Icon of the Entry Into Jerusalem

Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem after the Rising of Lazarus. The adults greet the Messiah with green branches while the children spread garments on the ground. The Entry into Jerusalem is one of the great feasts of the church and is recorded in all four gospels.

In the Icon of the Feast of Palm Sunday, Christ is the central figure, depicted seated upon the colt of a donkey as He enters Jerusalem, a fulfillment of the prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9. Christ is blessing with His left hand. 

 

Here He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Anointed One who has come to redeem us from our sins and break the power of death. The colt, one of the animals that were considered unclean according to the Law, is symbolic of the inclusion of all peoples of all nations in the new covenant that will come through the death and Resurrection of Christ ^{(Isaiah 62:10-11)}. It is also a sign that our Lord has revealed a heavenly and spiritual kingdom that offers true and enduring peace.

 

On the left, the disciples accompany Jesus in His Triumphal Entry. Depicted on the right are the Jews  who greet Him crying “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” The word “Hosanna” means “Save, I pray” or “Save now.”

 

The children are the small people who are greeting Christ with palm branches and laying these and their garments on the ground before Christ as tokens of honor for one who is acknowledged as a King. The city of Jerusalem is shown as the walled buildings, and the temple is depicted as the building with the dome.