Matthew 21:1-11

 “Now when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “Tell the people of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.””

— ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬

Mt of Olives will obviously be important later in this week. Could do more study on its significance to Jews to this point. Bethphage is noted as only 1.5 miles east of Jerusalem.

Passover is one of three feasts where Jews travel to Jerusalem, so this would be a busy time. Pilgrims are coming from all over into the city. Size of crowds in the city varies depending on who you ask. Need more study here. And there’s also debate on how large crowds are with Jesus in this event. Could be significantly smaller than we picture. Matthew does say very large crowd, though, but of course this is all relative. 

2 disciples sent to find donkey (and colt). Matthew is the only one to mention 2 animals. He loves having two of everything (2 people speak, 2 angels, 2 blind people). Angaria is custom of borrowing things for important people, whether royalty or rabbis. Could have been returned later. 

Some one has made the point that (and some gospel makes it abundantly clear—I think Luke) in this last week, when it appears all things are spiraling against Jesus and the world is crumbling apart, He is very much in control.

Zechariah 9:9 may be one of the few places where the OT has a simple prediction/fulfillment prophecy. I would consider the prophecy of Messiah born in Bethlehem in Micah as another. However, if you read Zechariah 9, it’s all about foreign kingdoms being brought down. Israel will be freed/rescued from her enemies. The might of foreign nations will be brought low. And Israel’s king comes riding on a donkey. There’s parallel poetic structure in prophecy, so the donkey/colt is meant to interpret one another. There’s not two animals in view in Zechariah. And the following verses talk about a reign of peace. So it could be the king is coming on a donkey, or this could be Matthew once again looking back and saying, “Holy cow/donkey, it actually happened like the prophet said.” Zechariah may have been simply talking about a peaceful king.

So why Matthew has two animals, I don’t know. It makes for awkward reading, to say the disciples put garments “on them” and then Jesus rode “on them.” Jesus didn’t ride two animals at once—weird balancing act. More likely, rode one animal and on top of the garments. 

Branches are from date palms in the area. All of this is a grand processional ceremony. They are treating him like a king. Hosanna= save us. They are seeking rescue from Rome. 

Then the crowds in the city hear the uproar and wonder what’s going on. It’s Jesus from Galilee. Definitely true that this passage is all about Jesus humility and meekness. Upside down kingdom vs. the pomp and circumstance of worldly powers. He came to serve.

Mistake to say the same crowd that worshipped Jesus wanted him dead by Friday. These are disciples, while the religious leaders instigated the flimsy crowds on Friday. There may be overlap, but not the same. In most scenes in this last week (in all four gospels), there are pockets of people. And the gospels always want the reader to ask, “Who do I identify with?”