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Chapter 63
Thy King Cometh
"REJOICE greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy
King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,
and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zech. 9:9.
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the
coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long
refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David's throne.
It was on the first day of the week that Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany now accompanied Him, eager to witness His
reception. Many people were on their way to the city to keep the Passover, and these
joined the multitude attending Jesus. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed
with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance on the air. A new life and joy
animated the people. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.
Purposing to ride into Jerusalem, Jesus had sent two of His disciples to bring to Him an
ass and its colt. At His birth the Saviour was dependent upon the hospitality of
strangers. The manger in which He lay was a borrowed resting place. Now, although the
cattle on a thousand hills are His, He is dependent on a stranger's kindness for an animal
on
which to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity is revealed, even in the
minute directions given His disciples for this errand. As He foretold, the plea, "The
Lord hath need of them," was readily granted. Jesus chose for His use the colt on
which never man had sat. The disciples, with glad enthusiasm, spread their garments on the
beast, and seated their Master upon it. Heretofore Jesus had always traveled on foot, and
the disciples had at first wondered that He should now choose to ride. But hope brightened
in their hearts with the joyous thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim
Himself King, and assert His royal power. While on their errand they communicated their
glowing expectations to the friends of Jesus, and the excitement spread far and near,
raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch.
Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry. The animal on which He rode was
that ridden by the kings of Israel, and prophecy had foretold that thus the Messiah should
come to His kingdom. No sooner was He seated upon the colt than a loud shout of triumph
rent the air. The multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King. Jesus now accepted the
homage which He had never before permitted, and the disciples received this as proof that
their glad hopes were to be realized by seeing Him established on the throne. The
multitude were convinced that the hour of their emancipation was at hand. In imagination
they saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem, and Israel once more an independent
nation. All were happy and excited; the people vied with one another in paying Him homage.
They could not display outward pomp and splendor, but they gave Him the worship of happy
hearts. They were unable to present Him with costly gifts, but they spread their outer
garments as a carpet in His path, and they also strewed the leafy branches of the olive
and the palm in the way. They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal standards,
but they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature's emblem of victory, and waved them
aloft with loud acclamations and hosannas.
As they proceeded, the multitude was continually increased by those who had heard of the
coming of Jesus and hastened to join the procession. Spectators were constantly mingling
with the throng, and asking, Who is this? What does all this commotion signify? They had
all heard of Jesus, and expected Him to go to Jerusalem; but they knew that He had
heretofore discouraged all effort to place Him on the throne, and they were greatly
astonished to learn that this was He. They wondered what could have wrought this change in
Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world.
Their questionings are silenced by a shout of triumph. Again and again it is repeated by
the eager throng; it is taken up by the people afar off, and echoed from the surrounding
hills and valleys. And now the procession is joined by crowds from Jerusalem. From the
multitudes gathered to attend the Passover, thousands go forth to welcome Jesus. They
greet Him with the waving of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the
temple sound the trumpet for evening service, but there are few to respond, and the rulers
say to one another in alarm. "The world is gone after Him."
Never before in His earthly life had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly
foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But it was His purpose thus publicly
to present Himself as the Redeemer. He desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was
to crown His mission to a fallen world. While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to
celebrate the Passover, He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as
an oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His death
for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with
it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then, that the eyes of all people
should now be directed to Him; the events which preceded His great sacrifice must be such
as to call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending
His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene.
The events connected with this triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue, and would
bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events in
their connection with His trial and death. They would be led to search the prophecies, and
would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah; and in all lands converts to the faith
would be multiplied.
In this one triumphant scene of His earthly life, the Saviour might have appeared escorted
by heavenly angels, and heralded by the trump of God; but such a demonstration would have
been contrary to the purpose of His mission, contrary to the law which had governed His
life. He remained true to the humble lot He had accepted. The burden of humanity He must
bear until His life was given for the life of the world.
This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been
shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that this scene of rejoicing was but a prelude
to the suffering and death of their Master. Although He had repeatedly told them of His
certain
sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the present they forgot His sorrowful words, and
looked forward to His prosperous reign on David's throne.
