Matthew 21:8-11

⁸ And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

⁹ Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

¹⁰ And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹ So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

This was Messiah’s official presentation of Himself to Israel as the Great King, the Son of David. On this day, the sixty-ninth week of Daniel’s prediction was completed (Daniel 9:27). — Williams, page 720

Hosanna (v.9) = please save (2 Samuel 14:4; Psalm 118:25) — used here as an expression of praise

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (v.9) — from Psalm 118:26. The Jews recognized this as a Messianic Psalm.

moved (v.10) — from the Greek word from which we get the word “seismic”

said (v.11) = lit. “said over and over” in response to the general excitement all over the city caused by Christ’s arrival

Galilee (v.11) — many in the crowd were from Galilee (a huge majority of the entire population of Judea would have been around Jerusalem for Passover) and they were claiming Him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy — It is interesting to note how the two advents of our Lord are linked together in this passage (Zechariah 9:9-10). In verse 9 we see the King riding into His earthly capitol, presenting Himself to the people as their rightful Ruler. But although verse 10 follows this so closely, the events depicted in it will not be completely fulfilled until He comes again. It is then that He will speak peace unto the nations, and His dominion be set up over all the earth.

The 118th Psalm — This Psalm deals largely with the time when the Lord will arise for the deliverance of Israel, when all their trials will be ended and they shall enter into the blessedness of that rejoicing and salvation which will then be found in the tabernacles of the righteous (v.15). But all this blessing depends upon the One who was first to be bound as  a sacrifice to the horns of the altar. It was settled in the purpose of God from eternity that there could be no Kingdom till after the work of the cross was accomplished. While the welcome that Jesus received was quite in keeping with the divine plans, those who would have crowned Him as king at that time had to learn that He must first suffer many things, be crucified and rise from the dead. In God’s due time the remainder of the prophecy will have a glorious fulfillment. — Ironside, pages 267-268.

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Luke was so sensitive to the heart of the Son of Man that he alone recorded Christ’s response as He approached the city of Jerusalem. It seems as though Christ’s ears were deaf to the Hosannas of the multitude, for instead of seeing momentary recognition of His person, He saw, rather, the rejection of His person by the nation. Moved to tears, “He wept over it” (Luke 19:41).

Chris said most significantly, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). The important phrase in the Lord’s words was “this day.” In Daniel’s great prophecy of the “seventy sevens” (Daniel 9:24-27), God had revealed the specific time in which Messiah would be presented to the nation Israel. While the nation was mindful of the divine timetable, Christ was obviously conscious that this day in which He made His entry into Jerusalem was the specific day foretold by Daniel for Messiah to be presented to Israel.

Messiah as the Prince of Peace came on the appointed day to bring peace to the nation. This, then, was the day of Christ’s official presentation of Himself as Messiah to Israel. Christ was identified before the nation as Messiah at His baptism. He was authenticated as Messiah at His temptation. His glory as Messiah was revealed at His transfiguration. But it was at His triumphal entry that Christ made an official presentation of Himself as Messiah to the nation. Such was the significance of our Lord’s statement, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace” (Luke 19:42). As John anticipated, “The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5). Jesus Wept over the city because the people received none of the blessings that He had come to provide for them. Luke described the judgment that was to come on that generation in place of blessing. Their city would be attacked and besieged (Luke 19:43). The people would be killed and the city totally destroyed (v.44). And this judgment was to come “because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” — Pentecost, pages 373, 374, 376.