Matthew 21:6-10: a reflection

6The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them, 7and brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them; and he sat on them. 8A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

Jesus enters Jerusalem as its king, but in humility, riding on a donkey. The crowds spread their cloaks and cut branches to lay on the road, and they shout, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And as he enters, the whole city is stirred, and asks a question: Who is this? The arrival of Jesus sets the city buzzing with the question everyone, in the end, must answer.

Notice both the king and the question. The king comes not on a warhorse but on a donkey, humble, yet hailed as the Son of David, the one who comes in the name of the Lord. He is a king, but a humble one, entering his city in lowliness. And his coming provokes the question that runs through the whole city: Who is this? It is the question his every appearance raises, and the one that each person must finally answer for themselves.

That question still stands before us: Who is this? Jesus cannot be met with indifference; his coming stirs the question of who he really is, and each of us must answer it. Is he merely a good teacher, a figure of history, or is he the king who comes in the name of the Lord, the Son of David, worthy of our hosannas and our allegiance? The crowds that day gave one answer, though many would soon waver. You, too, must answer. Who is this, to you? Answer it not with the fickle enthusiasm of a crowd, but with settled faith: he is the humble king, the Son of David, the Lord, worthy of your worship. Welcome him as king, and give him the allegiance the question demands.

Lord Jesus, you entered Jerusalem as its king, humble, riding on a donkey, hailed by the crowds as the Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord; and the whole city was stirred and asked, who is this? That question still stands before me, and I must answer it. You cannot be met with indifference; your coming stirs the question of who you really are. Help me answer it rightly: not that you are merely a good teacher or a figure of history, but that you are the king who comes in the name of the Lord, the Son of David, worthy of my worship and my allegiance. Keep me from the fickle enthusiasm of a crowd that soon wavers, and give me settled faith. You are the humble king, the Lord; help me welcome you as king, and give you the allegiance the question demands. Who is this? You are my Lord.