New accessions were made continually to the procession, and, with few exceptions, all who
joined it caught the inspiration of the hour, and helped to swell the hosannas that echoed
and re-echoed from hill to hill and from valley to valley. The shouts went up continually,
"Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest."
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the
earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor,
made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His
labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's
power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were
leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The
cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the
palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the
name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their
untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice
had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen
corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the
beast on which the Saviour rode.
Many Pharisees witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy and malice, sought to turn the
current of popular feeling. With all their authority they tried to silence the people; but
their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. They feared that this multitude,
in the strength of their numbers, would make Jesus king. As a last resort they pressed
through the crowd to where the Saviour was, and accosted Him with reproving and
threatening words: "Master, rebuke Thy disciples." They declared that such noisy
demonstrations were unlawful, and would not be permitted by the authorities. But they were
silenced by the reply of Jesus, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace,
the stones would immediately cry out." That scene of triumph was of God's own
appointing. It had been foretold by the prophet, and man was powerless to turn aside God's
purpose. Had men failed to carry out His plan, He would have given a voice to the
inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with acclamations of praise. As the
silenced Pharisees drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by hundreds of voices: "Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto
thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the
foal of an ass."
When the procession reached the brow of the hill, and was about to descend into the city,
Jesus halted, and all the multitude with Him. Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, now
bathed in the light of the declining sun. The temple attracted all eyes. In stately
grandeur it towered above all else, seeming to point toward heaven as if directing the
people to the only true and living God. The temple had long been the pride and glory of
the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided themselves in its magnificence. A king appointed
by the Romans had united with the Jews to rebuild and embellish it, and the emperor of
Rome had enriched it with his gifts. Its strength, richness, and magnificence had made it
one of the wonders of the world.
While the westering sun was tinting and gilding the heavens, its resplendent glory lighted
up the pure white marble of the temple walls, and sparkled on its gold-capped pillars.
From the crest of the hill where Jesus and His followers stood, it had the appearance of a
massive structure of snow, set with golden pinnacles. At the entrance to the temple was a
vine of gold and silver, with green leaves and massive clusters of grapes executed by the
most skillful artists. This design represented Israel as a prosperous vine. The gold,
silver, and living green were combined with rare taste and exquisite workmanship; as it
twined gracefully about the white and glistening pillars, clinging with shining tendrils
to their golden ornaments, it caught the splendor of the setting sun, shining as if with a
glory borrowed from heaven.
Jesus gazes upon the scene, and the vast multitude hush their shouts, spellbound by the
sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turn upon the Saviour, expecting to see in His
countenance the admiration they themselves feel. But instead of this they behold a cloud
of sorrow. They are surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears, and His
body rock to and fro like a tree before the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from
His quivering lips, as if from the depths of a broken heart. What a sight was this for
angels to behold! their loved Commander in an agony of tears! What a sight was this for
the glad throng that with shouts of triumph and the waving of palm branches were escorting
Him to the glorious city, where they fondly hoped He was about to reign! Jesus had wept at
the grave of Lazarus, but it was in a
godlike grief in sympathy with human woe. But this sudden sorrow was like a note of
wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. In the midst of a scene of rejoicing, where all were
paying Him homage, Israel's King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but tears and
groans of insuppressible agony. The multitude were struck with a sudden gloom. Their
acclamations were silenced. Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend.
The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own suffering. Just before Him was
Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate
also was in sight, through which for centuries the beasts for sacrificial offerings had
been led. This gate was soon to open for Him, the great Antitype, toward whose sacrifice
for the sins of the world all these offerings had pointed. Near by was Calvary, the scene
of His approaching agony. Yet it was not because of these reminders of His cruel death
that the Redeemer wept and groaned in anguish of spirit. His was no selfish sorrow. The
thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the
sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus--Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of
God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was
about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and
what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. He had come
to save her; how could He give her up?
