The Desire of Ages
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 63: "Thy King Cometh"
This chapter is based on Matt. 21:1-11;
Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19
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"Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest."
Illustration ©
Pacific Press Publ. Assoc. |
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"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter
of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an
ass." Zechariah 9:9. {DA
569.1}
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet
Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now
to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem
as the promised heir to David's throne. {DA 569.2}
It was on the first day of the week that Christ made His
triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany
now accompanied Him, eager to witness His reception. Many people were on their
way to the city to keep the Passover, and these joined the multitude attending
Jesus. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and
their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance on the air. A new life and joy
animated the people. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up. {DA 569.3}
Purposing to ride into Jerusalem, Jesus had sent two of His
disciples to bring to Him an ass and its colt. At His birth the Saviour was
dependent upon the hospitality of strangers. The manger in which He lay was a
borrowed resting place. Now, although the cattle on a thousand hills are His,
He is dependent on a stranger's kindness for an animal on [570] which
to enter Jerusalem as its King. But again His divinity is revealed, even in the
minute directions given His disciples for this errand. As He foretold, the
plea, "The Lord hath need of them," was readily granted. Jesus chose
for His use the colt on which never man had sat. The disciples, with glad
enthusiasm, spread their garments on the beast, and seated their Master upon
it. Heretofore Jesus had always traveled on foot, and the disciples had at
first wondered that He should now choose to ride. But hope brightened in their
hearts with the joyous thought that He was about to enter the capital, proclaim
Himself King, and assert His royal power. While on their errand they
communicated their glowing expectations to the friends of Jesus, and the
excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the
highest pitch. {DA 569.4}
Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry.
The animal on which He rode was that ridden by the kings of Israel, and
prophecy had foretold that thus the Messiah should come to His kingdom. No
sooner was He seated upon the colt than a loud shout of triumph rent the air.
The multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King. Jesus now accepted the homage
which He had never before permitted, and the disciples received this as proof
that their glad hopes were to be realized by seeing Him established on the
throne. The multitude were convinced that the hour of their emancipation was at
hand. In imagination they saw the Roman armies driven from Jerusalem, and
Israel once more an independent nation. All were happy and excited; the people
vied with one another in paying Him homage. They could not display outward pomp
and splendor, but they gave Him the worship of happy hearts. They were unable
to present Him with costly gifts, but they spread their outer garments as a
carpet in His path, and they also strewed the leafy branches of the olive and
the palm in the way. They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal
standards, but they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature's emblem of
victory, and waved them aloft with loud acclamations and hosannas. {DA 570.1}
As they proceeded, the multitude was continually increased
by those who had heard of the coming of Jesus and hastened to join the
procession. Spectators were constantly mingling with the throng, and asking,
Who is this? What does all this commotion signify? They had all heard of Jesus,
and expected Him to go to Jerusalem; but they knew that He had heretofore
discouraged all effort to place Him on the throne, and they were greatly
astonished to learn that this was He. They wondered what could have wrought
this change in Him who had declared that His kingdom was not of this world. [571]
{DA 570.2}
Their questionings are silenced by a shout of triumph. Again
and again it is repeated by the eager throng; it is taken up by the people afar
off, and echoed from the surrounding hills and valleys. And now the procession
is joined by crowds from Jerusalem. From the multitudes gathered to attend the
Passover, thousands go forth to welcome Jesus. They greet Him with the waving
of palm branches and a burst of sacred song. The priests at the temple sound
the trumpet for evening service, but there are few to respond, and the rulers
say to one another in alarm. "The world is gone after Him." {DA 571.1}
Never before in His earthly life had Jesus permitted such a
demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross.
But it was His purpose thus publicly to present Himself as the Redeemer. He
desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a
fallen world. While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate the
Passover, He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an
oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His
death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact
connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then,
that the eyes of all people should now be directed to Him; the events which
preceded His great sacrifice must be such as to call attention to the sacrifice
itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem,
all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene. {DA 571.2}
The events connected with this triumphal ride would be the
talk of every tongue, and would bring Jesus before every mind. After His
crucifixion, many would recall these events in their connection with His trial
and death. They would be led to search the prophecies, and would be convinced
that Jesus was the Messiah; and in all lands converts to the faith would be
multiplied. {DA 571.3}
In this one triumphant scene of His earthly life, the
Saviour might have appeared escorted by heavenly angels, and heralded by the
trump of God; but such a demonstration would have been contrary to the purpose
of His mission, contrary to the law which had governed His life. He remained
true to the humble lot He had accepted. The burden of humanity He must bear
until His life was given for the life of the world. {DA 571.4}
This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of
their lives, would have been shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that
this scene of rejoicing was but a prelude to the suffering and death of their
Master. Although He had repeatedly told them of His certain [572]
sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the present they forgot His sorrowful
words, and looked forward to His prosperous reign on David's throne. {DA 571.5}
New accessions were made continually to the procession, and,
with few exceptions, all who joined it caught the inspiration of the hour, and
helped to swell the hosannas that echoed and re-echoed from hill to hill and
from valley to valley. The shouts went up continually, "Hosanna to the Son
of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the
highest." {DA 572.1}
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession.
