Matthew 21: 1-11
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” [a]
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna [b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” [c]
“Hosanna [d] in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Sometimes in the waving of branches and the shouts of praise we forget that there is a political significance of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He entered in a way that directly evoked and in a sense mocked the entry of Pilate and his soldiers into Jerusalem around that same time. Jesus was coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. During any of these large Jewish holidays when in essence the nations (some estimate 200,000 scattered Jews would return) would be gathering in the city to remember (at Passover at least) the time when they were released from oppression from an empire, the Romans would put on a show of their strength. This involved a military procession into the city culminating at the Palace. The message it sent was – we are in charge, we have the power, acknowledge us as leaders and don’t try anything stupid. It was all about might and power and oppression and exclusion of the other.
Jesus on the other hand entered Jerusalem humbly on a borrowed donkey as the Bible says according to prophecy and this image/reminder caused the people to worship and celebrate. This situation would have reminded the people of the words of the prophet Zechariah. –
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
And indeed as Luke’s gospel tells us, the people were calling Jesus King as he rode in – much to the chagrin of the Pharisees who were well aware of the political fallout that could cause at a time when the Romans were extra alert. But in reading this passage, we need to remember that in Jewish teaching there’s a thing called a remez, which is device that when a person quotes or evokes the first part of a verse, what they really want is for their hearers to remember the second part of the verse, or the next verse. So to get Jesus’ point for riding in on a donkey we can’t just look at Zechariah 9:9 about the donkey, we have to keep reading. Verse 10 says:
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim (another way of saying “the Jews”)
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
What we begin to see is that Jesus is about something bigger than the Roman oppression, bigger than being referred to as King, and perhaps much bigger than an impromptu worship service. It is about the nations, about his rule extending to the ends of the earth. It’s a lot bigger than the systems and assumptions of the day. Following him involves including and welcoming the nations. Palm Sunday starts with a fun moment of worship, but quickly expands to address larger issues and, as we shall see, more holistic worship. To see more of that though we need to look at what Jesus does next. (to be continued tomorrow)