The first of the three incidents we call the triumphal entry.
Jesus’ arrival into the city was obvious. There were a lot of people and a lot of noise. Palm branches were cast before the ‘King’ who had arrived, fulfilling the words of the prophet Zechariah. Had the people kept silent, we are told, even the very stones would have cried out.
Here were the people sharing Jesus’ joy. He who was anointed with the oil of joy more than His companions (Heb 1.9, quoting Psalm 45.6), was totally comfortable in joyful exuberance.
There is a nod here to David accompanying the ark of God into Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. They king danced undignified through the streets of the city. There were party-poopers there too, in the person of Michal, Saul’s daughter, who became barren. Would not the nation of Israel, in rejecting Jesus, become dead, like a fig tree cursed!
Aside – Saul’s line, representing the old order, was all but wiped out. Saul and his sons had died on Mount Gilboa (1 Sam 31); later, the sons of Rizpah and Merab (2 Sam 21) were put to death. Only Mephibosheth remained, listed in 1 Chron 8 with the longest genealogy. He became, perhaps, the ancestor of Saul, who was converted to Christ, became Paul, the preacher of grace in Christ. In the midst of judgment and even vengeance, the light of the grace of Christ shines.
It was in the following chapter that David’s heart birthed the idea of a temple, a permanent dwelling place for God. Jesus came to the temple (admittedly the replacement of the original!)
Jesus’ comment concerning stones is significant too. John Baptist had declared that God could raise up stones for Abraham in Luke 2.8. Now, at the climax of Jesus’ ministry and life, He declares that, if His followers were to stay silent, stilling their praise and adoration, those same stones would cry out. The reference to the dead religion of the day is clear.