The Three Reversals of Palm Sunday
- Chuck Ammons
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Why Jesus is Unlike Any King We’ve Ever Known
On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem in what came to be known as the “Triumphal Entry.”
At first glance, it looked like a moment of revival. Jesus arrived, and the people bowed before Him as their King. Shouting “Hosanna,” they worshiped, using great church words like, “peace, blessing, glory, and salvation.” John says the crowd grew so large, the religious leaders lamented that the “whole world was going after Him” (John 12:19).
Yet one week later, this same crowd was found calling for the execution of Jesus, gritting their teeth as they declared, “We have no king but Caesar.”
What in the world went wrong?
The problem wasn’t the people’s enthusiasm. It was what they were enthusiastic about that led to their downfall.
They expected a bloodthirsty conqueror who would rain violence and vengeance on their enemies—a heavenly deliverance for them…and hell on earth to anyone who dared to stand in their way.
But from the very start, Jesus made it abundantly clear that He is unlike any King we’ve ever known. In three reversals, He turned the whole world upside down.
Jesus Rode on the Wrong Animal
Every other king came to town on a warhorse—a beast of aggression meant to display their dominance.
Every other king arrived in elaborate robes and laurel wreaths—a lavish display of godlike grandeur.
Every other king was surrounded by a massive entourage—battalions of armed soldiers whose flawless formations boasted of power and control.
In contrast, Jesus arrived in the common, everyday clothing of the people, joined on the road by only His disciples—a ragtag group who would later be described as “ordinary, uneducated men” (Acts 4:13).
And Jesus did not ride into town on a warhorse, because He didn’t come as a wager of war. He came as the Prince of Peace.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey—a common service animal known most for carrying the baggage of weary travelers so they could reach their destination.
Jesus road on a “beast of burden,” because He came to carry ours.
“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis…You will find refreshment and rest in me.”
Matthew 11:28-30 TPT
Unlike the kings of earth who choose high places of honor, our King came so low His feet dragged in the very dirt where we so often find ourselves. He came to take our sin, our shame, our striving, our self-hatred.
He came for the weary, the addicted, the hopeless, and the downtrodden.
For all of us who’ve tried in vain to offload all of our silent struggles and sufferings, a different kind of King came to town.
And He was just getting started.
Jesus Rode in the Wrong Direction
Kings typically entered their cities from the west.
In Jerusalem, Roman authorities—like Pontius Pilate—would have approached from Caesarea Maritima, to the west. Even Rome itself lay to the west.
And the triumphal entry bears striking resemblance to Rome’s military parades, which followed a recognizable pattern.
Roman Military Parade Route -- West to East
The king began outside the city, riding first through the Campus Martius—the “field of Mars,” the god of war.
From here, he passed through a ceremonial gate like the Porta Triumphalis—the “gate of triumph.”
He then moved through the city in spectacle and strength, parading their spoils of war.
The high point of the entire procession was his arrival at the Temple of Jupiter, where sacrifices were offered, attributing victory to divine favor and reinforcing the message, the gods are indeed on our side.
Contrast this with Jesus’ arrival.
Power came from the west, but our Savior reversed the parade route, arriving from the east.
Jesus' Triumphal Entry Route -- East to West
Jesus descends from the Mount of Olives—the place where He often went to pray (Luke 22:39), where He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), and where Zechariah promised the Messiah would come and pour out living water in the valley.
(Who could have imagined the “living water” would be both the tears of our King and the blood and water that would soon flow from His side?)
Jesus came from the Mount of Olives into the city. He did go to the Temple, but not in the fashion of His predecessors. He did not go to offer a sacrifice, but to end the entire sacrificial system.
By week’s end, still moving westward, Jesus found Himself in Gethsemane—“the oil press.” Here, our Savior began to be crushed so the Holy Spirit would indeed flow as “rivers of living water” to us (John 7:37-39).
Finally, Jesus reached the end of His procession outside the city walls, in the place where criminals were condemned.
Where every other ruler came from a field of war, through a gate of triumph, and into temples to consecrate their violence as holy…
Jesus ended our addiction to warfare by moving in the opposite direction.
He didn’t offer sacrifices in a temple. The temple of God went outside the city to become our sacrifice.
Jesus didn’t merely take a different path.
He reversed the entire story.
Jesus Came as the Wrong Kind of King
Ancient military parades often culminated in one final, gruesome detail.
At the end of their procession, the defeated ruler of a rival nation would stand bound, awaiting public execution—a final display of dominance. A supposed peace through violence.
Jesus, on the other hand, walked the road into Jerusalem alone in perhaps His most prophetic declaration. He stands at once as both the victor…and the victim.
In the triumphal entry, Jesus begins the via Dolorosa as both the “enemy” we would slaughter and the means of our redemption.
Every other king conquered in vengeance, by shedding the blood of their enemies.
Jesus said, “Vengeance is mine,” and then climbed onto a cross to shed His own blood—for His enemies.
Peace…through forgiveness.
In the final twist of Palm Sunday, we see that the Savior of the world is also the final scapegoat humanity would ever need.
The Lamb led to slaughter.
Our sacrifice.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…” Galatians 3:13
And yet—even though the powers of darkness could not yet see the mystery unfolding before them, Jesus was not alone on the road into Jerusalem.
Through self-emptying love that chooses forgiveness, a new Kingdom was being established on earth, disarming generations of revenge and violence and ushering in the age of redemption and rescue.
In this moment, Jesus was indeed leading a defeated tyrant to his final end.
“He forgave us all our sins…having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15
Palm Sunday changed everything.
Our King does not rule from a warhorse. He comes as the Prince of Peace.
Our King does not employ violence or vengeance. He extends grace and forgiveness to all who will receive Him.
Our King does not kill His enemies. He dies in their place so that every enemy can become God’s friend.
In the end, we will each of us must choose which King we will follow—and which Kingdom we will live from.
May all who carry His name find the courage to reverse the way we walk— letting go of the military parades of Rome, and embracing the way of the Cross.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Wow. Great insight!