Prefiguring Salvation –Manna in the Desert and the Bread From Heaven, Part I

The Master of the Hours of Margaret of Cleves, The Fall of the Manna
From a Biblia pauperum
Dutch, c. 1405
London, British Library
MS King's 5, fol. 10

This is the first of a series of three articles regarding the interpretation of the miracle of the manna and its relationship to Jesus' statements about his flesh as the bread from heaven.  Please be sure to read all three.  Links to the second and  third essays are found at the end of this essay.

















“When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,

they themselves got into boats

and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

And when they found him across the sea they said to him,

"Rabbi, when did you get here?"

Jesus answered them and said,

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

you are looking for me not because you saw signs

but because you ate the loaves and were filled.

Do not work for food that perishes

but for the food that endures for eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give you.

For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."

So they said to him,

"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

Jesus answered and said to them,

"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

So they said to him,

"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?

What can you do?

Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat."

So Jesus said to them,

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;

my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,

"Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them,

"I am the bread of life;

whoever comes to me will never hunger,

and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

John 6:24-35 (Gospel for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B)

On the eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year B in the Sunday cycle, the church begins a series of Gospel readings, which continues over the next three Sundays, that tells us of the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ revelations regarding his intent to share his eternal life with humanity.1  Several times he tells them how, through his self-sacrifice and through his establishment of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, he will accomplish this.  He offers them the “true bread from heaven”, which is himself, his own flesh and blood, and does this through reference to the account of one of the miracles given by God to the Israelites during their forty years of desert wandering.  These food miracles, found in Chapters 16 and 17 of the Book of Genesis, are manna and quail, both of which God gives them from the sky, and water from the barren rock, struck by Moses at God’s command (Exodus 17:3-7). 

The Isrealites Gathering Manna
From Weltchronik by Rudolf von Ems
German (Regensburg), c. 1400-1410
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
MS 33, fol. 81v

In this first of the series of Gospel readings the scene for this teaching is set immediately after Jesus has miraculously fed 5,000 people with just a few loaves of bread and some fish.  People are, naturally, drawn to him, hoping to get some more, hoping to see the miracle repeated, hoping to see this newest prophet with the amazing powers.  Just hoping…..

Eager to witness a miracle they goad him by asking “What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." (John 6:30-31) In fact, the Church has chosen the passage from Exodus which presents this exact story, as the first reading for the same Mass of the eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  “The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!  But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" (Exodus 16:2-3)

In answer Jesus promises them “true bread from heaven”.  Later, he will make clear that this “true bread” is his own Body and Blood, something that many of them will find hard to understand or to believe in, just as many have struggled with trying to come to terms with this right up to the present day, a struggle that can only be ended by trust in God’s Word.

The connection between the manna of the Old Testament and the Eucharist of the New Testament is an old one, going back to Jesus himself in these Gospel quotations. Many times the Gospels suggest that he mentioned the episode of the manna in preparing his disciples for the gift they would receive at the Last Supper, along with the command to “Do this in memory of me.”

The Miracle of the Manna in Christian Art

It also has, as we shall see, a long tradition in the history of Christian art.  Early Christian art often called attention to pre-figurations of Jesus’ actions that can be found in the Old Testament.  One favorite topic was the story of Jonah and the Whale.  The three days Jonah spent in the whale’s belly was equated to the time Jesus spent in the tomb before the Resurrection.  Other Old Testament scenes were also seen as pre-figurations of the life and ministry of Jesus. 

In the fourth decade of the fifth century, AD 432, the newly built church of Santa Sabina in Rome received a set of wooden doors carved with scenes from the Old and New Testaments.  These doors still survive in place today, miraculous witnesses to more than 1,500 years of prayer and devotion, but also of wars and “renovations”.  One of the most famous panels on the doors is the very first representation of the Crucifixion.  Another, less well known set of panels depicts three miracles of Jesus, including the feeding of the 5,000 and the Miracle of Cana, while its companion depicts the Miracles of Moses, including the miracle of the Manna in the desert and the water from the rock.

 

Moses in the Wilderness, Miracle of the Quail,
Miracle of the Manna, Water from the Rock
Late Antique/Early Christian, 432
Rome, Church of Sainta Sabina

Miracles of Jesus:  Curing the Blind Man,
Multiplying the Loaves & Fishes,
Changing Water to Wine at Cana
Late Antique/Early Christian, 432
Rome, Church of Santa Sabina

This proves the point that even as early as 432 this was a firm belief of the church, that the Eucharist/Body of Christ is foretold not only by the actions of important figures in the Old Testament, but also by the actions of Jesus himself in the New.  Consequently, many images of the fall and gathering of the manna in the wilderness are paired with other events, taken from both the Old and New Testaments.

