Slices
Prepare
‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Talk to Jesus about what troubles you most today.
Bible passage
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king
11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?” say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.”’
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing, untying that colt?’ 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
‘Hosanna!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10 ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’
‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Explore
In 47 bc, Julius Caesar declared, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’, describing his swift and decisive victory over Pharnaces II that restored Roman dominance over Pontus. Around ad 33, Jesus comes to Roman-occupied Jerusalem and sees ‘everything’ going on in the Temple, but then, instead of swooping in to conquer, quietly retreats to Bethany (v 11). His dramatic entry to Jerusalem (vs 8–10) is followed by an unobtrusive exit.
Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem was a wordless – though not silent! – fulfilment of prophecy: ‘See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt’ (Zechariah 9:9). The spreading of cloaks and branches and the shouts of acclamation constitutes a welcome fit for a king. (Compare King Jehu’s welcome in 2 Kings 9:13 and the words of Psalm 118:25–27.) The people’s cries of ‘Hosanna’ (a Hebrew expression meaning ‘save us’) represents a plea for liberation from their Roman conquerors. But the jubilant crowds miss the subtle nuances of the symbolism – Jesus rides a colt, not a war horse, signalling his coming in peace. This king is nothing like the Caesars of this world. He is more than a conqueror, and his conquest – marked by self-sacrificial love rather than military might – will culminate on a Roman cross.
Respond
Pray: ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 34,35; 2 Peter 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Praise God for the way in which he continues to provide for the movement’s needs. Pray that we may use the gifts of God’s people wisely and that God will continue to provide through the generosity of his people.
