Key Takeaways:
- Palm Sunday – a.k.a. the Triumphal Entry and the start of Passion Week – is a historically and prophetically significant day.
- Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilled a specific Old Testament prophecy in Zechariah – written centuries earlier.
- The timing of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem aligns precisely with a prophetic timeline in Daniel 9:25 for the arrival of “Messiah the Prince.”
- The crowd along the pathway into Jerusalem proclaimed Jesus to be the promised Messiah, the King of Israel, the son of David.
- The Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus to rebuke his disciples for falsely proclaiming him to be the Messiah.
- Jesus replied that if the people didn’t proclaim him to be the Messiah – the heir to the throne of King David – the stones would do so.
- He made that statement because it was the exact day that Daniel had predicted that “Messiah the Prince” would come.
- Old Testament prophecy exactly fulfilled in the future is good evidence to believe that God is the real author of Scripture – not man.
Palm Sunday.
The Triumphal Entry.
The beginning of “Passion Week.”
Familiar names for the same event – a seemingly non-important event in the life of Jesus of Nazareth in the early 1st century.
But there’s something else about this day that makes it a very important day in history.
Something you’ve probably never heard about regarding Palm Sunday…
Fulfilled prophecy.
Why is fulfilled prophecy important?
Because most people today believe that the Bible contains man’s thoughts and opinions about God.
They don’t believe that the Bible actually IS God’s word.
Sadly, even most Christians don’t believe that the Bible is God’s word.
But prophesies written in the Old Testament hundreds of years before they were exactly fulfilled in the New Testament give us confidence that the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures really are God’s words to mankind.
Here are 3 important facts about Bible prophecy that you should know – and that should shape your opinion about the Bible’s true authorship:
Fact #1:
Forty men wrote the books of the Bible, but there was only one Author.
The apostle Peter wrote, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16)
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
The apostle Paul – in giving instructions to Timothy – said, “Every Scripture is God-breathed – given by His inspiration – and is profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness in holy living in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action…” (2 Timothy 3:16, Amplified Bible)
The writers of what became our English Bible understood that they were merely transcribing what God – through the Holy Spirit – was instructing them to write.
Fact #2:
Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was the exact fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.
All four of the New Testament gospel writers mention that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey or a colt.
The Synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – mention that Jesus instructed two of his disciples to go into the village of Bethpage, where they would find a colt near the entrance.
They were to untie the colt, tell the owner that the Lord needs it, and bring it to Jesus at the Mount of Olives.
Matthew includes the detail that there were two donkeys near the entrance to the village – a donkey and a colt.
According to Matthew, the two disciples were to bring both of them to Jesus.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention that the donkey’s colt was “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet.
The prophet was Zechariah.
Zechariah prophesied in Jerusalem in 520 BC – while the city remained in ruins following the Babylonian captivity.
How do we know he wrote in 520 BC?
Because he tells us in the first sentence of his book.
“In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet…” (Zechariah 1:1)
Darius I was the king of Persia from 522 BC to 486 BC.
Speaking of the future of Jerusalem, Zechariah wrote,
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
Not just any donkey, but a donkey’s colt “on which no one yet has ever sat” – Mark 11:2 and Luke 19:30.
Fact #3:
The exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey was the exact fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.
A large crowd of Jewish people always came to Jerusalem every year for Passover.
Sunday – the first day of the week – was a heavy travel day for newcomers arriving for the Passover on Thursday at sundown.
As Jesus rode from Mount of Olives into the city, “the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him…”
(John 12:12-13a)
Here’s what they shouted:
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” (John 12:13)
They were quoting from Psalm 118:25 – a passage which the Jewish religious leaders understood to be describing the Messiah, the promised King of Israel.
How did the Jewish Pharisees in the crowd react to Jesus being proclaimed the promised Messiah and king?
They said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” (Luke 19:39)
Then Jesus gave a very strange response: “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40)
Jesus wasn’t exaggerating or using hyperbole.
He made this statement because that day – April 6, 32 AD – was the exact day prophesized by Daniel that “Messiah the Prince” would come.
Daniel was one of the first captives taken from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar in 606 BC.
While he was studying the writings of Jeremiah regarding “the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:2), God revealed to Daniel a prophetic timeline:
“So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.” (Daniel 9:25)
The background and the factual elements of this prophecy are explained in great detail in the book, The Coming Prince, by Sir Robert Anderson.
Here are the main points:
- While there were two different decrees by two different Persian kings regarding rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, there was only one decree given to rebuild the city.
- That decree was given by King Artaxerxes in the Jewish month of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign. (See Nehemiah chapter 2)
- The Julian date of the 1st of Nisan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes was March 14th, 445 BC.
- Sixty-nine weeks of prophetic years – 173,880 days – ended on April 6th, 32 AD.
Lest you do the math and discover that 69 x 7 x 365 = 176,295 days, not 173,880 days, keep in mind that the Jewish religious and prophetic year was 360 days, not 365 ¼ days.
The detailed calculation of the 69 weeks of Jewish years is contained on page 128 in chapter 10 of The Coming Prince.
The only rational explanation for the precise accuracy of this prophecy – and the accuracy of over 300 other Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled literally – is that God Himself is the author of the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek manuscripts.
What do you think? Email me at [email protected].
Action:
1. Read Daniel chapter 9. It describes how God revealed then prophecy of the “seventy weeks” to Daniel. This chapter also prophesies the death of Messiah the Prince, the future destruction of Jerusalem after being rebuilt, and what happens in the end ties during the 70th week – the final 7 years of human history.
2. Get The Coming Prince by Sir Robert Anderson. It’s a very technical book written by a former Scotland Yard criminal investigator. But Chapter 10 – which is only 10 pages long – explains the fulfillment of Daniel 9:25 in a logical, understanding way.
FAQs:
Q. What is Palm Sunday and why is it important?
A. Palm Sunday marks the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beginning of Passion Week leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection. It is also a moment of prophetic fulfillment, not just a historical event.
Q. What prophecy did Jesus fulfill by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey?
A. Jesus’ entry fulfilled a prophecy in Book of Zechariah (9:9), which foretold that Israel’s king would come humbly, riding on a donkey—specifically a colt.
Q. What did the crowd shout while Jesus was riding on the donkey?
A. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” from Psalm 118.
Q. What is the meaning of the crowd’s proclamation?
A. They were acknowledging Jesus as the promised Messiah and heir to the throne of King David.
Q. Why were the Pharisees upset with what was happening?
A. The Pharisees objected because the crowd was openly declaring Jesus to be the Messiah—a claim they rejected. They asked Jesus to silence His followers, but He refused.
Q. What did Jesus mean when He said “the stones will cry out”?
A. This statement emphasized the prophetic significance of the moment. The statement was not symbolic language, but a declaration that prophecy was being fulfilled at that exact time—something that could not be stopped.
Q. Why is fulfilled prophecy important?
A. Fulfilled prophecy is evidence that the Bible is divinely inspired, rather than a collection of human ideas or writings.
Q. What should readers do if they want to learn more?
A. Readers are encouraged to study Book of Daniel chapter 9 and explore interpretations of biblical prophecy, including the detailed analysis found in The Coming Prince.
About Craig Huey:
Craig Huey is a longtime direct-response marketing strategist and publisher who focuses on the intersection of faith, politics, culture, and economic freedom. He is president of ElectionForum.org and the founder of Creative Direct Marketing Group (CDMG), where his team has tested thousands of marketing variables and earned more than 100 industry awards. Craig publishes commentary at CraigHuey.com and co-hosts media projects that equip Americans to understand what’s happening—and what to do next.