Mark depicts an entry which is triumphal only for Jesus’ followers who have not yet understood his destiny as Son of Man. For Jesus, it is an entry into suffering and death. He enters Jerusalem as a pilgrim, and as more than a pilgrim. He makes no response to a royal acclamation, but his silence seems to suggest, “I am Messiah, and I will save; but not as you expect.”

The irony of this rag-tag procession is that its enthusiastic participants are wrong in their expectation that Jesus will immediately restore the fortunes of Jerusalem, and yet they are right in their hope that he is Messiah. He is no less King than their words suggest, but his kingdom is other and more than they dare to think.

from Mark