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The Triumphal Entry (John 12:12-15)

 As Jesus was getting closer to Jerusalem, word got out to both the political and religious leadership, as well as the ordinary people. We could say that Jesus was significantly more popular with the average people--at least at times--than he was with his well-connected opponents.

That blessing and greeting there in verse 13 is the sort of thing that would be shouted at prophets and kings. St. John thinks that Jesus is fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah. The exact quote is from Zechariah 9:9, but it is always a good idea to read the whole chapter, both before and after. If we were Israelites at this time, the most important question we would ask is whether Jesus and his disciples had correctly interpreted the prophets, the law of Moses, and even the wisdom literature--like Psalms and Proverbs for example--which are typically called "the writings."

Some people have grown up as Christians, and they've grown up in churches. In that way, it's really easy to take it for granted that of course, Jesus and all his disciples have correctly interpreted all the Hebrew Scriptures. I think it's wise to at least not take it too much for granted, although faith in Jesus affects how we read all the Scriptures, and that is good. The Bible as we have received it, from beginning to end, is a story of the children of Abraham, and it will be that way until the end of time.

If you get a chance to spend some time reading Zechariah and the other prophets, you can understand why people thought that the coming of the Messiah would be pretty violent. Much of the imagery is often war-like.

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