It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning
captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about
the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man.
There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God
for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the
way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The
cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in
breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and
orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The
lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and
hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the
sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in
the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the
beast on which the Saviour rode. {DA 572.2}
Many Pharisees witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy
and malice, sought to turn the current of popular feeling. With all their
authority they tried to silence the people; but their appeals and threats only
increased the enthusiasm. They feared that this multitude, in the strength of
their numbers, would make Jesus king. As a last resort they pressed through the
crowd to where the Saviour was, and accosted Him with reproving and threatening
words: "Master, rebuke Thy disciples." They declared that such noisy
demonstrations were unlawful, and would not be permitted by the authorities.
But they were silenced by the reply of Jesus, "I tell you that, if these
should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." That scene
of triumph was of God's own appointing. It had been foretold by the prophet,
and man was powerless to turn aside God's purpose. Had men failed to carry out
His plan, He would have given a voice to the inanimate stones, and they would
have hailed His Son with acclamations of praise. As the silenced Pharisees [575]
drew back, the words of Zechariah were taken up by hundreds of voices:
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and
riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." {DA 572.3}
When the procession reached the brow of the hill, and was
about to descend into the city, Jesus halted, and all the multitude with Him.
Before them lay Jerusalem in its glory, now bathed in the light of the
declining sun. The temple attracted all eyes. In stately grandeur it towered
above all else, seeming to point toward heaven as if directing the people to
the only true and living God. The temple had long been the pride and glory of
the Jewish nation. The Romans also prided themselves in its magnificence. A
king appointed by the Romans had united with the Jews to rebuild and embellish
it, and the emperor of Rome had enriched it with his gifts. Its strength,
richness, and magnificence had made it one of the wonders of the world. {DA 575.1}
While the westering sun was tinting and gilding the heavens,
its resplendent glory lighted up the pure white marble of the temple walls, and
sparkled on its gold-capped pillars. From the crest of the hill where Jesus and
His followers stood, it had the appearance of a massive structure of snow, set
with golden pinnacles. At the entrance to the temple was a vine of gold and
silver, with green leaves and massive clusters of grapes executed by the most
skillful artists. This design represented Israel as a prosperous vine. The
gold, silver, and living green were combined with rare taste and exquisite
workmanship; as it twined gracefully about the white and glistening pillars,
clinging with shining tendrils to their golden ornaments, it caught the
splendor of the setting sun, shining as if with a glory borrowed from heaven. {DA 575.2}
Jesus gazes upon the scene, and the vast multitude hush
their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turn upon the
Saviour, expecting to see in His countenance the admiration they themselves
feel. But instead of this they behold a cloud of sorrow. They are surprised and
disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears, and His body rock to and fro like
a tree before the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from His quivering
lips, as if from the depths of a broken heart. What a sight was this for angels
to behold! their loved Commander in an agony of tears! What a sight was this
for the glad throng that with shouts of triumph and the waving of palm branches
were escorting Him to the glorious city, where they fondly hoped He was about
to reign! Jesus had wept at the grave of Lazarus, but it was in a [576]
godlike grief in sympathy with human woe. But this sudden sorrow was like a
note of wailing in a grand triumphal chorus. In the midst of a scene of
rejoicing, where all were paying Him homage, Israel's King was in tears; not
silent tears of gladness, but tears and groans of insuppressible agony. The
multitude were struck with a sudden gloom. Their acclamations were silenced.
Many wept in sympathy with a grief they could not comprehend. {DA 575.3}
The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own
suffering. Just before Him was Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great
darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which
for centuries the beasts for sacrificial offerings had been led. This gate was
soon to open for Him, the great Antitype, toward whose sacrifice for the sins
of the world all these offerings had pointed. Near by was Calvary, the scene of
His approaching agony. Yet it was not because of these reminders of His cruel
death that the Redeemer wept and groaned in anguish of spirit. His was no
selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble,
self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of
Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His
love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to
take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and
what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound.
