One can hardly keep from marching while singing “No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet”. The English tune KINGSFOLD fits the opening stanza well as the text details what did NOT happen when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. There was NO tramp of soldiers’ marching feet, NO sound of music, NO bells, NO city gates swinging open. As this Palm Sunday hymn continues, the text tells us what DID happen, what it led to, and what the result is.

Notice the repetition midway through each stanza of “The King of glory”. This is taken from Psalm 24:9: “Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”

Likewise, consider the repetition at the end of each stanza: “Behold, behold your King!”. This is taken from the prophetic words of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

It is also Pontius Pilate’s words to the crowd in John 19:14: “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

Of course, Pilate did not realize the truth of his words. As Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week, he was not welcomed as a king. He was not preceded by soldiers and hailed by trumpets. Instead, he rode a humble colt and was greeted with sounds of “Hosanna!” meaning “Save us!”. But Zechariah’s prophecy was also true; although no earthly king, Jesus came from his heavenly kingdom down to earth to suffer and die for us.

We know that shouts of “Crucify him!” soon took the place of the hosannas. But we also know the end of the story—that three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and soon ascended into heaven to take his place there as king. “Behold, behold your King!” indeed. For Jesus is the heavenly King who has redeemed us from sin, from death, and from the power of the devil. As the Small Catechism tells us, “not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death, that I may be his own and live under him in his kingdom…just as he is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true!”

Review questions:

1. Which day of the Church Year is this hymn written for?

2. How did Jesus enter Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week?

3. What kind of king is Jesus? Is he an earthly king?