 

The Miracle of the Manna Paired with other Old Testament Scenes

When paired with other Old Testament images of actions or events they are understood to forecast actions or events from the life of Jesus, especially events that foretell his sufferings in the Passion and his establishment of the Eucharist.  

Moses Summons Water from the Rock and The Miracle of the Manna
From a set of Old Testament Miniatures
French (Paris), c. 1244-1255
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M638, fol. 9va

Lest the viewer forget who is the real source of these miracles, a small figure of God looks down from heaven in each. The miracle of water from the rock was seen as a forecast of Baptism.

The Master of James IV of Scotland, The Israelites Gathering Manna
From the Spinola Hours
Flemish (Ghent), c. 1510-1520
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
MS Ludwig IX 8, fol. 49

Here the scene of gathering manna is paired with the meeting between Abraham and the priest-king of Salem, Melchisedek, himself seen as a foreshadowing of Jesus, as his sacrifice of bread and wine foreshadow the Eucharist too.

The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Isrealites Gathering Manna
From a Missal
German (Maria Laach), 1558
London, British Library
MS Harley 2835, fol. 145

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, averted by divine intervention at the last moment, alludes to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus in obedience to his Father's will, while the fall of manna is a foretaste of the Eucharist, the True Bread from heaven.

This study continues in two more articles, with the images combining the Miracle of the Manna with the events of the life of Jesus from the New Testament and with more interesting images.

• Prefiguring Salvation -- Manna in the Desert and the Bread from Heaven, Part II
• Prefiguring Salvation -- Manna in the Desert and the Bread from Heaven, Part III

______________________________________________________________________
1,  These readings are: 

• Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – John 6:41-51   
• Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – John 6:51-58                                                     
• Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – John 6: 60-69

© M. Duffy, 2018

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Entering Jerusalem, the Hinge to the Passion

Pietro Lorenzetti, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Italian, c. 1320
Assisi, Basilica of San Francesco, Lower Church

“When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem

and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,

"Go into the village opposite you,

and immediately you will find an ass tethered,

and a colt with her.

Untie them and bring them here to me.

And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,

'The master has need of them.'

Then he will send them at once."

This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet

might be fulfilled:

Say to daughter Zion,

"Behold, your king comes to you,

meek and riding on an ass,

and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.

They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,

and he sat upon them.

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,

while others cut branches from the trees

and strewed them on the road.

The crowds preceding him and those following

kept crying out and saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David;

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;

hosanna in the highest."

And when he entered Jerusalem

the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"

And the crowds replied,

"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.

Gospel of Matthew 21:1-11, Gospel Read at the Procession of the Palms, Palm Sunday, Year A

Each year on the Sunday before Easter, known universally as Palm Sunday, the Catholic Church reads two distinct Gospels during each Mass.  The first is read in an unusual position within the Mass, at the very beginning.  This is the point at which palms are blessed and we recall the joyous entry of Jesus into Jerusalem during the preparation for what would be His last Passover under the Old Law. 

Attributed to Sante Avanzini, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Cuttings from the Missal of Innocent X
Italian (Rome), c.1644
London, British Library
MS Additional 18196, fol. 88

Very often, parishes assemble in some location outside the church building, read the Gospel and bless the palms, then recreate the entry by processing into their church, carrying the blessed palms.  During this procession the mood is joyful and light-hearted. The hymns sung during the procession are all about praise, like "All Glory, Laud and Honor" or are settings of "Hosanna Filio David", the cry of the Jerusalem crowds.  There is a note of triumph.

Glass Roundel, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
German, 15th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

When Mass continues inside the church, however, the tone changes abruptly.  The sorrowful hymn "O Sacred Head Surrounded" may be the musical choice at Offertory.  The Old Testament reading speaks of beatings and bleeding, of buffets and spitting (Isaiah 50:4-7).  The responsorial psalm refrain is “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” and the Psalm itself (Psalm 22) speaks of mocking and the piercing of hands and feet, the numbering of bones.  The New Testament reading from Philippians tells us that Jesus became “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-11).  And the Gospel reading is The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, read in its entirety.*  All the joy of the entry has been crushed by contemplation of the terrible ordeal of Calvary.

The entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem is, therefore, a kind of hinge.  On one side there is the public ministry of Jesus, the years from the beginning of His ministry, with its teaching, its miracles, its healings.  On the other is the time of pain through which He must pass to complete His earthly mission.  This day, with its joyful procession is the transition point.  Thus, the entry itself has significance.  It is the beginning of the end.  Once He has committed to entering Jerusalem, there is no way out.  He must go through with the final work given Him by His Father. 

The First Images of Christ Entering Jerusalem

Sarcophagus with Biblical Scenes
Roman, 4th Century
Vatican, Pio-Cristiano Museum

The Church has recognized the importance of this moment in its art for a very long time.  Barely had the Church been permitted to worship freely by the Edict of Milan (315) than Christians of means began to order sculpted marble sarcophagi for their tombs to demonstrate their faith.  And some of the earliest of these incorporate images of the Entry into Jerusalem among the biblical images that form their decoration.  

 

 

 

Sarcophagus with Scenes from the Lives of Christ and St. Peter
Roman, early 300s with modern reconstructions
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The most famous of these is the securely dated tomb of the high Roman official, Senator and Urban Prefect of Rome, Junius Bassus, now in the Vatican.  

 

 

Sarcophagus of the Urban Prefect Junius Bassus
Roman, 359
Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica

While some of the early sarcophagi place the Entry to Jerusalem slightly to one side of the center, the sarcophagus of Bassus places it in the center panel, just below the image of Christ, seated in majesty, giving His law to the disciples, an image known as the Traditio Legis. ¹   This important location, emphasizes the importance of the event, which was already seen as part of the Passion, scenes of which are depicted in the right upper quadrant of the sarcophagus (Christ led before Pilate and Christ standing before Pilate).

Sarcophagus of the Urban Prefect Junius Bassus
Detail -- Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Roman, 359
Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica

It should be mentioned here that, at this time, images of the Crucifixion were not part of Christian art.  This sarcophagus was carved around 359 (the date of death of the Senator), which is barely twenty years on from the abolition of crucifixion as a punishment of the Empire by Constantine.  The first images of a crucified Christ, barely recognizable as such, were still twenty years in the future.  

Very quickly, indeed with these first images, the iconography of the Entry into Jerusalem became set.  It derives partly from images of a Roman triumph, although that portrayed a very different atmosphere.  It derives also partly from adherence to the descriptions found in the Gospels, which were, at that time, just achieving canonical status. ² 

 

The Triumph of Titus
Roman, 81
Rome, Arch of Titus

The connection to the Roman triumph is not particularly astounding, given that these Roman Christians, who were living in the heart of what was still the capitol of the Empire, would have turned naturally to the kinds of triumphal procession with which they were familiar.  The triumph provided a model for showing the movement of someone using a horse for propulsion and for the reaction of those around him.  It need hardly be mentioned that the image of the lone man seated on a donkey is very far from the image of the Emperor driving a four-horse quadriga chariot, with a crown held over his head by a figure of winged Victory.  

 

Ivory Pyx with the Scene of Jesus Entering Jerusalem
Byzantine (Constantinople), 6th Century
Cleveland, Museum of Art
Palms have been added to the basic image.

What is most interesting, however, is the fact that these images slightly predate the first generally accepted list of Christian narratives that named which of the many writings then in circulation were to be accepted as “canonical”.  For, the creation of images such as these implies that there was already a widespread agreement about the events the Gospels describe, and what they might have looked like – before there were generally agreed canonical texts. ³  This points out the importance of the orally transmitted teachings of the Church, of Tradition, in the formation of Christian belief.  People already knew what the stories were and how to depict them, before there was an officially recognized New Testament to tell them.

Ivory Book Cover (Back Cover), Scenes from the Life of Christ
Byzantine, c. 550-600
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9384, Cover
The scene of Jesus Entering Jerusalem is at the far right of the very bottom register.

Rabbula Gospels, Scenes from the Life of Christ
Byzantine (Syria), 586
Florence, Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana
MS Cod. Plut. 1, fol. 11v

Christ Entering Jerusalem
From the Rossano Gospels
Byzantine, 6th Century
Rossano, Diocesan Museum

The number of persons involved has increased and now includes children. A representation of the city of Jerusalem has also been added at the right. It is a walled city with a city gateway and some of its inhabitants are joining in the festivities from their windows.

