Context No. 931 of 4322 · Matthew
Context · Reflection
Matthew 21:1-5: in context
1When they came near to Jerusalem and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 5“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Jesus is approaching Jerusalem for the last time. Near Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, he sends two disciples ahead with oddly specific instructions: go to the village, find a donkey tied there with her colt, untie them, and bring them; if anyone objects, say the Lord needs them. Matthew tells us why the detail matters, that all this fulfilled the prophet's word, tell the daughter of Zion, your King comes to you, humble, riding on a donkey, on a colt.
Kings came to cities on warhorses, at the head of armies, to be feared. Jesus deliberately stages his arrival on a borrowed donkey, a young colt, the animal of peace and humility, and Matthew wants us to see it as the fulfillment of a prophecy chosen precisely for that word, humble. This is a king announcing what kind of king he is by his choice of mount. He is entering the city that will kill him within the week, and he comes not to seize it by force but to offer himself, lowly, riding an animal a farmer would use. The One with authority over all things arrives borrowing a colt and asking permission with the words the Lord needs them. Even his triumphal entry is an act of humility, a deliberate refusal of the warhorse. The crowds will misread it, wanting a conqueror, and he will keep being exactly the humble king Zechariah foretold, all the way to the cross.
Do I want a king who arrives in power to give me what I want, or can I welcome the humble king who comes riding a donkey toward a cross?
Sources
- Matthew 21:5: tell the daughter of Zion, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey
- Zechariah 9:9: behold, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, humble and riding on a donkey
- Philippians 2:8: he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross