Summary
The Entrance Hymn
The entrance hymn is one of the most stirring moments of the Divine Service. The congregation rises, the organ swells, the choir processes, and the cross is carried in—the same cross we will follow out again at the close of the liturgy. It is a moment of joy and reverence in which the people of God, gathered on holy ground, lift up praise placed upon their lips by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming Christ crucified and risen. The processional sets the tone, reminding us that this place is different and that our chief aim in coming is to give glory to God.
Scripture itself records two great entrance hymns that frame the saving work of Christ. The first is sung at His coming into the world. When the angel announced the Savior's birth, a multitude of the heavenly host broke into song: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors" Luke 2:14. That very hymn has become part of the liturgy itself—the Gloria in Excelsis—where the Church speaks back to God the words He first gave her through His angels. It is the entrance hymn of the Incarnation, praising the Father who sent the Son, the Prince of peace, to reconcile humanity to God (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-14; Philippians 2:6-7).
The second great entrance hymn is sung at Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. Riding on a colt that had never been ridden—displaying His divine omniscience and fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9—Jesus came humbly, not to reign by force but to die. The crowds spread their cloaks before Him, an ancient act of submission to a king, and waved palm branches, the symbol of joy and victory John 12:13. They cried "Hosanna to the Son of David" Matthew 21:9—a word that literally means "Save us." And the multitude of disciples sang, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!" Luke 19:38.
These two hymns are deliberate bookends. The first proclaims peace on earth; the second proclaims peace in heaven. They echo each other in language and praise, yet there is a crucial difference between them. The peace announced at Bethlehem was not yet effected. The Prince of peace had come, but the work of reconciliation was not complete until He carried our sin to the cross.
That is why the Palm Sunday hymn is sung on the road that leads to Calvary. The weight of the wooden cross is nothing compared to the weight of the world's sin laid upon Christ—sin that should have separated us from God for eternity, sin that should have condemned us to hell. He took it all and gave us His righteousness in exchange. As Paul writes, "Through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross" Colossians 1:19-20.
At the cross, the two entrance hymns meet. Peace on earth, sung by the angels, and peace in heaven, sung by the Palm Sunday crowd, are joined in the blood of Jesus. So when we rise each Sunday for the entrance hymn and follow the cross into the sanctuary, we are joining a song that began with the angels at Bethlehem, swelled on the road to Jerusalem, and now echoes in every gathering of God's people until He comes again.
Video citations
- "Entrance Hymn" Palm Sunday Sermon — Would you open your Bibles, please, with me, to the 19th chapter of the Book of Luke? We're going to pause our study and Acts as we enter into this holy week. As we follow the texts, this great…