Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “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.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. Matthew 21: 1-17 ESV
Matthew 21: 1-17
9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.… Zechariah 9: 9-10
They drew near to Jerusalem - This is at the time of Passover, and previously Jesus had avoided encounters like this, disappeared into crowds, got into a boat to evade those who would wish to see Him take a throne. Even His own family, brothers, had tried to nudge Him in disbelief. We could look at all that before and say, "yeah He's afraid, obviously He isn't the Son of David, the Messiah, because He refuses to go in and kick down doors, beat up Rome like we want." It's going to get worse, and we know this because according to the prophets He came to be rejected. He came to be the Passover Lamb, to be led away like a sheep to the slaughter, but afraid is not the reason, timing is, and He has His face set like a flint towards this cross, towards the wrath of His Father. As one writer put it, "the manger was always in the shadow of the cross." The insults and flawed logic are going to explode from the mob, "you can't be the Messiah because you are not acting like the Messiah we invented in our minds."
…4For no one who wants to be known publicly acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. 6Therefore Jesus told them, “Although your time is always at hand, My time has not yet come.… John 7: 4-6
And a colt with her - We get some more out of Marks account; there we find out that the colt had never been ridden, which is the sort of animal you would not want to get on. This animal isn't even green broke, it's just green, and He intends to ride it peacefully through a very large crowd that had gathered for Passover.
Behold your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey - A horse would be more of a military sign, hence a war horse, but here He is coming to bring peace between God and man, humbly offering Himself in the place of sinners. He is the Lamb, but one day He will come on the horse, for He is also the Lion of Judah. This will fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9, but also the Jews there would recall the story of Solomon on King David's mule, a cross between a horse and a donkey. This is very public, and now we are moving really fast towards the focal point of all human history. There's no more hiding the claim of Who He is, He is the King; this is His humble announcement.
32Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’… 1 Kings 1: 32-34
“Asses were of old beasts that great persons used to ride on, Judges 10:4; 12:14. But after Solomon’s time the Jews got a breed of horses; so as only poor people rode upon asses, mostly reserved for burdens.” (Poole) - Enduring Word
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks and others cut branches - They respond to the scene, someone famous, Who has been healing people, raising the dead, feeding multitudes, is now riding in on the foal of a donkey like the prophet Zechariah said.
Wiseman says of the spreading out of garments for Jehu in 2 Kings 9:13: “The act of spreading out the garment was one of recognition, loyalty and promise of support.” (Wiseman)
ii. “Carrying palm and other branches was emblematical of victory and success. See 1 Maccabees 13:51; 2 Maccabees 10:7; and Revelation 7:9.” (Clarke) On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year one hundred and seventy-one, the Jews entered the citadel with shouts of jubilation, waving of palm branches, the music of harps and cymbals and lyres, and the singing of hymns and canticles, because a great enemy of Israel had been destroyed. (1 Maccabees 13:51)
Hosanna to the Son of David - This is a Messianic term, so the crowd is identifying Him with certain prophecies, but for most He will not fulfill their hopes. They see themselves as good, and He came to save those who aren't. "Hosanna" is and expression of adoration, praise or joy.
…4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. 5Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.… Jeremiah 23: 4-6
…9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. 11He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.… Genesis 49: 9-11
…6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant— 7I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” 8Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”… Isaiah 56: 6-8
Drove out all who sold and bought in the temple - The temple, like the tabernacle told the story of redemption. It was where Passover sacrifice was held, where all the Jews were commanded to go each year, and it is in Judah, near the house of David, the threshing floor, Mt. Moriah, where the ram took Isaac's place. Meanwhile, it had become a place of token religion, where money changers took advantage people who came to buy sacrificial pigeons and lambs. The temple was to be a reflection of God's throne, a place of worship and prayer. The people at the temple would not accept Roman currency so this made way for the money changers who overcharged for their "service", much in the manner of the indulgences and trinkets of the Roman Catholic church. The priests and other overseers of the temple were not true shepherds, and they cared nothing for the fatherless and widows; look at Jesus' response to them in Luke 21. He points out a widow, and they brush past a chief lesson to point out the pretty things in the temple. They are more about the building and He is more about obedience, Spirit and Truth.
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” Luke 21: 1-6
He healed them - