The name “Triumphal Entry” is not in the bible. It is added later by church fathers who noted the similarity between this event and something in the surrounding culture: the Roman Triumph.

In ancient Rome, which prized military glory above almost everything, the highest honor that could be awarded was called a “Triumph”. If you were victorious in a foreign war, winning glory for Rome, when you came home the Senate might honor you with a parade of incredible magnificence. You would ride into Rome in a chariot pulled by four horses, with your captives and soldiers and family with you, and you would be decked out like a god. The streets would be thronged with adoring citizens and you would give lavish gifts as you progressed to the temple on the Capitoline Hill where you would complete the ritual by offering a sacrifice to Jupiter.

The whole point was the glory of Rome, the glory of the victor, and the setting apart of the victor as divine.

Note the similarities. Jesus enters the city and receives lavish praises and recognition of his status as more than just a teacher, and then he progresses to the temple.

But there are stark differences, too. Jesus turns everything upside down, doesn’t he? He enters on a borrowed donkey, not a mighty chariot. He is welcomed by the poor, not the rich. And when he goes to the temple, it is not to offer sacrifices, but to pass judgment. To a Roman observer his actions would have been both laughably humble and horrifically arrogant. That’s about right.

And so it is with the gift he gives. Eph. 4 describes Christ’s triumphal entry into Heaven, leading captivity captive and giving gifts to men. The gifts he gives are laughably humble and unspeakably glorious. Here is one of them: bread and wine. If you came looking for glory, you will be disappointed. It’s just bread. It’s just wine.

But no. It’s the body of Christ broken for you and the blood of Christ shed for you. It is sign and seal of the most baffling of realities: that you are joined to the Son of God and brought into the festal joy and eternal life of the Triune God. That you are part of the noble company which progresses in triumph not through the city of man, but unto the city of God, conquering demons and death itself.

As you go about the work of your vocation, this holds true. You are following in the train of Christ’s victory march, having received his gifts. Our enemies see only laughable humility and offensive arrogance, and they treat us accordingly, but that is unimportant. We follow our master and receive his gifts.