This chapter is based on Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19.
(HLv 380)
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah foretold the coming of the King to Israel: “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.” Zechariah 9:9. He who had so long refused royal honors now came to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.
(HLv 380.1)
On the first day of the week Christ made His triumphal entry. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany accompanied Him. Many on their way to keep the Passover joined the multitude. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.
(HLv 380.2)
Jesus had sent two disciples to bring Him an ass and its colt. Although “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10) are His, He was dependent on a stranger’s kindness for an animal on which to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity was revealed, even in the minute directions given. As He foretold, the plea, “The Lord hath need of them,” was readily granted. The disciples spread their garments on the beast and seated their Master on it. Jesus had always traveled on foot, and the disciples wondered that He should now choose to ride. But hope brightened in their hearts with the thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power. Excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch.
(HLv 380.3)
Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry. Prophecy had foretold that thus the Messiah should come to His kingdom. No sooner was He seated on the colt than the multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King. The disciples and the multitude in imagination saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem and Israel once more an independent nation. All vied with one another in paying Him homage. Unable to present Him with costly gifts, they spread their outer garments as a carpet in the path and strewed the leafy branches of the olive and the palm in the way. With no royal standards to wave, they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature’s emblem of victory, and waved them aloft.
(HLv 381.1)
Spectators mingling with the throng asked, Who is this? What does all this commotion signify? They knew that Jesus had discouraged all effort to place Him on the throne, and were astonished to learn that this was He. What wrought this change in Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world?
(HLv 381.2)
From the multitudes gathered to attend the Passover, thousands greeted Him with the waving of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sounded the trumpet for evening service, but few responded, and the rulers said to one another in alarm, “The world has gone after Him.”
(HLv 381.3)
Never before had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But He desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. His church in all succeeding ages must make His death a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. The events which preceded His great sacrifice must 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. This triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue and bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events and be led to search the prophecies. They would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.
(HLv 381.4)
This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with clouds had they known it was but a prelude to the death of their Master. He had repeatedly told them of His sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph they had forgotten His sorrowful words.
(HLv 382.1)
With few exceptions, all who joined the procession caught the inspiration of the hour. 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!”
(HLv 382.2)
Never had the world seen such a triumphal procession. About the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. These were the captives rescued from Satan’s power. The blind He had restored to sight led the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed, shouted the loudest hosannas. Cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy. Lepers He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path. Awakened from the sleep of death, Lazarus led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
(HLv 382.3)
Many Pharisees, burning with envy, tried to silence the people, but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. As a last resort they accosted the Saviour with reproving and threatening words: “Master, rebuke Thy disciples.” They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful. 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 had been foretold by the prophet. Had men failed to carry out the plan, God would have given voice to inanimate stones, and they would have hailed His Son with 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, upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
(HLv 382.4)
When the procession reached the brow of the hill, Jesus and all the multitude halted. Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, bathed in the light of the declining sun. In stately grandeur the temple towered above all else, long the pride and glory of the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided themselves in its magnificence. Its strength and richness had made it one of the wonders of the world.
(HLv 383.1)
While the westering sun was 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 hill where Jesus stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow, set with golden pinnacles, shining as if with glory borrowed from heaven.
(HLv 383.2)
Jesus gazed upon the scene, and the multitude hushed their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turned upon the Saviour. They were surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears and His body rock to and fro like a tree before the tempest. A wail of anguish burst from His quivering lips, as if from a broken heart. What a sight for angels to behold! What a sight for the glad throng that were escorting Him to the glorious city, where they hoped He was about to reign! This sudden sorrow was like a note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. Israel’s King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but of insuppressible agony. The multitude were struck with a sudden gloom. Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend.
(HLv 383.3)
Just before Jesus 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 all these offerings had pointed. Nearby was Calvary, the scene of His approaching agony. Yet 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, scorned His love, and was about to take His life. He saw what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. How could He give her up?
(HLv 384.1)
Israel had been a favored people; God had made their temple His habitation; it was “beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth.” Psalm 48:2. In it Jehovah had manifested His glory, the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. But all this must have an end. Jesus waved His hand toward the doomed city, and in grief exclaimed, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!” The Saviour 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 Son. Jerusalem might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The Son of God saw that she might have been 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.
(HLv 384.2)
But the Saviour realized she now was under the Roman yoke, doomed to God’s retributive judgment: “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.”
(HLv 384.3)
Jesus saw the doomed city encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding on the dead bodies of their children, and parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from one another—natural affection destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews would lead them to refuse submission to the invading armies. He beheld Calvary set with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left on another, while the city was plowed like a field.
(HLv 385.1)
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? When the westering sun should pass from sight, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. 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? Beautiful, unholy city, that had stoned the prophets and rejected the Son of God—her day of mercy was almost spent!
(HLv 385.2)
Yet again the Spirit of God would speak to Jerusalem. Before the day was done, another testimony would be borne to Christ. If Jerusalem would receive the Saviour entering her gates, she might yet be saved!
(HLv 385.3)
But the rulers in Jerusalem had no welcome for the Son of God. As the procession was about to descend the Mount of Olives, they intercepted it, inquiring the cause of the tumult. As they questioned, “Who is this?” the disciples, filled with the spirit of inspiration, repeated the prophecies concerning Christ:
(HLv 385.4)
Adam will tell you: It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head. See Genesis 3:15.
(HLv 386.1)
Abraham will tell you: It is Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace. See Genesis 14:18.
(HLv 386.2)
Isaiah will tell you: “Immanuel,”“Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 7:14; 9:6.
(HLv 386.3)
Jeremiah will tell you: The Branch of David, “the Lord our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:6.
(HLv 386.4)
Daniel will tell you: He is the Messiah (“the Anointed One”). See Daniel 9:24-27.
(HLv 386.5)
John the Baptist will tell you: He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
(HLv 386.6)
The great Jehovah has proclaimed: “This is My beloved Son.” Matthew 3:17.
(HLv 386.7)
We, His disciples, declare: This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world.
(HLv 386.8)
And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him: “I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” Mark 1:24.
(HLv 386.9)