Israel had been a favored people; God had made their temple His habitation; it was
"beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth." Ps. 48:2. The record of
more than a thousand years of Christ's guardian care and tender love, such as a father
bears his only child, was there. In that temple the prophets had uttered their solemn
warnings. There had the burning censers waved, while incense, mingled with the prayers of
the worshipers, had ascended to God. There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical of the
blood of Christ. There Jehovah had manifested His glory above the mercy seat. There the
priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But all
this must have an end.
Jesus raised His hand,--that had so often blessed the sick and suffering,--and waving it
toward the doomed city, in broken utterances of grief exclaimed: "If thou hadst
known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy
peace!--" Here the Saviour paused, and left unsaid what might have been the condition
of Jerusalem
had she accepted the help that God desired to give her,--the gift of His beloved Son. If
Jerusalem had known what it was her privilege to know, and had heeded the light which
Heaven had sent her, she might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of
kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power. There would have been no armed
soldiers standing at her gates, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The glorious
destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her Redeemer rose before the
Son of God. He saw that she might through Him have been healed of her grievous malady,
liberated from bondage, and established as the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her
walls the dove of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the
world's diadem of glory.
But the bright picture of what Jerusalem might have been fades from the Saviour's sight.
He realizes what she now is under the Roman yoke, bearing the frown of God, doomed to His
retributive judgment. He takes up the broken thread of His lamentation: "But now they
are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast
a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay
thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee
one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
Christ came to save Jerusalem with her children; but Pharisaical pride, hypocrisy,
jealousy, and malice had prevented Him from accomplishing His purpose. Jesus knew the
terrible retribution which would be visited upon the doomed city. He saw Jerusalem
encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers
feeding upon the dead bodies of their own children, and both parents and children
snatching the last morsel of food from one another, natural affection being destroyed by
the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews, as evinced in their
rejection of His salvation, would also lead them to refuse submission to the invading
armies. He beheld Calvary, on which He was to be lifted up, set with crosses as thickly as
forest trees. He saw the wretched inhabitants suffering torture on the rack and by
crucifixion, the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive
walls not one stone left upon another, while the city was plowed like a field. Well might
the Saviour weep in agony in view of that fearful scene.
Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward
son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee go to fill
up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it,
worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast
westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be
ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for
Jerusalem to repent. The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the
golden throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's great heart
of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies, despised His warnings,
and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it was not
yet too late. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and
pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour's love, and avert her doom?
Beautiful and unholy city, that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God,
that was locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,--her day of mercy was
almost spent!
Yet again the Spirit of God speaks to Jerusalem. Before the day is done, another testimony
is borne to Christ. The voice of witness is lifted up, responding to the call from a
prophetic past. If Jerusalem will hear the call, if she will receive the Saviour who is
entering her gates, she may yet be saved.
Reports have reached the rulers in Jerusalem that Jesus is approaching the city with a
great concourse of people. But they have no welcome for the Son of God. In fear they go
out to meet Him, hoping to disperse the throng. As the procession is about to descend the
Mount of Olives, it is intercepted by the rulers. They inquire the cause of the tumultuous
rejoicing. As they question, "Who is this?" the disciples, filled with the
spirit of inspiration, answer this question. In eloquent strains they repeat the
prophecies concerning Christ:
Adam will tell you, It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent's head.
Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is "Melchizedek King of Salem," King of Peace.
Gen. 14:18.
Jacob will tell you, He is Shiloh of the tribe of Judah.
Isaiah will tell you, "Immanuel," "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 7:14; 9:6.
Jeremiah will tell you, The Branch of David, "the Lord our Righteousness." Jer.
23:6.
Daniel will tell you, He is the Messiah.
Hosea will tell you, He is "the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is His memorial."
Hosea 12:5.
John the Baptist will tell you, He is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world." John 1:29.
The great Jehovah has proclaimed from His throne, "This is My beloved Son."
Matt. 3:17.
We, His disciples, declare, This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer
of the world.
And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him, saying, "I know Thee who
Thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark 1:24.
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