Medieval Images

The earliest images all include the figure of Jesus, seated on a donkey, while someone lays a garment under the donkey’s feet, with another person shown in a tree.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Sacramentary of Drogo
French (Metz), c. 850
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9428, fol. 43r

Ivory Plaque, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Byzantine (Constantinople), 10th Century
Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin

This beautiful Byzantine ivory includes a wealth of detail, some of it charming, such as the man and woman welcoming Jesus at the city gate.  The man holds a small child by the hand, while his wife carries another child on her shoulders, holding it by the ankle, just as people still do today!  That child is the only one with a palm branch.

Ivory Plaque, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Ottonian (Milan), c. 900-925
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Comparison of this plaque with the Byzantine plaque above offers a useful demonstration of the difference between the continuity of skill found in Byzantium and the skills being reconstructed in Western Europe during this period.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Benedictional of Aethelwold
English, c. 963-984
London, British Library
MS Additional 49598, fol. 45v

The Entry Into Jerusalem
From an Evangelarium
German (Prü m), 11th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 17325, fol. 25r

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Gospel Book of Otto III
German (Reichenau), c. 1000
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 4453, fol. 234v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Bernward Column
German, c. 1000-1020
Hildesheim, Church of St. Michael

To this was added, over time, varying numbers of disciples, people waving palms, children, architectural elements, and, eventually, around the year 1000, the donkey’s foal.  The inclusion of the latter is another interesting feature. 

The Two Disciples Request the Donkey and Foal
From the Book of Pericopes of Heinrich II
German (Reichenau), c. 1007-1012
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 4452, fol. 77v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Book of Pericopes of Heinrich II
German (Reichenau), c. 1007-1012
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 4452, fol. 78r

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Benedictional
German (Regensburg), c. 1030-1040
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
MS Ludwig VII 1, fol. 36r

The Appearance of the Donkey Foal

Only the Gospel of Matthew mentions that the donkey on which Jesus rode was a mother, with a foal.  As anyone who has seen working mares can testify, their foals follow them wherever they go, unless restrained.  Therefore, the inclusion of a foal means that the person creating the work of art knows, or has been instructed by someone else, that the Evangelist Matthew, a written source, specified a female donkey.  This is another indicator that, at the beginning, before the Gospels as we know them became canonically recognized, the images were less determined by the written word in the Bible than by oral tradition.

After about the year 1000 the foal was rarely omitted until, in the fourteenth century, its inclusion began to taper off.

Master of San Baudelio de Berlanga, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Spanish, c. 1125
Indianapolis, Museum of Art

Tweede Groep, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Psalter
Flemish (Ghent), c. 1270-1280
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 72, fol. 11v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Psalter-Hours of Yolande of Soissons
French, c, 1280-1300
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 729, fol. 310v

Giotto, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Italian, c. 1304-1306
Padua, Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel

The foal may not be immediately noticeable, but you can see his or her small head appearing between its mother and the figure of Saint Peter at the front left at about the level of Peter's knees.

Duccio, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Italian, c. 1308-1311
Siena, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

Jacqemart and Collaborators, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Grandes heures de Jean de Berry
French (Paris), 1409
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 919, fol. 61r

Jean Colombe, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Hours of Anne of France
French (Bourges), 1473
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 677, fol. 11v

Master of Edward IV, Jesus Prepares to Enter Jerusalem
From the Vita Christi
Flemish (Bruges), c. 1487-1490
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 894, fol. 140r

In this unusual treatment, Jesus, clad in brown and standing at the right, waits while two of the Disciples (John the Evangelist, who holds the reins, and one other) drape the back of the donkey. At the same time, her foal is on his knees having a meal.

The iconography of the Entry into Jerusalem remained surprisingly stable through time.  More and more figures were added, generally spectators with palms.   Greater emphasis was placed on the physical surroundings of the event.  The city came into focus, first by representing the city gate and associated buildings.  Later, an entire cityscape was depicted.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Gospel Lectinary
Austrian (Salzburg), c. 1070-1090
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
 MS M 780, fol. 26r

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Psalter of Christina of Markyate
English (St. Alban's), c. 1124-1145
Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, p. 37

Mosaic, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Italian, c. 1140-1170
 Palermo, Cappella Palatina

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Huntingfield Psalter
English (Oxford), c. 1212-1220
New  York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 43, fol. 21vb

