The Arrival of the King
Taken from Mark The People's Bible Commentary
Description
The ARRIVAL of the KING
Passover time
It is important to remember that in the week or two leading up to Passover large numbers of pilgrims would be arriving in Jerusalem, which at this time of the year had to accommodate something like six times its normal population. Jesus and his disciples would not be the only pilgrims coming up the road from Jericho. This was the way most Galilean pilgrims would arrive. So the crowd who ‘went ahead and followed’ (v. 9) would be mainly from Galilee. The excited shouts of verses 9 and 10 are not those of the people of Jerusalem, but of northerners, like Jesus and his disciples, arriving for the festival. The verdict of the people of Jerusalem will be given later, and it will be very different: ‘Crucify him!’ (15:11–15)…