Theme: Jesus as King
This week’s lesson raises and answers the question, “Is Jesus really God and King?”
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 21:1-5
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
LESSON
This climactic week begins with what we call the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Each of the gospels records this event1, and the first significant thing they tell us about it is that Jesus arranged what was to happen. In other words, this was not a case merely of some spontaneous outburst of excitement on the part of the people, though there was obviously some spontaneity about it. Rather, it was something the Lord carefully planned in order to make a statement.
Matthew says that as Jesus and the disciples were approaching Bethphage, an outlying district of Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of the disciples ahead of them to procure a donkey and her colt. Matthew is the only writer to mention two animals, and there are scholars who have suggested, in a matter insulting to Matthew, that he misunderstood the text he is about to cite from Zechariah and invented the extra animal to conform to it. But Matthew was not stupid. Jesus did not ride on two animals. He is merely recording a detail the other gospels omit, namely, that there was a mother donkey and her foal, on which Jesus actually sat, though the clothes were spread on both. As far as the prophecy is concerned, it is an example of Hebrew parallelism in which the two lines say the same thing, which Matthew certainly understood. We could translate, “on a donkey, that is, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Matthew records Jesus saying, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” (vv. 2-3). Mark and Luke tell us that someone did ask why the disciples were going away with the colt but that they were willing to release it when they learned that it was “the Lord” who needed it.
Why did Jesus arrange to enter Jerusalem in this way? He did not need to ride. He had already walked the entire distance from Galilee. In fact, this is the only occasion where we hear of Jesus doing anything but walking. Obviously, Jesus wanted to make a statement (as we said) or, to use a biblical way of speaking, to make a symbolic action. He was acting like Jeremiah When Jeremiah was told to buy and then break a clay jar to symbolize the breaking of the nation (Jeremiah 19:11-15) or buy a field to symbolize God’s commitment to bring the people back to the land of Israel after their captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 32:6-44).
The meaning of what Jesus was arranging to do is found in the quotation of Zechariah 9:9, for Matthew says that this took place “to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet” (v. 4).
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The quotation is from a section of the book prophesying what was to happen to Israel in the future, and What it prophesies is the coming of God’s king.
The quotation does not appear in Mark or Luke. John has it, but it is not as complete nor is it emphasized. Matthew is the gospel of the king; so this is the point at which Matthew shows Jesus coming to his capital city as the rightful king of Israel.
1See Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40; and John 12:12-19
STUDY QUESTIONS
Why did Jesus carefully plan his entry?
What was the significance of Jesus riding the donkey into town?
KEY POINT
Matthew is the gospel of the king.