Soissons Workshop. Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Psalter
French (Paris area), c. 1229-1246
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 283, fol. 14v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Livre d'images de Madame Marie
Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 15251, fol. 29r

Workshop of Pacino da Bonaguida, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From Scenes from the Life of Christ and the Life of the Blessed Gerard of Villamagna
Italian (Florence), c. 1315-1325
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 643, fol. 7v

Silver Enameled Plaque, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
French (Paris), c. 1330-1350
London, British Museum 

Giovanni di Benedetto & Workshop, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Missal
Italian (Milan), c. 1385-1390
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 757, fol. 322r

Alabaster carving, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
English, 15th Century
London, Victoria and Albert Museum

Wood Relief with Paint and Gilding, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
German, 15th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters

Lorenzo Ghiberti, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Italian, c. 1403-1424
Florence, Baptistry

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
French, c. 1423
Chambery, Musée des Beaux-Arts

Master of the Thuison Altarpiece, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
French, c. 1450-1500
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From Fleur des histoires by Jean Mansel
French, c. 1450-1475
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 56, fol. 37

Fra Angelico, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
from the Armadio degli Argenti
Italian, c. 1451-1452
Florence, Museo di San Marco

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Swiss, 1472
Konstanz, Church of Our Lady, Chapel of Saint Sylvester

Jan van Haldern, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Dutch, 1498
Kalkar Kreis Kleve, Catholic Parish Church of Saint Nicholas

Hans Holbein the Elder, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
German, 1500
Frankfurt (Main), Katholische Pfarrkirche Sankt Leonhard

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From Saint mistere de la glorieuse piteuse et angoisseuse
passion de notre seigneur et saulveru Jhesucrist
French, c. 1510-1510
London, British Library
 MS Royal 19 V VI, fol. 1

Simon Bening, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg
Flemish (Bruges), c. 1525-1530
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
MS Ludwig IX 19, fol. 77v

Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Flemish, c. 1530-1535
Maastricht, Bonnefantenmuseum

Valerio Belli, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Rock Crystal Carving
Italian (Vicenza), c. 1531-1533
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Combining the Entry with Other Scenes

Frequently also, the image of the Entry into Jerusalem was combined within the same object with images from other events from the life of Jesus, and especially of His Passion, or from the Old Testament.  This was especially true in images made during the Middle Ages and early part of the Renaissance period. Over time it diminished and the Entry became a stand-alone subject.

Raising of Lazarus, A Woman Washes the Feet of Jesus,
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Orations of Gregory Nazianzus
Byzantine (Constantinople), c. 879-882
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Grec 510, fol. 196v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem, The Crucifixion
From a Gospel Book
German, c. 1015
Hildesheim, Dom-Museum Hildesheim

Portion of an enamel Altar with Scenes from the Passion
German, c. 1170-1179
Hildesheim, Dom-Museum Hildesheim

Jesus Enters Jerusalem, The Washing of Feet and The Last Supper
From a Picture Bible
French (St. Omer, Abbey of St. Bertin), c. 1190-1200
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek
MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 15v

The Raising of Lazarus and Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Psalter
English (London), c. 1200-1225
London, British Library
MS Landsdowne 420, fol. 10v

The Raising of Lazarus and Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Psalter of St. Louis and Blanche of Castille
French, c. 1225
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Arsenal 1186, fol. 21v

Jesus Enters Jerusalem and the Last Supper
From a Psalter
German (Hildesheim), c. 1230-1240
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquistion latine 3102, fol. 9v

The Baptism of Jesus and Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From the Grosbois Psalter
Belgian (Liege), 1261
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 440, fol. 10v

Jesus Is Tempted Three Times and Jesus Enters Jerusalem
From a Psalter
French (Paris), c. 1265-1275
New  York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 101, fol. 18v

Guido da Siena, Triptych with the Transfiguration of Jesus, Jesus Entering Jerusalem and the Raising of Lazarus
Italian, 1270-1280
Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale

Diptych With Scenes from the Life of Christ: The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus Enters Jerusalem, The Crucifixion and The Entombment
German, c. 1350-1375
Cleveland, Museum of Art

Diptych With Scenes from the Passion of Christ: Jesus Enters Jerusalem,
the Last Supper, Betrayal by Judas and the Crucifixion
French, c. 1350
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Very occasionally also it was combined with some images not from the Bible, but from other sources, to make specific points. For example, the image below combines the image of David bearing the head of Goliath as he precedes King Saul into Jerusalem (1 Samuel 17:54) with the entry of Jesus.  

