Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was Supposed to be Private

It was a festive welcome to Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, but it was supposed to be private. Jesus directed two disciples to secure a donkey and its colt, not to prepare for a festive welcome, but to fulfill bible prophecy. Nothing was indicated that the event was planned by Jesus to be attended by multitudes and celebrated with fanfare. Watch how Matthew records it:

Photo by King's Church International on Unsplash.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” [Matthew 21]

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It's clear from above that the event was for bible prophecy alone, not for festivities. But then the crowds learned about it, and because of their marvel  for the miracles Jesus did, they took it upon themselves to welcome him by spreading their cloaks on the road and waving branches.

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. [Mark 11.8]

It was a people's initiative. Jesus did not prepare a program, invite people to come, give perks and gifts for those who'd attend, or do any gimmick to gather people and create merriment or euphoria. The bible says Jesus simply wanted to enter Jerusalem precisely as the Scripture described it. It was "to fulfill" prophecy.

"This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet."

But the crowds were excited on hearing that Jesus was coming to town. Probably, the fact that they just came from a festival made them a spirited, avid audience for Jesus. Without being told or invited, they went to meet Jesus, threw their cloaks on the road and cut branches to use for a welcome gesture. All on their own volition. The simple entry to Jerusalem that should've been quiet and regular turned into a street feast. 

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!” [John 12]

And what made them shout like that? Did Jesus or any of the disciples give them a cue or signal to start shouting? Nope. But the fulfillment of prophecy moved them to do that through the Holy Spirit. 

Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. [John 12.16]

They realized that everything was worked out together supernaturally for the fulfillment of Scripture. Nothing was by accident or chance. It was not the people's initiative, after all, but they were simply moved by the Holy Spirit to celebrate and shout on their own, without being told or instructed. It was God's plan to make it simple and unscripted (no pre-planning or programs or anything like that), but HE also allowed people (actually a "crowd of disciples") to get excited because of the wonderful things they had been seeing from Jesus. 

...the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: [Luke 19.37]

Jesus in Public

This was among few instances where Jesus allowed himself to appear in public in the city in front of multitudes of people. Remember, the prophecy about him was that "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street," [Isaiah 42.2]. But the triumphal entry was a bible prophecy that had to be fulfilled to the letter, and it said that Jesus would ride on a donkey and its colt and be welcomed with shouts of praise.

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. [John 12.16]

Jesus riding on a donkey and its colt, both tied and and then untied, with the colt never had been ridden on by any man nd its first assignment was to serve Jesus, have lots of possible prophetic significance. Expert's guesses are as good as mine, but I believe the donkey and colt are animals of lowliness and simplicity--quiet ones, as well--and once the young donkey was released, its first assignment, together with the mother donkey, was to serve the Messiah. Jesus chose them to serve him. 

Anyway, since it was a "crowd of disciples" that welcomed Jesus according to Luke [19], and since they were already there in the mood to celebrate Jesus, they ought to do what disciples are expected to do--give shouts of praise. It's a given. Even if they were not close-in disciples, disciples are expected to give shouts of praise for Jesus, especially when the event is in fulfillment of prophecy--because prophecy has to do with the Holy Spirit. 

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” [Luke 19]

But to be sure, Jesus didn't do this to gain popularity, attract people to his membership, showoff his ministry achievements and what he has and does "for God," and all the carnal things church today does claiming they are done for the Lord.  

In fact in the end, as it seemed customary of him, he told them vitriolic words to make it clear that their festivity and celebrations didn't mean God approved of them. He was in fact angry. Jesus seemed to do this when the crowds loved him to make sure they do not do so with a carnal motive that the Father didn't approve of. In this way, he did not preach in public "to be seen by men."

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SURRENDERING TO JESUS 

Ask for forgiveness and repent of your sins. Believe God's forgiveness. It is promised in the bible. Receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your sole Savior and Lord. Then be assured of heaven, not because of anything you have or do (not your good deeds or religion or church), but because of God's grace and mercy through what Jesus Christ did on the cross.

In Jesus alone is salvation. 

Jesus is: 

‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4] 

Surrender to Him by intently studying the bible daily (ask guidance from the Holy Spirit) and applying in life everything you learn. And then pray that God lead you to the right person who'd disciple you, one who is totally surrendered to Jesus and living His Word in the bible.

