February 2, 2022
Matthew 21:1-5, NIV - As they approached Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, say that the
Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the
prophet:
“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.’”
Today, we consider one of the more
familiar events from the Jesus story, the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem less
than a week before He will be crucified outside the city walls. This story is often remembered in various
ways on Palm Sunday, the last Sunday before Easter. It is one of the rare stories that is found
in some form in all four Gospels in the New Testament. Traditions often combine details from all
four accounts into one merged story, but if we consider the differences between
the accounts, we will discover what was important to, in this case, Matthew as
he tells the story.
As you may remember from the last
devotional entry, Jesus and His entourage have just walked from Jericho and
arrive in Bethphage. Bethphage is on the side of the Mount of Olives. If you were to visit today, you would notice
that most of the side of this mountain facing Jerusalem is a vast Jewish cemetery. It has been a cemetery for thousands of years
and was such when Jesus rode through it into the city that day.
Upon arriving in Bethphage, Jesus
sends two of His disciples to fetch a donkey with the donkey’s colt. Matthew is the only Gospel to stipulate that
there were two animals. This emphasizes
that this detail is especially important to Matthew because he wants his
readers to recall Zechariah 9:9:
“See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Matthew uses the exact same words to refer to Jesus’s entry
because he wants to it clear that Jesus’s donkey ride is one of the many prophecies
Jesus fulfilled, showing that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. What Matthew wants us to see is that Jesus
Himself claims this title with His choice of a donkey to arrive in Jerusalem
for the last time. God’s chosen way for
this to happen is paved by the disciples being able to secure the chosen
animals without resistance.
Since
the time of Jesus, one of the accusations leveled at the Christian movement is
that the early church made Jesus something He Himself never claimed to be – the
Messiah foretold by Jewish prophets for hundreds of years prior to the first century. With subtle details like this instance of the
donkey, Matthew is responding to those skeptics. Jesus knew He was the Messiah, but He would
radically depart from many traditional expectations of Messiahship. By entering into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus
recalls the another famous entry of an ancient Jewish king, Solomon, into the
city. The donkey also signifies that Jesus
is a King of Peace, not war. This is in
contrast to the arrival of Pontius Pilate who came into the city on the same
day, most likely mounted on an armor-cladded war horse. That first Palm Sunday is about the clash of
two very different kingdoms, a clash that continues to be evident to this day. The Kingdom of God, which is described by
Matthew, seems to turn the values of our culture upside down.
Question: How does
the “contrast of kingdoms” continue to be evident in our world today?
Prayer: Lord, help us
to see the signs of the your kingdom in the midst of all that bombards us
everyday in our culture. Lead us by your
Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for those who you consider to be your enemies today. (Note:
Instead of praying for God to “fix them” or “set them right,” pray for God
to bless them. Yes. Really.)
Song: The Blessing (2022
Compilation)
No comments:
Post a Comment