Palm Sunday: Proclamation of the King

Easter Week Blog #1

"They brought [the colt] to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  (Luke 19:35-38)

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Here in America it is tough to imagine our nation under the rule of a monarch. After all, in 1776, an army of patriots fought to free America from kingly rule and those same patriots established a government free of monarchy. I deeply long to know what it's like to live under a king. I was born here and raised here so I know only of presidents and governors. Not kings or queens. So even I have trouble with the whole "king thing."

So when we approach the subject of Jesus being king of Israel we mustn't let our lack of monarchical knowledge and experience dampen the incredible significance of Palm Sunday. The Jewish people cried out to Jesus of Nazareth, "Hosanna!" which means "Save us!" They cried out, "Blessed is the KING who comes in the name of the Lord! When Jesus rode through the eastern gates of Jerusalem, He entered the city not as a teacher or rabbi, not as a miracle worker or prophet. Not as a rebel and a beggar. But as a king. And not just any king: the king of that there city in that there land.

The first so-called king of Jewish birth since 586 BC. Herod the Great was given the title "king" by the Roman ruler Augustus and set himself and his family up as monarchs of Israel, but their Jewish credentials were iffy at best. Herod was an Idumean, not a Jew, and he had no place in the royal blood line of David. Jesus? He had the blood AND the legal authority of David's line. Jesus grew up as the crown prince of Israel. I'm baffled to deduce that lost in all this is the fact that his legal father, Joseph, may have been, in fact, the rightful king! Yet the king was a carpenter and the prince the carpenter's son. Amazing.

Matthew chapter 1 traces the lineage of Joseph back to the last king of Judah, Jehoiachin, a young man who was carried off into exile after only three months on the throne (2 Kings 24). Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon and, after some time in prison there, was released to live our his remaining years as a "permanent guest" of the king. Eleven years later, Jehoiachin's brother Zedekiah was kicked off the throne and Judah was devastated by Babylon. No more king. The line of Jehoiachin kept going through the rest of the Old Testament, with Zerubbabel reasserting Davidic authority after the exile but he could not be crowned king. Israel was not free.

In the time of Christ, Israel was not free, either. Any attempt to crown a man king would be seen as rebellion against Rome and most certainly be met with swift Roman military action. So what the people did with Jesus that Sunday was dangerous. And He let them parade Him as king. After all, He was!

Knowing that Joseph was a descendant of Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah), I can't help but wonder if it could be true that good ole righteous Joe was the legal king of Israel! Could it be that the true king was building tables and benches for a measly living in Podunkville? One thing is certain. According to the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer. 22:30), even if Joe was of kingly right, he could not claim the throne for himself. God had cursed Jehoiachin's descendants and sworn that not a one would prosper sitting on David's throne. Since Jesus was not technically one of Joseph's children, He was free from this curse.

What about Mary? Mary could have claimed queenship of Israel. According to Luke 4, which many think traces Mary's bloodline, she was the descendant of Nathan, one of David's sons. It was her blood that Jesus received and in Joseph's household that Jesus was raised -- a double shot of kingship! How a simple man of trade in Nazareth and a lowly handmaiden could be so qualified yet so forgotten is one of those marvelous mysteries of God's providence.

Jesus was the rightful king of Israel who came to Jerusalem on that Sunday somewhere around AD 33. The people had longed for someone of Jewish blood to crown king and the teaching miracle-worker from Galilee seemed a likely candidate. He may not have possessed the beauty or majesty of a celebrity, but the buzz of the nation surrounded Jesus. He worked miracles like Elijah and Elisha, Moses and Joshua. And He had built a following of men and women who hung on His every word.

For being a simple teacher and miracle worker, it amazes me that the people had Jesus nailed for who He was — at least in regards to His royal right. Here's what they shouted according to Mark 11: "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest!” The people shouting these things knew several things about Jesus:

1. That He came in the name of the Lord.
2. That He carried with him the kingdom of David.
3. That He had the power or ability to save them.

There was great hope in their hearts when they laid their cloaks and palm branches down on the rocky ground. What they did not know is that His mission was to save them from a greater foe than Rome — their own sin. They did not know that their king would be dead five days later. And that their own people would bear some of the blame.

On Palm Sunday the people of Israel welcomed Jesus as king of the Jews, crying out for the restoration of the Davidic kingdom after over 600 years of exile. Early on Good Friday Jesus would stand before the nation's leaders as king. The crown belonged to Him. But what He received was rejection and scorn.

And by His scorn we would be healed.


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