In each of the four gospels, Christ’s entry into Jerusalem sets in motion the events leading to his death. Arriving as a prince of peace, the people in the crowd welcomed Jesus with palm branches and songs, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). This adulation, however, also provoked significant confrontations with religious and secular authorities. Because the gospel of John says that this happened six days before the Passover, Christians have long observed the Sunday before Easter as “Palm Sunday,” the beginning of Holy Week and of the story of Christ’s passion (suffering) and resurrection.

The scene specifically recalls a saying from the prophet Zechariah: “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” (Zechariah 9:9). The artist has solved the dilemma of Jesus supposedly riding two animals at once by having Jesus sit on the donkey, followed by a pony.

Jesus’ peaceful intent is signified through the sign of blessing he makes with his hand as he enters the holy city. Similarly, the crowd coming behind him is full of peaceful men and women. The text under the image invokes both Matthew and John’s accounts of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, adding the explanation that Jesus leads his people to a blessed rest in the life to come.