When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” Matthew 21:10 NASB
Have you heard people say that Jesus never claimed to be God? Clearly, they have never studied the Bible. Through His words and actions Jesus fulfills over 300 prophecies about the long-awaited Messiah. The fulfillment of one of those prophecies was like a spiritual earthquake.
Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, which fulfilled a prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. Four hundred years before Jesus, Zechariah clearly predicts, “your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” We call this event in history “The Triumphal Entry” and celebrate it on Palm Sunday.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on that donkey, the Bible (NASB) says that “all the city was stirred.” “Stirred” is “seio” in the Greek (Strongs #472), which is a verb meaning to rock, as in vibrate back and forth; to agitate; to tremble as with fear or concern. The verb is also translated as move, quake, shake. This verb indicates a strong shaking.
The whole city of Jerusalem was rocked by a spiritual quake. People must have felt the movement in the spiritual realm because they were asking, “Who is this?”
In a parallel passage in John chapter 12, Jesus declared the three great triumphs that were set into motion by His Spiritual earthquake. First, judgment had come into the world (v. 31). Before Jesus, God overlooked ignorance (Acts 17:30-31). Once Jesus sacrificed His life for the sin of the world, all humans were thrown into the valley of decision. There are only two camps - the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. God will no longer excuse ignorance; He will judge every person based on whether or not they repented and believed on Jesus. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the spiritual atmosphere changed. He was going to the cross and judgment had come.
The second triumph was casting out the devil (John 12:31). At the cross, Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities, those supernatural forces of evil operating against us (Col. 2:15). Now the ruler of this world (the enemy) is stripped of his power over us who are in Christ Jesus. Praise God! The devil knows his time is short; he is killing, stealing and destroying all he can before he is thrown into the pit (Rev. 20:3).
The third triumph announced at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the donkey was that He will draw all people to Himself (John 12:32). Jesus rose from the grave and thus became the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-27). We who are in Christ will also be raised to eternal life with Him. He will draw us to Himself. We will live forever with Him in heaven. This is why we celebrate the empty tomb at Easter.
Only God could announce judgment on the world, strip the enemy of his power and offer eternal life to all who choose Him. There is no doubt about it; Jesus is God.