Palm Sunday… The Journey to the Cross

The Eastern Gate was identified by the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 44, “The prince will enter through this gate and he will eat bread before the Lord.” This is the believed to be the gate that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Today, this gate is shut and no one can enter the Temple Mount from the east.

Palm Sunday began Jesus’ journey to the cross.

In Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He told the disciples to get Him a donkey on which He would ride into the city of Jerusalem. Jesus told the disciples to tell its owners, “The Lord has need of it” (Lk. 19:31).

As Zechariah had prophesied, the King would come humbly into Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9-10). In those days horses were used in battle and, according to historians, kings rode upon donkeys in missions of peace.

A cross along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel. Photo by T. Keener. — A cross along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) in Jerusalem, Israel. Photo by T. Keener.

When the crowds saw Jesus entering Jerusalem, they covered His path with palm branches and cried, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” However, within a few days, those same people that were celebrating His arrival would be crying, “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:13).

Jesus entered Jerusalem with His face set toward the cross knowing that He would be suffering a painful death as a sacrifice for our sin.

As Jesus drew near to the city of Jerusalem, the Bible says He wept. His tears were for the people who failed to recognize He was their Messiah. “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…” (Luke 19:41-42).

Additional reading:
Matthew 21:17
Mark 11:1-10
Luke 19:28-44
John 12:12-15

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