The Entry of David into Jerusalem, Jesus Entering Jerusalem
From a Psalter
Italian (Mantua), c. 1430
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 772, fol. 63v

This ties together the response of the crowds to Jesus (Hosanna to the son of David) with the exploit of His ancestor.  It also provides a contrast between the pomp of the kingly entrance to the city, with the king and his sons mounted on horses and the musicians who form the welcoming party, to the simpler entry of Jesus, mounted on a donkey whose foal stands beside her, with His followers on foot and ordinary people giving welcome.

In the image below, from a Biblia pauperum, we see the same two images combined with a third one, Melchisedech welcoming Abraham to Salem.  This three-part image is typical of the typological thinking of the medieval period.  All three events took place in the same location, that is the gates of Jerusalem (Salem is the original name for the city) at different times in human and salvation history.  In salvation history, the earliest one, Melchizedek welcoming Abraham, which comes from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 14:18-20), takes place in the period "Before the Law", that is before the Ten Commandments were bestowed on Moses.  David's entry into Jerusalem with the head of Goliath takes place "Under the Law", that is the history of the Israelites following the Exodus and the reception of the Ten Commandments.  The Entry of Jesus takes place "Under Grace" the period which began with the Annunciation, when God entered human history.

 

Rambures Master, David Enters Jerusalem, Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Melchizedek Welcomes Abraham to Salem
from a Biblia pauperum
French (Hesdin or Amiens), c. 1470
The Hague, Meermano Museum
MS MMW 10 A 15, fol. 26v

The Palmesel

In the Middle Ages and early Renaissance period in Germany there was a tradition of conducting a Palm Sunday procession through the towns, accompanying a carved and painted wooden image of Christ on the donkey, called a Palmesel.  Though many must have been destroyed during the Reformation, quite a few of these interesting figures remain. 

Palmesel
German, c. 1350-1400
Baltimore, Walters Art Museum

Palmesel
German (Franconia), 15th Century
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters

Palmesel
German (Bavarian), c. 1475-1500
Paris, Musée de Cluny, Musée National du Moyen Age

Palmesel
German (Swabia), c. 1520-1525
Paris, Musée du Louvre

Out of the Town, Into the Country

Towards the end of the Renaissance period and the beginning of the Baroque, the setting moved out into the countryside, well beyond the city proper. 

Jan van Scorel, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Dutch, c. 1526-1527
Utrecht, Centraal Museum

Jan van Hemessen, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Flemish, c. 1551-1600
Gotha, Schlossmuseum Scholss Friedenstein, Gemäldsammlung

Anthony van Dyck, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Flemish, c. 1617
Indianapolis, Museum of Art

Albert Cuyp, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Dutch, c. 1640-1700
Glasgow, Glasgow Museums Resource Centre

Charles LeBrun, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
French, c. 1650
Saint-Etienne, Musée  d'Art et d'Industrie

William Blake, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
English, 1800
Glasgow, Glasgow Museums, Pollok House

Nineteenth-century painters brought the image back into the city, with greater archaeological correctness, thanks to ongoing excavations.

 

Benjamin Robert Haydon, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
English, c. 1814-1820
Cincinnati, Mount St. Mary's Seminary

Hippolyte Flandrin, Jesus Enters Jerusalem
French, c. 1842-1846
Paris, Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Pres

James Tissot, Jesus Enters Jerusalem, The Procession Through the Streets
French, c. 1886-1894
New York, Brooklyn Museum

Today, Palm Sunday remains an important day in the Christian calendar.  Processions still take place in many places, most notably perhaps through St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.  Most parish churches are crowded, as they are only on a few other days of the year: Christmas, Easter Sunday, Ash Wednesday.  The idea of welcoming Christ to our city and into His Passion, which we call Holy Week, still stands.  And, with the reading of the Passion, Holy Week begins.

© M. Duffy, 2017

*  Year A is the Passion According to Saint Matthew, Year B is the Passion According to Saint Mark, Year C is the Passion According to Saint Luke.

1. See http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803105225451
2.  Mathews, Thomas F. “Reply to Peter Brown.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 78, no. 1, 1996, pp. 178–178
3.  For a brief description of how the New Testament came to be see:  http://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/how-the-bible-came-to-us

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.