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From: Luke 19:28-40 (At the Procession with Palms)
The Messiah enters the Holy City
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Commentary:
28. Normally in the Gospels when there is mention of going to the Holy City it is
in terms of “going up” to Jerusalem (cf. Mt 20:18; Jn 7:8), probably because geo-
graphically the city is located on Mount Zion. Besides, since the temple was the
religious and political centre, going up to Jerusalem had also a sacred meaning
of ascending to the holy place, where sacrifices were offered to God.
Particularly in the Gospel of St Luke, our Lord’s whole life is seen in terms of a
continuous ascent towards Jerusalem, where his self-surrender reaches its high
point in the redemptive sacrifice of the cross. Here Jesus is on the point of ente-
ring the city, conscious of the fact that his passion and death are imminent.
30-35. Jesus makes use of a donkey for his entry into Jerusalem, thereby fulfil-
ling an ancient prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O
daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is
he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech 9:9).
The people, and particularly the Pharisees, were quite aware of this prophecy.
Therefore, despite its simplicity of form, there was a certain solemnity about the
whole episode which impressed those present, stirring the hearts of the people
and irritating the Pharisees. By fulfilling the prophecy our Lord was showing eve-
ryone that he was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Other aspects
of this episode are commented on in connexion with Mk 11:3.
38. Christ is greeted with the prophetic words referring to the enthronement of the
Messiah, contained in Psalm 118:26: “Blessed be he who enters in the name of
the Lord!” But the people also acclaim him as king. This is a great messianic
demonstration, which infuriates the Pharisees. One of the acclamations, “Peace
in heaven and glory in the highest”, echoes the announcement made by the an-
gel to the shepherds on Christmas night (cf. Lk 2:14).
40. To the reproaches of the Pharisees, who are scandalized by the people’s
shouts, our Lord replies in a phrase which sounds like a proverb: so obvious is
his messiahship that if men refused to recognize it nature would proclaim it. In
fact, when his friends were cowed on the hill of Calvary the earth trembled and
the rocks split (cf. Mt 27:51). At other times our Lord imposed silence on those
who want to proclaim him King or Messiah, but now he adopts a different atti-
tude: the moment has come for his dignity and his mission to be made public.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.