He had come to save her; how could He give her up? {DA 576.1}
Israel had been a favored people; God had made their temple
His habitation; it was "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole
earth." Psalm 48:2. The record of more than a thousand years of Christ's
guardian care and tender love, such as a father bears his only child, was
there. In that temple the prophets had uttered their solemn warnings. There had
the burning censers waved, while incense, mingled with the prayers of the
worshipers, had ascended to God. There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical
of the blood of Christ. There Jehovah had manifested His glory above the mercy
seat. There the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had
gone on for ages. But all this must have an end. {DA 576.2}
Jesus raised His hand,—that had so often blessed
the sick and suffering,—and waving it toward the doomed city, in
broken utterances of grief exclaimed: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at
least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!—"
Here the Saviour paused, and left unsaid what might have been the condition of
Jerusalem [577] had she accepted the help that God desired to
give her,—the gift of His beloved Son. If Jerusalem had known what it
was her privilege to know, and had heeded the light which Heaven had sent her,
she might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms,
free in the strength of her God-given power. There would have been no armed
soldiers standing at her gates, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The
glorious destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her
Redeemer rose before the Son of God. He saw that she might through Him have
been healed of her grievous malady, liberated from bondage, and established as
the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove of peace would have
gone forth to all nations. She would have been the world's diadem of glory. {DA 576.3}
But the bright picture of what Jerusalem might have been
fades from the Saviour's sight. He realizes what she now is under the Roman
yoke, bearing the frown of God, doomed to His retributive judgment. He takes up
the broken thread of His lamentation: "But now they are hid from thine
eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench
about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not
leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy
visitation." {DA
577.1}
Christ came to save Jerusalem with her children; but
Pharisaical pride, hypocrisy, jealousy, and malice had prevented Him from
accomplishing His purpose. Jesus knew the terrible retribution which would be
visited upon the doomed city. He saw Jerusalem encompassed with armies, the
besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding upon the
dead bodies of their own children, and both parents and children snatching the
last morsel of food from one another, natural affection being destroyed by the
gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews, as evinced
in their rejection of His salvation, would also lead them to refuse submission
to the invading armies. He beheld Calvary, on which He was to be lifted up, set
with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the wretched inhabitants
suffering torture on the rack and by crucifixion, the beautiful palaces
destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left
upon another, while the city was plowed like a field. Well might the Saviour
weep in agony in view of that fearful scene. {DA 577.2}
Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender
father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How [578]
can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee
go to fill up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in
comparison with it, worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole
nation to be lost. When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the
heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be ended. While the procession was
halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent.
The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the golden
throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's great
heart of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies,
despised His warnings, and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If
Jerusalem would but repent, it was not yet too late. While the last rays of the
setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel
lead her to the Saviour's love, and avert her doom? Beautiful and unholy city,
that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was
locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,—her day of
mercy was almost spent! {DA
577.3}
Yet again the Spirit of God speaks to Jerusalem. Before the
day is done, another testimony is borne to Christ. The voice of witness is
lifted up, responding to the call from a prophetic past. If Jerusalem will hear
the call, if she will receive the Saviour who is entering her gates, she may
yet be saved. {DA 578.1}
Reports have reached the rulers in Jerusalem that Jesus is
approaching the city with a great concourse of people. But they have no welcome
for the Son of God. In fear they go out to meet Him, hoping to disperse the
throng. As the procession is about to descend the Mount of Olives, it is
intercepted by the rulers. They inquire the cause of the tumultuous rejoicing.
As they question, "Who is this?" the disciples, filled with the
spirit of inspiration, answer this question. In eloquent strains they repeat
the prophecies concerning Christ: {DA 578.2}
Adam will tell you, It is the seed of the woman that shall
bruise the serpent's head. {DA
578.3}
Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is "Melchizedek King
of Salem," King of Peace. Genesis 14:18. {DA 578.4}
Jacob will tell you, He is Shiloh of the tribe of Judah. {DA 578.5}
Isaiah will tell you, "Immanuel," "Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6. {DA
578.6}
Jeremiah will tell you, The Branch of David, "the Lord
our Righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6. [579] {DA 578.7}
Daniel will tell you, He is the Messiah. {DA 579.1}
Hosea will tell you, He is "the Lord God of hosts; the
Lord is His memorial." Hosea 12:5. {DA 579.2}
John the Baptist will tell you, He is "the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. {DA 579.3}
The great Jehovah has proclaimed from His throne, "This
is My beloved Son." Matthew 3:17. {DA 579.4}
We, His disciples, declare, This is Jesus, the Messiah, the
Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world. {DA 579.5}
And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him,
saying, "I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark 1:24. {DA 579.6}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"A Doomed People"
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