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From: Mark 11:1-10 (At the Procession with Palms)

The Messiah Enters Jerusalem

[1] And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the
Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, [2] and said to them, “Go into the
village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on
which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it. [3] If any one says to you, Ã¢Â€Â˜Why
are you doing this?Ã¢Â€Â™ say, Ã¢Â€Â˜The Lord has need of it and will send it back here im-
mediately.” [4] And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door out in the
open street; and they untied it. [5] And those who stood there said to them,
“What are you doing, untying the colt?” [6] And they told them what Jesus had
said; and they let them go. [7] And they brought the colt to Jesus, and threw
their garments on it; and be sat upon it. [8] And many spread their garments
on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
[9] And those who went before and those who followed cried out, “Hosanna! Bles-
sed is be who comes.in the name of the Lord! [10] Blessed is the kingdom of
Our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!”

[11] And 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.

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Commentary:

1-11. Jesus had visited Jerusalem various times before, but he never did so in
this way. Previously he had not wanted to be recognized as the Messiah; he a-
voided the enthusiasm of the crowd; but now he accepts their acclaim and even
implies that it is justified, by entering the city in the style of a pacific king. Jesus’
public ministry is about to come to a close: he has completed his mission; he
has preached and worked miracles; he has revealed himself as God wished he
should; now in this triumphant entry into Jerusalem he shows that he is the Mes-
siah. The people, by shouting “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming!”, are proclaiming Je-
sus as the long-awaited Messiah. When the leaders of the people move against
him some days later, they reject this recognition the people have given him. Cf.
notes on Mt 21:1-5 and 21:9.

3. Although, absolutely speaking, our Lord has no need of man, in fact he does
choose to use us to carry out his plans just as he made use of the donkey for
his entry into Jerusalem. “Jesus makes do with a poor animal for a throne. I
don’t know about you; but I am not humiliated to acknowledge that in the Lord’s
eyes I am a beast of burden: ‘Â€Â˜I am like a donkey in your presence; nevertheless
I am continually with you. You hold my right hand,’Â€Â™ (Ps 72:23), you take me by
the bridle.

“Try to remember what a donkey is like — now that so few of them are left. Not
an old, stubborn, vicious one that would give you a kick when you least expec-
ted, but a young one with his ears up like antennae. He lives on a meagre diet,
is hard-working and has a quick, cheerful trot. There are hundreds of animals
more beautiful, more deft and strong. But it was a donkey Christ chose when
he presented himself to the people as king in response to their acclamation. For
Jesus has no time for calculations, for astuteness, for the cruelty of cold hearts,
for attractive but empty beauty. What he likes is the cheerfulness of a young
heart, a simple step, a natural voice, clean .eyes, attention to his affectionate
word of advice. That is how he reigns in the soul” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Pas-
sing By”, 181).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 12:12-16 (At the Procession with Palms)

The Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem

[12] The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem. [13] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to
meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
even the King of Israel! [14] And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it
is written,

[15] “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on an ass’s colt!”

[16] His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified,
then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to
him.

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Commentary:

13. When the crowd uses the words “Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord”Â€Â , taken from Psalm 118:26, they are acclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.
The words “the king of Israel”Â€Â , not included in the Synoptics, underline Christ’s
royalty: the Messiah is the King of Israel “par excellence”. However, Jesus
had previously fled from those who wanted to make him king because they had
an earth-bound view of his mission (Jn 6:14-15). Later on, before Pilate, he will
explain that his kingship “is not of this worldÂ€.” “Christ”Â€Â , St Augustine teaches,
“was not king of Israel for exacting tribute, or arming a host with the sword; but
king of Israel to rule souls, to counsel them for eternal life, to bring to the King-
dom of heaven those that believe, hope and love” (”In Ioann. Evang.”, 51,4).

“Christ should reign first and foremost in our soul. But how would we reply if he
asks us: ‘How do you go about letting me reign in you?’ I would reply that I
need lots of his grace. Only that way can my every heartbeat and breath, my
least intense look, my most ordinary word, my most basic feeling be trans-
formed into a hosanna to Christ my King” (St J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”,
181).

14-16. After Jesus’Â€Â™ resurrection, the Apostles will grasp the meaning of many
episodes in our Lord’s life which they had not previously understood fully (cf. Jn
2:22). For example, in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem with all the people ac-
claiming him as Messiah, they will see the fulfilment of the Old Testament pro-
phecies (cf., e.g., in addition to Zech 9:9, which the Gospel quotes, Gen 49:10-
11). See the notes on Mt 21:1-5; Mk 11:1-11; and Lk 19:30-35.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.