Matthew 21:1-11; 24 & 25.

All of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) record their accounts of Jesus coming into Jerusalem in ways that have led biblical translators and scholars to use the heading “The Triumphal Entry” (NIV). That is a very celebratory statement, and Hebrews has certainly shown us that there is plenty about Jesus that validates that kind of thought (e.g.: Hebrews 1:3). Yet, not everyone saw it in that way, either on that day of celebration, or in all that followed over the next week or so. In their opinion, there was more reason to describe Jesus as “deluded” than “triumphant”.

We know now that all that Jesus explained and experienced was not the end but pointed us forwards to a bigger fulfilment of the “end of the age” (e.g.: Revelation 3:10). Even when Jesus was questioned about “the sign of your coming and the end of the age” (Matthew 24:3, 14), the view at the time was still limited by the immediacy of the situation. We need to make sure that we ourselves are not deluded, but can see and experience the triumphant celebration for ourselves.