Turning to Another Gospel

There's another gospel. As early as Paul's time, "another gospel" was suspected to exist and hit hard on the Galatian church. It looked authentic that even if the church started right in the Holy Spirit, it was now abandoning being entirely Spirit-led and comfortably settled with being entirely led by the flesh. And they really thought they were doing right and dealing with Jesus' Gospel.

Photo by Mikołaj on Unsplash.

They probably even felt so spiritual because they were working so hard in the ministry with all their efforts. That's characteristic of being flesh-led---everything is by man's effort, design, smartness, programs, strategies and direction, all done "for God's glory." Man's effort is legitimized by that phrase, "for God's glory." But Jesus had it so differently. He said his ministry was all the Father's effort in him, not his own.

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [John 14.10]

Once you get out of that pattern and do things your own smart way, you follow "another gospel," which was exactly what the Galatians were guilty of. Man's effort in ministry looks glamorous and probably the reason why the Galatians were "bewitched" by it and threw anything genuinely of the Holy Spirit out the window because they saw how man's effort gave them quicker results that highlighted their geniuses. Like how the modern church today mocks the supernatural of the Holy Spirit as superstition and subscribes to what looks systematic, scientific nd respectable.

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: [Galatians 3.3]

So Removed

Paul said the Galatians were "so soon removed." The word "removed" here is a big word. They removed themselves from anything of the Spirit of God, and didn't know it because they were bewitched, or as NLT puts it, "cast an evil spell on." Abandoning the Jesus Way and turning to another way or gospel is demonic, it has to do with the occult. And that's what God calls it---abandoning or deserting. Metatithesthe is the Greek which means among other things, not simply changing sides but perverting.

What the Other Gospel Does to Us

1. Throw us into confusion [1.7]. Probably why we have a lot of denominations with different doctrines that say some portions of Scripture do not apply to us anymore---or some of God's Word are already obsolete today 😂. Nope, God's Word is always fresh, like his steadfast love and mercy that never cease but are new each morning. 

They reason that even with our different denominational doctrines we're all united in our basic faith in Jesus, and that's all that matters. But Jesus is the WORD of GOD, and that tells us we cannot just agree on some things in God's Word and disagree on the rest. Is Christ divided? I follow this portion while you follow another portion? I follow Paul, you follow Silas?

2. Pervert the Gospel [1.7]. Try to teach people about Jesus honestly using the bible (without denominational presuppositions or presumptions) and you'd see how "believers" find the real Jesus strange, odd, extreme, even cultic. Why? Because the modern church has been preaching "another Jesus," a tame one. They also don't understand how it is to be genuinely Spirit-led but just rely on how their church or pastor interprets God's Word for them according to the theology or hermeneutics of man. That's a clear perversion of Scriptures, giving undue preference to what man can give instead of total reliance on the Holy Spirit.

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood (by man), but by my Father in heaven." [Matthew 16]

Teachers in church should be genuinely led by the Holy Spirit, relying solely on how HE gives supernatural understanding, not on things learned from endless seminars on how to do things. 

3. Under a curse [1.8]. What we often understand by "under a curse" is suffering poverty or financial insufficiency. Why? Because of the church's money-value system, that anything not translating into church income is useless. If what we do does not grow church membership, it's nothing because church membership translates into income and income grows churches. So we think poor believers or churches are "under a curse."

But Paul gave the Galatians a good idea of what it is. It has all to do with being bound to people's approval and to pride. That's the curse from turning to another gospel. Thus, his opening statement was an emphasis on being called by God, not man. 

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Then he added.

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

If you're a man pleaser, that's among worst curses to be punished with. The scary thing is that pleasing people makes you likely to fall into the hands of false believers who want you to remain a slave to the world. No wonder a lot of pastors today are hostage to the whims, fancies and impulses of their church boards or the church itself. They obey the will of the board even if it thwarts God's will because they fear losing their jobs.

This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. [Galatians 2.4]

SURRENDERING TO JESUS 

 Ask forgiveness and repent of your sins. Believe God's forgiveness. It is promised in the bible. Receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your sole Savior and Lord. Then be assured of heaven, not because of anything you have or do (not your good deeds or religion or church), but because of God's grace and mercy through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. 

 In Jesus alone is salvation. Jesus is: 

"‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” [Acts 4] 

Surrender to Him by intently studying the bible daily (ask guidance from the Holy Spirit) and applying in life everything you learn. And then pray that God lead you to the right person who'd disciple you, one who is totally surrendered to Jesus and living His Word in the bible.

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