Lesson 4 - Matt. 21:1-11 - THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Matt. 20:1-16, we studied Jesus' parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, where He pictured a vineyard as a metaphor for the Kingdom of God, using the landowner as a metaphor for God. In the previous chapter, when Peter asked how he and other disciples would be rewarded in the Kingdom, Jesus, replied, "But many who are first will be last, and the last, first" (19:30). From this parable, we learned that the rules by which the kingdom operates are completely different than those of the world. The parable showed that Jesus' statement that the "first will be last, and the last, first," means that no matter how long or how tirelessly a Christian disciple serves during his or her lifetime, the reward of eternal life will be the same given to all. The underlying truth behind this principle is that because the LORD is sovereign over His Kingdom, He is free to extend His grace to whomever He chooses, whenever He chooses.
This week, In Matthew 21:1-11, today's lesson text will cover an event commonly referred to as Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Thus far in our study of Matthew's Gospel, we have seen a progressive unveiling (or revealing) of the true identity and nature of Jesus. In chapter 16, in response to the question Jesus put to His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?," Peter (on behalf of all the disciples) declared, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (16:16), even though he didn't fully grasp the full meaning of his statement. Then in the next chapter, Jesus was revealed in His glorified state to Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration, where God spoke from a cloud and said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!" (17:1-9). At this point in the gospel Jesus has predicted His 'Passion' three times [such as, (1) His Triumphal Entry, (2) the Last Supper, (3) His agony, (4) His arrest, (5) His trial, and (6) His crucifixion (16:21-23; 17:12; 20:17-19)]. Matthew doesn't give us the exact day that Jesus entered Jerusalem, but John 12 identifies it as the Sunday prior to Passover, when Jesus will be crucified (16:21-23; 17:12; 20:17-19).
Read Matthew 21:1-3 - FIND A DONKEY TIED THERE WITH A COLT
1a When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, 1b Jesus then sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them on immediately."
v. 1a: "When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives," - When Jesus and His disciples traveled the 17 miles from Jericho to Bethany along the Roman Road, they climbed about 3,000 feet of elevation while en route. The town of Bethphage ("house of figs") lay slightly further west on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, which is just east of Jerusalem and is separated from the city by the Kidron Valley (see Map).
v. 1b-2: "Jesus then sent two disciples, 2b saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me.'" - When they neared Bethphage, Jesus gave two of His disciples very precise instructions (something He clearly foreknew) to go into the village and bring a donkey and its colt to Him. The common people of Palestine in those days walked everywhere they went, and riding on an animal of any kind was reserved for the wealthy. This is the only record of Jesus riding an animal. He did this to recreate the return of King David to Jerusalem (1 Sam. 19-20) and the entrance of Solomon for his enthronement (1 King 1:38-40). On both occasions, these kings rode in on either a donkey or a mule.
v. 3: "And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them on immediately." - This is the only place in Mathew's gospel where Jesus gave Himself the title "Lord" (Gk. kurios [koo-re-os]). It was a respectful title that when joined with the word "needs" also implied temporary proprietary rights in the case of two borrowed animals. The careful preparations that Jesus is making here leave no doubt that He is in sovereign control of events so that what is about to take place cannot be seen as something that happened by accident.
Read Matt. 21:4-5 - TO FULFILL WHAT WAS SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHET
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'"
v. 4: 'This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:" - We already know that fulfillment of OT prophecy is a major theme of Matthew's gospel, whose audience consisted largely of Jewish Christians. Although it's certainly possible that Jesus actually spoke these words, many scholars believe that Matthew added them later as he did in many other passages (Matt. 1:22).
v. 5a: "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU," - These first two clauses are a direct quotation from Isa. 62:11. The term " DAUGHTER OF ZION" is a direct reference to the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. It is the city of a great king. By identifying Himself as a king, this verse set the stage for Pontius Pilate's concern that Jesus might be planning to establish Himself as king, which under Roman law, would be considered an act of treason (27:11)
v. 5b: "GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'" - This is a direct reference to the complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Zech. 9:9, and Jesus' actions here constitute a categorical declaration that He is the Davidic Messiah, who is "YOUR KING... COMING TO YOU," cited in the first part of this verse. Rulers rode donkeys in Israel during times of peace as a sign of their humble service, as opposed to warriors who rode in on mighty steeds. By coming in peace, it constituted a sign that Jesus was extending grace rather than judgment on the city. He was coming to them now as a humble servant but would later return later as a king on a horse (Rev. 19:11). That Jesus was able to ride on and control an unbroken animal through an excited crowd of people was clearly a supernatural event in and of itself.
Read Matthew 21:6-9 - HOSANNA TO THE SON OF DAVID
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!"
v. 6: "The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them," - Jesus' disciples have not always responded with unquestioning and immediate obedience, but they do so in this instance.
v. 7: "and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats." - The "them" in this verse refers to Jesus and the donkey colt, on which Jesus seated Himself. The two "coats" were draped over the colt's back to form a makeshift saddle. After this, Jesus mounted the colt (cf. Mark 11:7) and proceeded onward towards Jerusalem. This was a singular moment in history. For the moment, at least, He would be acknowledged as the king.
