“Is This Really A Triumphal Entry?” Luke 19:28-40

Is this really a triumphal entry into Jerusalem?

That is how we have long celebrated it, based upon the melding together of the synoptic Gospels, but recently I read some background that made me think of Luke’s telling of this story in an entirely different way.

We begin this Sunday with what looks like a standard triumphal entry. In antiquity the conquering ruler or royal official would arrive seated on a horse or donkey, signaling it was not his war chariot. He comes not for battle but in peace.

We read about Jesus’ entry, hearkening back to Zechariah’s prophetic words.

But the scholar Brent Kinman points out that there was a protocol to be observed in these entry ceremonies in the Greco-Roman world.

The approaching king or ruler was to be met by religious, social and political officials from the city, far in advance of his entry.

Greetings were then…