This week, we follow Jesus in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and discover the raw power of Jesus alone on a donkey. We'll learn why a donkey is a more kingly steed than a chariot. We'll learn what it means that God's kingdom is "already, but not yet." And we'll learn what the wrath of God looks like from God's perspective.

Today's episode begins the story of the single week that changed all of history. It is a story about a conqueror who commanded no army, had no weapons, and made no attempt at self-defense - a conqueror who did nothing but teach, and pray, and suffer, and die.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:57 Jesus is no ordinary worldly conqueror
• 02:50 John 12:12-19 - Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
• 03:58 Previous “triumphal entries” of Jerusalem’s conquerors
• 04:26 Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the Temple of Solomon
• 05:41 Alexander the Great enters Jerusalem
• 06:52 Jesus enters the city on a donkey
• 07:14 What does the donkey mean in prophecy?
• 09:00 Other theories about the donkey
• 09:31 The Kumran Community theory
• 09:47 The donkey points us towards Jesus’ identity and mission
• 11:06 The Triumphal Entry is a fulfilment of Christmas prophecy
• 11:45 Jesus is ‘the prophet’ Moses foretold
• 12:17 The Kingdom of God is “already, but not yet”
• 12:47 Jesus’ entrance is like VE Day from World War II
• 13:53 Bishop Robert Barron: “God rules through his viceroys”
• 14:17 We are under the lordship of the True King in Christ
• 15:53 Jesus and the repentant thief
• 16:42 The Festival of Booths and its relevance to the triumphal entry
• 19:30 The Cleansing of the Temple
• 20:10 Jesus wants to restore the temple to its Edenic significance
• 21:11 God’s wrath and Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple
• 23:17 Jesus intends to restore all of our ‘temples’ as well
• 24:03 Conclusion

The Extraordinary Story is a podcast about the life of Jesus Christ, who entered the maze of our world to transform it into a path to Him, today and always. The Extraordinary Story is produced by Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and is written and hosted by Tom Hoopes.