MPV Commentary

Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

This event is also recorded in Matthew 21:1-9 and Luke 19:29-36. On the next day after Jesus' anointing at Bethany (John 12:1), he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, marking the beginning of his final week before the cross. This was the tenth day of Nisan, the Jewish month when the paschal lamb was set apart for sacrifice. Just as the Israelites would later kill the lamb in the evening of the fourteenth day (Exodus 12:3-6), Jesus, our Passover, was now being prepared to be sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).

When Jesus was glorified after his resurrection and ascension, the disciples suddenly remembered that these events had been written about him in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit, who had descended on them at Pentecost, opened their eyes to the true meaning of Scripture, bringing to mind this and other Messianic predictions. They were astonished to realize that they and all the people involved in these scenes had unknowingly fulfilled those prophecies.