NOTE: We often refer to this event as "Palm Sunday," but only John's gospel identifies the branches as belonging to palm trees (John 12:13). From this point, we need to carefully distinguish between the "crowds" who encounter Jesus and their very dissimilar reactions to Him.
v. 8: "Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road." - Most of the people in this crowd are Galilean pilgrims who have been following Jesus into Jerusalem. They are people who might have heard Jesus teach, seen Him heal the sick, give sight to the blind, make the lame to walk, and even raise the dead (Mk. 5:21-43). It's even possible there might even have some there numbered among the 5,000 people whom Jesus had fed with two fish and five loaves of bread (Matt. 14:13-21). The throwing down of branches and their coats on the road before Jesus symbolized their submission to Him as their king.
v. 9: "The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, 'Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!'" - "Hosanna" is a Hebrew word that means 'save us.' By proclaiming this, the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah-king who comes to them as the "son of David." The phrase, "BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD," comes from Ps. 118:26, a song of praise frequently sung during Passover. At this point, however, we need to realize that these people, like Jesus' own disciples, don't understand the Messiah's role as a suffering servant who would have to die.
Read Matt. 21:10-11 - WHO IS THIS?
10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" 11 And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
v. 10a: When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred," - from this point, Bible expositors contrast the welcoming behavior and the acclamation that Jesus received from crowds who followed Him outside the city with the agitation and suspicion of the questioning crowd that Jesus encounters once He's inside Jerusalem. The word used for "stirred" (Gk. seió [si'-o]) literally means to agitate or cause to tremble. It's derived from Eseisthe, the Greek word for earthquakes. It reminds me of the old Elvis song "I'm all shook up." These words give us a hint of opposition to Jesus' lurking in the background.
v. 10b: "Who is this?" - This is the overarching question that Matthew has been dealing with since the very first verse of his gospel-beginning with the genealogy that identified "Jesus Christ" as "the son of David, the "son of Abraham" (1:1), that He is "Jesus Christ" (1:18), "Immanuel" meaning ' God with us,' (1:23), "king of the Jews" (2:2), the "Lord" (3:3), the one "who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire" (3:11), "my beloved Son" (3:17), etc. Peter has recently declared Jesus to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16), even though he doesn't yet understand the full implications of his confession. The pointed question of the Jerusalemites, "Who is this?" carries a hint of skepticism and misgivings-an absence of faith.
v. 11: "And the crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.'" - While the crowd outside Jerusalem greeted Jesus as the "son of David...and He who comes in the name of the Lord" (v. 9), the crowd inside Jerusalem merely address Him as "the prophet...from Nazareth in Galilee." Moreover, the crowd inside crowd Jerusalem, who are largely Judeans, tend to look down their noses at anyone from Galilee, which they consider to be a backwoods, people from the 'sticks,' like modern city dwellers today might refer to country people as 'hillbillies and rednecks.' Their identification of Jesus as a "prophet...from Nazareth" could be taken as a derogatory remark in line with Nathanael' earlier observation "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). From this it appears that very few people inside Jerusalem truly understood or believed that Jesus was the Messiah. In less than a week this faithless crowd would be crying "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! (Matt. 27:22-23; Mark 15:13-14; Luke 23:20).
NOTE: In addition to all the other proofs that demonstrate that Jesus was who He claimed to be, Bible commentators have shown that the entry of Christ into Jerusalem occurred on the very day that the sixty-ninth week of Daniels' prophecy had run out. This was the exact time in which the prophet predicted that the Messiah would come (Dan. 9:25).
APPLICATION-The Message of the Triumphal Entry
1. The message of the triumphal entry is evangelistic. Since Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of all people, then all people must believe in Him and call on Him to save them-" Hosanna" in its truest sense. The believers in Jesus have done this-believed in Him as Lord and Savior. Therefore, the message of the triumphal entry is an evangelistic message that shows all people: Behold, your king comes, lowly, and riding upon a donkey! If we want a share in His kingdom, then we must acknowledge Him as Lord; if we want to enter His kingdom, we have to accept His death for our sins. Finally, those who have been saved by Jesus' grace are duty-bound to keep proclaiming this message on behalf of their King.
2. The triumphal entry proved that Jesus Christ was exactly who He claimed to be. There are many doubters who say that if Jesus was the Messiah He should have brought in an age of peace and glory at His first coming. And there are some who say that He was a prophet but not God. And there are others who say His death was a nice example of love, but not redemptive. But of course, the Scriptures say otherwise and show all of these claims to be entirely baseless. Therefore, all that the household of faith can do is to continue to proclaim what the Scripture teaches, both the Old and New Testaments, that He is Lord and Savior, that He came into this world to suffer and die for our sins, and that apart from Him there is no peace with God and no hope for peace in this world.
