Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king.
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Unite it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “why are you doing this?” say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly” (Mark 11:1-3).
The authority and honor that God was establishing through Jesus did not need the luxury of modern kings. God is able to establish his kingdom and show his greatness through humble means because he was establishing a new covenant through Jesus built on new promises. Promises to forgive all who humble themselves and believe, God accepts.
People who humble themselves and believe in Jesus will access his kingdom, come into his kingdom. Just as Jesus enters Jerusalem by humble means, a way no other king had. Other kings had taken kingdoms through war and oppression. Jesus was claiming the throne of God by his word. That he would establish a kingdom built on peace and accept and forgive everyone who accepts his son.
“They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “what are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted.
‘Hosanna! (a Hebrew expression meaning ‘Save!’ which became an exclamation of praise.)
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (Psalms 118:25,26)
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ (Mark 11:4-10).
The people who saw his disciples untying the colt asked ‘what are you doing’ or symbolically ‘what is God doing using this Jesus as a means to bring salvation to the earth? What is God doing using humble means to announce the coming of his kingdom? And Jesus told them to respond that today God is fulfilling his word to save and to establish his kingdom, and the people let them go.
Then God opened the eyes of all who witnessed his entry into Jerusalem to see that what was happening was the fulfillment of God’s word through David that God would establish his king and kingdom through righteousness and justice and that everyone would be saved through him and they shouted, ‘Hosanna!’ which means salvation has come or blessed is the one who has come to fulfill God’s word with the message of salvation. Salvation has come from God in the highest heaven to establish his kingdom on earth and they, singing these praises ushered Jesus on the colt into Jerusalem the city of David, the city of peace built in honor of God’s kingdom.
John the Baptist prepares the way.
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.” (Luke 3:1-6; Isaiah 40:3-5)
The word of God came to John in preparation of what God was establishing through Jesus. God spoke to John to confirm his word that he was establishing a new covenant through Jesus. This covenant was going to be founded on forgiveness and everyone who repents and looks to God’s way of salvation, God would save.
Through Jesus God was telling John that nothing would stand in the way of the salvation that he was establishing through Jesus, no mountain of power of authority. That he was making a way even in impossible situations to make access to his salvation possible and accessible for all who believe. John heard God’s word and announced Jesus and then God confirmed his word and sent Jesus to John to be baptized under this new covenant.
“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too and as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’ (Luke 3:21-22).
Jesus teaches about humility.
“When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat. Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:7-11).
Clothed with power .
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:1-4).
“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:14-21).
The Holy Spirit is the power of God (Acts 1:8) that allows people who believe in Jesus to declare the wonders of God (Acts 2:11) in a way that fulfills God’s word that through the testimony and work of Jesus all people will be brought into his kingdom. In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God that allows people to prophesy, to speak things that will be and they happen, and to have prophetic dreams and visions (Acts 2:17). The Holy Spirit gives people filled with God’s spirit the power to perform signs and wonders on earth (Acts 2:19). The Holy Spirit is God’s power to save, the power that raised Jesus from the dead and brings us back into relationship with God. The blood of Jesus atones for our sins and the Spirit of God saves. The Holy Spirit allows people to believe in God and to speak boldly about who he is. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that removes our inability to have faith in God with God’s ability to reveal who he is through his spirit and his word, Jesus, so that we can repent and believe.
Peter’s Testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him (Jesus):
‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay, You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence’ (Psalms 16:8-11).
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ (Psalms 110:1).
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah’ (Acts 2:22-36).
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:37-39).