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

 

 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 them 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 their way 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 them 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.   Today's reading gives us the event which the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday.  This is called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  By Jesus' time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom, my study Bible explains.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride on a horse nor in a chariot, but rather on a donkey -- a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  This entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  My study Bible adds that it is also a 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).  My study Bible also notes that, specific to Matthew, there is a colt as well as a donkey.  Some patristic interpretations see the two animals as representing the faithful Jews and the Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  An Orthodox Vespers hymn for Palm Sunday declares, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."  Those who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as if paying reverence to  King.  Again, there is a spiritual interpretation to this, in which it  is understood as indicating our need to lay down our flesh, and even our very lives, for Christ.

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 cry of the multitudes comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

Jesus comes into the Holy City of Jerusalem, from east, as prophesied Messiah, in the image foretold by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).  We see the powerful meanings of images and symbols, this one given to Zechariah centuries before in a vision of this event.  Zechariah was born during the Babylonian exile, and returned to Judah in 537 BC, encouraging the returning captives to rebuild the temple.  His prophecies, as characterized by my study Bible, are messianic, apocalyptic, and eschatological -- powerful and rich in symbol, and telling us many things about Christ which inform our own understanding of things to come.  Among many other things in the context of apocalyptic and eschatological understanding of Christ, Zechariah foretold His coming in lowliness and humility (Zechariah 6:12, 13:7), His rejection and betrayal for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13), and His crucifixion (Zechariah 13:5-6).  Jesus affirms the prophecy Himself when He quotes from Zechariah 13:7 in Matthew 26:31.  In this kind of vision, Zechariah was given an understanding that works through symbols and images which not only foretell something that is to happen, as in Christ's Triumphal Entry, but also does so outside of time, in compressed images that convey both symbolic meaning in what we might call "heavenly" terms, as well as the worldly reality of Christ's earthly life.  This is the nature of vision.  But Christ shows His own understanding of the prophesies about Himself in today's reading (and in His quotation of Zechariah to the disciples which will come in chapter 26).  So we accept both the affirmation of Christ's understanding and the meanings in these images of the lowly colt of a donkey and the Prince of Peace (from the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6).  That is, He who does not meet the people's expectations and hope for a political Messiah who will free them from the Romans and establish a magnificent earthly kingdom for Israel, but who nevertheless fulfills the prophecies and expectations given by God.  How can one be what God calls one to be, and yet disappoint and anger so many?  This is a question for all the prophets and saints that have come before us, for the disciples and immediate followers of Christ, and -- of course -- for Christ Himself who already understands this all too well.  For "success" in the eyes of the world and the earthly goals of life is often a far different picture (indeed, radically and totally different) than the picture of a life which is successful in God's terms, and which "successfully" fulfills God's will for that holy person.  There is no greater example than Jesus Christ, and He is the One whom we follow above all, and who sets the pattern for all the rest.  Can we follow our Prince of Peace, the Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep who will be scattered?  How well do we understand the things of God as opposed to the things of men (Matthew 16:23)?  How brave are we when it comes to carrying the cross He asks of us?   With what courage could we accept a mission which calls us out of the world (John 15:19)?