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TEACHING NOTES
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry (Mark 11:1-11)
Jerry Truex; March 29, 2015
A. Introduction
It’s Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday commemorates two very important episodes in the life of
Jesus. These back-to-back episodes, more than all the others stories of Jesus, reveals who
Jesus thought he was and what he thought he was doing for God and for Israel.
All four Gospels attest to these episodes, adding weight to their historicity. The first is Jesus’
triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the second, immediately following, is his protest in the
Temple, both days before he is crucified.
Palm Sunday commemorates these events. They show that Jesus thought he was the
Messiah, the Liberator of Israel and the Messiah of God’s Kingdom.
B. Other Messiahs and Prophets
To understand Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his protest in the Temple, it is
necessary to review a few other Jewish protests, king-messiahs, and revolts of first century
Palestine.
1. Golden Eagle Protest (4 BCE)
In 4 BCE, Herod the Great, the Jewish king who ruled on behalf of the Roman Emperor,
became deathly sick. Herod was a harsh ruler, so when the word got out that Herod was
near death, at the instigation of two teachers of the law, Judas and Matthias, young men
went into the Temple area and tore down a golden eagle (which represented Roman rule)
that Herod has erected over the great gate. One of Herod’s military captains went into the
Temple area, arrested about forty of the young men, took them to Herod, who then ordered
their execution by being burned alive.1
2. Tax Protest (4 BCE)
Just after Herod the Great died in 4 BCE, one of his sons, Archelaus, took charge of Judea.
Thinking that the harsh regime of his father was over, a large number of Jews came to
Archelaus and begged him to reduce their annual tax and to eliminate sales tax altogether.
Archelaus said he would, but did not.2 At the next Passover, hundreds of thousands of
Jewish pilgrims poured into Jerusalem for the Festival. At the Festival, fearing revolution,
1
2
Josephus, J.W. 1.647-655.
Josephus, Ant. 17:204-205.
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Archelaus sent a regiment of armed men and a Roman centurion to suppress the noise of
emerging revolt. When the soldiers entered the Temple area, the Jews pelted them with
stones. Eventually, Archelaus sent cavalry, who slaughtered 3000 Jews.3
3. Judas ben Hezekiah
Again, shortly after Herod’s death, Judas ben Hezekiah, gathered a small army of men and
attacked Sepphoris in Galilee. He took over the royal palace, seized all the arms, and
claimed to be the king-messiah.4
4. Simon the slave-messiah
Next was Simon, who was a slave of King Herod. After Herod died, Simon took Herod’s
crown and placed it on his own head and claimed to be king-messiah. He gathered some
men and proceeded to burn the royal palace in Jericho and took a great deal of plunder.
5. Arthronges the rebel-messiah
Then a man named Arthronges arose and claimed to be the king or messiah. He was a
shepherd, but commanded a small band of rebels, who attacked both the Roman and
Herodian troops because of the wrongs they committed against the Jews. 5 In 4 BCE, the
Roman governor of Syria, Varus, came to Galilee, burned Sepphoris to the ground and
proceeded to crush the rebellions in both Galilee and Judah. Josephus claims that Varus
crucified 2000 rebels. In response, the Jews, nearly en masse, began a full-scale boycott of
Roman pottery (Red Slip Ware6).
6. Tax revolt of Judas the Galilean
In 6 CE, Quirinius became the Roman governor of Syria and he proceeded to conduct a
census for the purpose of taxation. At first, the Jews resisted the census, but their high
priest, Joazar, persuaded them to cooperate. However, Judas the Galilean from the city of
Gamala, proclaimed that such taxation was nothing less than slavery. He called Israel to
revolt against Roman taxation, because God alone was their lord and they owed nothing to
Caesar. Skirmishes and small battles broke out throughout the land and many Jews were
killed.7
Josephus, Ant. 17.218.
Josephus, Ant. 17.271-272.
5
Josephus, Ant. 17.278-285.
6
“African red slip ware, also African Red Slip or ARS, is a category of terra sigillata, or "fine" Ancient Roman
pottery produced from the mid-1st century AD into the 7th century in the province of Africa Proconsularis,” which is
roughly modern Tunisia”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_red_slip_ware.
7
Josephus, Ant. 18:3-10, 2; J.W. 2:117-118; also Ant. 20:102; J.W. 2.433; 7:253.
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7. Other revolts, messiahs, and protests
During the first century, there were at least 16 Jewish rebel leaders (bandits), messiahs,
and prophets that led revolts against the Romans and their Jewish client kings and high
priests,8 including Theudus (45 CE),9 the Egyptian (56 CE), and John of Gishala (66 CE).
In addition, there was the protests against Pilate for bringing images of Caesar into
Jerusalem (ca. 26 CE)10 and for stealing sacred treasure from the Temple to build an
aqueduct (36 CE).11
Most important of all, we need to remember that Jewish resistance against Roman
oppression hit high points in the Jewish-Roman War (66-73 CE) and the Bar Kokhba Revolt
(132-135 CE).
8. God, land, and taxes
To sum up, generally speaking, throughout the first century, the Jewish people and wouldbe messiahs led revolts and popular protests against Rome and their Jewish minions for
three basic reasons.
(i) First, the Jews believed that they served God alone and God’s messiah,12 not a
Roman Emperor.
(ii) Second, the Jews believed that their land belonged to God alone, and thus the
Jewish people, and could not be sold or bought by Roman and Jewish aristocrats.
(iii) Third, the Jews believed that they owed tithes to God alone, and paying taxes to
Rome was idolatry.
C. Jesus entry into Jerusalem
That history sheds light on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem around the year 30. Just
before Passover, on the first Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time. The
radical implications of that entry would have been recognized by all who witnessed it.
He entered riding a donkey, proclaiming symbolically that he was the messiah-king. Then he
entered the Temple and overturned the tables, announcing symbolically its corruption and
inevitable destruction. So revelatory is this moment in Jesus’ life that it can be used to
clarify his mission, his theology, and his politics.13
See Frederick J. Murphy, Early Judaism: The Exile to the Time of Jesus (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2002) 302-3.
Cf. Acts 5:36; Josephus Ant. 20:97-98.
10
Josephus, J.W. 2.169-174. Philo, Embassy 38:299-305.
11
Josephus, J.W. 2.175-177; cf. Ant. 18:60-62.
12
Esp. Judas the Galilean; Ant. 18:23.
13
Reza Aslan, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (New York Random House, 2013) 73.
8
9
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D. Symbolic actions
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During Jesus last week, his symbolic actions indicate a great deal about what Jesus thought
he was doing. We should note that symbolic actions were part of the Hebrew Prophets’
repertoire.

Isaiah walked naked and barefoot for 3 years as a sign against Egypt & Ethiopia (Isa.
20:3)

Jeremiah was told to break a pot and proclaim that the Temple would be destroyed
(Jer. 19:1-13)

Jeremiah wore a yoke to indicate that Judah would submit to Babylon (Jer. 27-28)

Ezekiel performed many complicated symbolic actions, such a lying for long periods
of time first on one side, then on the other (Ezek. 4-5; 12; 24)
During his final week of life, Jesus performed three symbolic actions that clarify his mission,
theology, and politics.15
1. First: Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey
Mark 11:1 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the
Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
2
and said to them, "Go into the village ahead
of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been
ridden; untie it and bring it.
3
If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just say this,
'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'"
4
They went away and found a
colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it,
bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"
Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it.
threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it.
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some of the
They told them what
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and
others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.
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Then those who went ahead
and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name
of the Lord!
heaven!"
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Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest
Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked
around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Matthew 21:5 adds a quote from Zech. 9:9: “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your
king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.” (NRSV)
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15
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin, 1993) 253-264.
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin, 1993) 253-264.
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Given what we know about the historical background about the Jewish protests, messiahs,
and revolts of the first century, the message Jesus conveyed to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
was unmistakable.
1) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds shouted that Jesus was coming in the
name of Yahweh and that he was the new Davidic king-messiah.
2) When Jesus entered, the crowds spread cloaks on the road just as the Israelites did
for Jehu when we was declared king (2 Kings 9:12-13).16
3) When Jesus entered, the crowds waved palm branches just as they did when the
Temple liberated from foreign rule (1 Maccabees 13:49-53).17
They understood Jesus to be the messiah—the king of the Jews, Yahweh’s representative—
who has come to free Israel from bondage.
One more thing. Jesus planned his entry. Jesus planned to come riding on a donkey. In this
way, Jesus chose to intentionally fulfilled Zech. 9:9,18 which tells us that Jesus saw himself as
a humble and peaceful king—not a warrior king.
Jesus coming as a messiah of peace, indicates the banishment of chariots and warhorses,
battle axes and bows, from the land and announces peace to the nations (Zech. 9:9-10).
Unlike most of the other Jewish messiah figures of the first century, Jesus used non-violent
means to accomplish his vision of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem from the east was in sharp contrast to another procession from
the west that was happening at the same time.19 The other procession was a Roman legion
entering Jerusalem to prevent revolts, as it had happened many times before. The Roman
governor Pontius Pilate rode into the city as the head of an imperial cavalry with foot soldiers.
2 Kings 9:12-13. So he said, "This is just what he said to me: 'Thus says the LORD, I anoint you king over
Israel.'" 13 Then hurriedly they all took their cloaks and spread them for him on the bare steps; and they blew the
trumpet, and proclaimed, "Jehu is king." (NRSV)
17
1 Macc. 13:51-52. On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year 171 (141 bce), there was a great
celebration in the city [of Jerusalem] because this terrible threat to the security of Israel had come to an end.
Simon and his men entered the fort [of Jerusalem] singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, while carrying palm
branches and playing harps, cymbals, and lyres. 52 Simon issued a decree that the day should be joyfully celebrated
every year. He strengthened the defenses of the Temple hill on the side facing the fort, and he and his men made
their headquarters there. [GNT; Simon Maccabees was the first king and priest of the Hasmonean Dynasty, which
lasted until 37 bce, when the Herodian Dynasty began, although the Romans subjugated Israel in 63 bce].
18
Some scholars—like John Dominic Crossan—believe this was prophecy historicized. That is, the Gospel writer
read the prophecy of Zech. 9:9 and then create the story around the prophecy. If so, then the event never
happened. It was prophecy historicized. Other scholars—like E. P. Sanders—believe this was prophecy enacted.
They believe that Jesus was familiar with the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9—as were many other Jews at that time—
and then decided to fulfill the prophecy. In this way, Jesus implicitly declared himself to be the promised messianic
king. Jesus was enacting Yahweh’s return to Zion. E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin,
1993) 254.
19
Marcus Borg, Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (New York:
HarperOne, 2006) 232.
16
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On Palm Sunday, we have two choices, two kingdoms, two visions of life on earth.20 The warmaking imperial one of Rome and the peace-making vision of the kingdom of God.
2. Second: Disrupting the Temple
Mark 11:12-18.
12
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
13
Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find
anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season
for figs.
it.
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He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard
Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those
who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of
the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves;
to carry anything through the temple.
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and he would not allow anyone
He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,
'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it
a den of robbers." [Jer. 7:11 and Isa. 56:7]
18
And when the chief priests and the scribes
heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the
whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. (NRSV)
a. Did Jesus really cause a riot in the Temple?
Did Jesus go into the Temple during the last week of his life and cause a riot? Did he disrupt
Temple activities or in some way threaten the Temple and its overseers?
The data suggests that Jesus caused such a disturbance—you could call it a “fact” of
history21—and his protest in and against the Temple provoked the authorities to arrest and
kill him. Jesus was perceived to be as dangerous as any other messiah figure of first century
and thus a threat to Roman rule and to their client kings and high priests.
b. Temple cleansing or predicting its destruction?
