Tell the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey"

Triumphal Entry, illumination from the Armenian Gospels of Gladzor, 14th century.  Young Research Library, University of California at Los Angeles

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose then and bring them to me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
'Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, 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 had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

- Matthew 21:1-11

Yesterday we read that as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho on the road to Jerusalem, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose then and bring them to me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, / 'Behold, your King is coming to you, / Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, / A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.   The event described in today's reading is called Christ's Triumphal Entry.  He enters into Jerusalem hailed by the crowds as Messiah.  This day is celebrated in the Church as Palm Sunday.  At Jesus' time, my study bible says, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, who would deliver the Jewish people from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom in Israel.  In humility, it says, Jesus shows He has not come to establish an earthly or worldly kingdom.  He does not ride on a horse nor a chariot, and He does not have an invading army with Him.  He rides on a donkey, which is a sign of humility and peace (see Zechariah 9:9, from which the people quote).  Jesus' entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  My study bible adds that it is also an image and promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  Matthew, among the Evangelists, reports a colt as well as a donkey.  In the tradition of the Church, the two animals are seen as representing the faithful Jews and also the Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.

And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, 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 had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."   The people spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  The spiritual interpretation of this act is that we need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ.   The people cried out from Psalm 118:25-26, verses associated with messianic expectation.  This was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, my study bible tells us, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  We are to understand that the Feast of Tabernacles was the Feast of the Coming Kingdom; here we understand the people recognize that the Kingdom is here, albeit without understanding the true nature of Christ nor of His messiahship and the heavenly Kingdom He brings into the world.  Note that they call Him the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.   Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

For some reason the image of Christ on a donkey remains in my mind as a vivid image.  He is the image of a traveler on the road to Jerusalem, perhaps one on an errand, or one who comes to buy or sell goods, or even on the way to pilgrimage (although most likely on pilgrimage one would be accompanied by many others).  But perhaps that last image, that of pilgrim into Jerusalem, is the way we're supposed to see Jesus.  After all, it is the time of the Passover festival, and many pilgrims are no doubt on their way into Jerusalem, and traveling on this same road that has gone through Jericho.  It's noteworthy at the same time to remind ourselves that Jesus comes into Jerusalem from the East, in the way that the Messiah was prophesied to enter.  The East is the direction of sunlight, the traditional place one would turn to see the light approach, and hence we have another metaphor for Jesus that rings throughout the Gospels, and especially John's:  that Jesus is, in fact, the eternal light of God, that otherworldly light (such as shone at the Transfiguration) that has come into the world in the form of this pilgrim sitting on a donkey, on His way into Jerusalem.   Only at this time it is the proper time for Him to be welcomed into Jerusalem as Messiah -- even though, as devout Jew, He has come as pilgrim many times before.  He fulfills the Law and the Prophets, both by living according to the Law but also now as Messiah coming into Jerusalem.  But He will not be the Messiah that the people expect -- and, as my study bible says, this is precisely what is truly being shown by His riding on a donkey with a colt beside Him (or perhaps He rides on the colt).  Let us remember that this was the time of Empire, and Israel was a part of the great Roman Empire, which was in Christ's time at its zenith of power, a time known as the Pax Romana.  Most potently the Roman Empire was symbolized and understood in its military power, the instrument of that "peace" and stability.  And here we have Jesus, presumptive Messiah, who rides into Jerusalem not with an army and not with chariots nor any weapons on display, but on a donkey with a colt by her side.  How were the expectations of the Jewish people to be fulfilled by this Man?  Would He overthrow the Roman army?  Well, we know the outcome of the week to come in Jerusalem.  We know that the people will clamor for a fighter and insurrectionist against the Roman Army, Barabbas.  We know Jerusalem will be destroyed by that army within a generation of this time of Christ's entry into Jerusalem.  But Christ's Kingdom has endured longer than any empire on earth ever did.  In the Church, and in our faith, the Kingdom is still present to us.  And the Kingdom dwells also within us (Luke 17:20-21).  It isn't that our churches don't suffer from their own battles and instabilities, but this Kingdom has within it something no other Kingdom ever did:  it has Christ.  It has the power of God of whom Jesus has declared, "With God all things are possible" (19:26).  Just as Jesus Himself was not predictable to humankind, nor was His messiahship something understood by human beings before His own revelation, so this living Kingdom in the world proceeds within its own dictates and powers.  Jesus has also said of the Holy Spirit, and comparing the Spirit to the wind:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).  This is a Kingdom in which resides all mystery and the reality of God.  We celebrate our liturgies and worship services together with the angels, and the saints with them, whom taken together St. Paul called "the great cloud of witnesses" by which we are surrounded (Hebrews 12:1-2).  There have been empires before and since the Roman Empire, but none has outlasted this Kingdom of God brought into the world through Christ, although there have been very powerful "empires" indeed, from one side and another, and through one ideology and another, who have tried to crush and persecute the faithful in Christ.  The Kingdom of God remains with us, and has outlasted its persecutors although in many places the Church continues to dwell under harsh persecution.  Some say that she never endured such persecution, in so many places, as she does now.  Yet the Church continues to grow and expand even in every corner of the globe.  But our faith is not one that was not meant to be tested.  Christ does not enter into Jerusalem on a donkey with her colt as One who commands that from then on the world will be perfect.  He will go to the Cross, and commands us also to live the life of the cross, each in our own way and with our own cross to take up.  He is here with us and present to us, we pray to Him, we may commune with Him and participate in His very life, and this is why He came here; this is our Messiah.  He rides on the donkey with her colt to teach us His way, a way that last throughout Empires and persecutions, because He lives and dwells in our heart "and His kingdom shall have no end."