Some thoughts about why the Palm Sunday Event was so important.
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Jesus, the Lord of our father David
Idea: Psalm 110 was well known in first century Judea, and was the basis for one of the chants which were shouted as Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. It may also help us to understand who the people were that celebrated Jesus’ that day. I believe that among the people of Bethany who gave Jesus a place to stay, and a donkey for His entrance to Jerusalem, and then accompanied Him with shouts of Messianic fervor, were people who knew themselves to have been descendants of David. This much is clear from Mark 11:10 in any translation. But I do not think this connection has been fully pursued. I doubt that Jews in general identified themselves as descendants of David. They often identifed themselves as descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, but this “Palm Sunday” event was unique. Here a small group from a tiny village specifically identifed King David as their father. This might have been a dangerous thing to do at that time. I consider them to be a small cluster of Nazarenes, those people who believed they were the “Branches” of the house of David. If so, it might mean that they had deliberately made the preparation for the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zachariah 9:9. It may even have been a tradition that at each festival, a donkey that fit Zachariah’s description was kept ready. If so, Jesus would have known this years ahead of time. But this also means that the disciples did not know. These things may also relate to the ownership of the Upper Room, but that will have to wait for now. It is not likely that the whole crowd said these exact words, since there were many there at that time who had come to see Lazarus whom Jesus had just raised from the dead.
Here are the relevant Biblical texts. (NASB = New American Standard Bible)
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Psalm 110 NASB A Psalm of David. @ 1000 BC
1The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I makeYour enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
7He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He willlift up His head
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Mark 11:10 NASB One of the sayings which were chanted during the “Palm Sunday” event
11:10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”
Mark 11:10 Young’s literal Translation
11:10 blessed is the coming reign, in the name of the Lord, of our father David; Hosanna in the highest.
RCW Version:
Blessed is the Kingdom which comes
in the name of the Lord of our Father David….
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Matthew 22:41-46 NASB Two days later, Jesus uses this same text to silence the Pharisees.
41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:
42″What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”
43He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44’THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”‘?
45″If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
46No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.
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These texts show that Psalm 110 had a continuing impact on the faith and mind of the early church.
Acts 2:34 NASB Peter, speaking at Pentecost, about 8 weeks later
“For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘
THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
Young’s Literal Translation
for David did not go up to the heavens, and he saith himself: The Lord saith to my lord, Sit thou at my right hand,
1 Cor 15:25 NASB Paul, about 22 years later, teaching about the Resurrection
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
Heb 1:13 NASB A message written to a congregation of Jewish believers.
But to which of the angels did he ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
Heb 1-2:1 NASB
1:1God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5For to which of the angels did He ever say,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”?
And again,
“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”?
6And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
7And of the angels He says,
“WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”
8But of the Son He says,
“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
9″YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
10And,
“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
11THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT,
12AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”
13But to which of the angels has He ever said,
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”?
14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
Heb 10:1-27 NASB
1For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
7″THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'”
8After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law),
9then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
10By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,
13waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.
14For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
15And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16″THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,
AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”
He then says,
17″AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
18Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
A New and Living Way
19Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Christ or Judgment
26For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.
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The Donkey incident….
Zechariah 9:9-10 NASB
8But I will camp around My house because of an army,
Because of him who passes by and returns;
And no oppressor will pass over them anymore,
For now I have seen with My eyes.
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
The Gospel Accounts
Matthew 21:1-11 NASB
1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3″If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5″SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'”
6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna in the highest!”
10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
11And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
John 12:9-19 NASB
9The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 10But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. 12On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout,
“Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”
14Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15″FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” 16These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
Note: John does not mention the chant quoted in Mark 11:10 which refers to David. But, when he talks about the crowd, he is not talking about the same people. He is talking about those Jews who came for the feast and had come to Bethany because they had heard about Lazarus. So it makes sense that they would not have called themselves children of David. Matthew does the same thing.
Mark 11:1-10 NASB
1As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3″If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“Hosanna!
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”
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Hosanna!
Psalm 118:25 is the only place in the Old Testament where this sound occurs. The context of this word is amazing.
כה אָנָּא יְהוָה, הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא; אָנָּא יְהוָה, הַצְלִיחָה נָּא.
25 We beseech Thee, O LORD, save now! We beseech Thee, O LORD, make us now to prosper!
Psalm 118 NASB
1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
3Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
4Oh let those who fear the LORD say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
5From my distress I called upon the LORD;
The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.
6The LORD is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
7The LORD is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in man.
9It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in princes.
10All nations surrounded me;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
12They surrounded me like bees;
They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;
In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
13You pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the LORD helped me.
14The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
15The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
16The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
17I will not die, but live,
And tell of the works of the LORD.
18The LORD has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD;
The righteous will enter through it.
21I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.
22The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23This is the LORD’S doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25O LORD, do save, we beseech You;
O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
27The LORD is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I extol You.
29Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.