If Jesus saw the Temple system as corrupt and was trying to start a reform movement to
root out the corruption, we can call this event a cleansing of the Temple.
Borrowing similar language from Marcus Borg, Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a
Religious Revolutionary (New York: HarperOne, 2006) 232.
21
Or “high probability,” since the historicity of the event is increased by multiple attestation for this event: the
Synoptic Gospels attribute to Jesus a prediction that the Temple would be destroyed (Mk. 13:1); they attribute to
his accusers at this trial the testimony that he threatened to destroy the Temple (Mk. 14:58; Mt. 26:61); John’s
Gospel (a separate tradition) says that Jesus’ opponents thought Jesus threatened the Temple (Jn. 2:19-20);
during the crucifixion scene, onlookers taunted Jesus and said, “Aha! You who would destroy the Temple…. Save
yourself and come down from the cross!” (Mk. 15:29; Mt. 27:40); in Acts, Stephen was accused of saying that
“Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place (the Temple)” (Acts 6:14).
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However, it is more likely that Jesus’ disruption of the Temple symbolized the coming
destruction of the Temple. The Temple’s usefulness was over. Jesus’ action was an
indictment of the Temple.22
We don’t have to guess what Jesus meant by his symbolic act of overturning tables and
driving out the animals. Mark provides an explanation: “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be
a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mk. 11:17).
Jesus was indicting the Temple authorities as robbers who were collaborating with the
Roman domination system. Jesus was not cleansing the Temple, but predicting its
destruction.23
3. Third: The Last Supper
During the final week of life, Jesus also had a last meal, which he infused with symbolic
meaning—eating this meal with Jesus is a commitment to a new covenant.
Mark 14:22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke
it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 14:23 Then he took a cup, and after
giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 14:24 He said to them, “This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 14:25 Truly I tell you, I will
never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the
kingdom of God.” (NRSV)
Markus Borg is skeptical about Jesus speaking the “words of institution” over the bread and
wine at Jesus’ last meal.24 Borg argues that the world look like an early Christian
ritualization of the death of Jesus.
In contrast, James Dunn argues that the words spoken by Jesus is firm in the memory of
the earliest Christians.25 Even though there are indications of liturgical development, there
is also a core memory of what Jesus said.
We can see that he regarded the meal as symbolic, as pointing to the future kingdom. This
was Jesus’ last symbolic gesture. And the saying makes it highly probably that Jesus knew
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin, 1993) 255, 260-62 and Marcus Borg, Jesus:
Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (New York: HarperOne, 2006) 233.
23
In Mark 13:1, Jesus predicted the complete destruction of the Temple—not one stone would be left standing.
However, we know that part of the Temple still stands today—the western Wailing Wall. When “prophecies” are
written after the event—post eventum—the prophecy and the event are in perfect harmony. But, Mark 13:1 and
the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE are not in perfect harmony. Scholars think that it means that Jesus really did
predict the destruction of the Temple and it was not put in the mouth of Jesus after it was destroyed in 70 AD.
Jesus probably thought that God would destroy the existing Temple as part of the full arrival of the Kingdom of God
when a New Eschatological Temple would be built—a Temple “not built with human hands” (Mk 14:58; Mt 26:61).
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (London: Penguin, 1993) 257.
24
Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions 1998:87.
25
James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, 2003: 229-31, 804-5.
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that he was a marked man. This means that Jesus anticipated his rejection of his message
in Jerusalem and, more than that, Jesus anticipated his own death.
E. Conclusion
Palm Sunday commemorates these two events in the life of Jesus: Jesus’ triumphal entry
into Jerusalem and his protest in the Temple.
Given the well-known Jewish protests and rebellions against Rome, we can be fairly certain
that when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and when protested in the Temple, he was
declaring himself to be the Messiah, the Liberator of Israel and the Agent of God’s Kingdom.
Like the crowds who greeted Jesus in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, we have two
choices, two kingdoms, two visions of life on earth: We can choose the war-making imperial
vision of Rome or we can choose the peace-making vision of the Kingdom of the Messiah
Jesus.
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