didn’t accept Jesus’ overture of peace. They viewed Jesus as a threat and enemy, instead. They were unwilling to accept the changes that belief in Jesus requires. In other words, they weren’t willing to make changes to their religious system. They wanted to preserve their established order.
So, as I said, they scheme to have Jesus arrested and then crucified. They wanted nothing to do with Jesus’ peace. His peace would disrupt their way of life. Jesus had to be killed.
Doesn’t this sound awful? Jesus came in peace, riding on a donkey, but the authorities had nothing but malice in their hearts. Jesus had their salvation in mind. They wanted nothing of it. It was best just to get rid of Jesus.
I have said this many times before how God can take a bad situation and turn it around for good. Little did the evil authorities know that God was going to use them to accomplish His plan of salvation for all of us. It seems ironic God would use them in His grand plan to save the world. Who would have thought?
It was God’s plan that Jesus die for the sins of the world, for our sins. This had to happen somehow. Jesus’ death at the hands of sinful men was God’s way of making our salvation possible.
Jesus knew this was going to happen to Him as He rode into Jerusalem. Yet He proceeded forward. He knew He had to do it for us. It was the only way to accomplish a lasting peace between us and God, an everlasting peace.
This peace means that we will live forever. I believe we all want to live forever. Who wants to fade out of existence? I don’t think any one of us. Well, we won’t, all because Jesus went to the cross for us.
So, we are at peace with God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We will share in Jesus’ resurrection on the Last Day.
Since Jesus made peace between us and God, shouldn’t we be at peace with each other? I see, though, that family members aren’t at peace with each other. Instead of trying to work things out in a spirit of love, they remain stubborn and act in a non-Christian manner, perpetuating the lack of peace among them. Relationships are strained over some disagreement. Instead of trying to talk through an issue, the parties refuse to talk to each other. This is not what God has in mind when we talk about peace.
I pray that the Holy Spirit would give us forgiving hearts. Forgiveness is where peace begins. That’s why Jesus went to the cross. He went there to forgive us. That’s how peace was accomplished.
I pray that we will seek peace with others just as God desired peace with us.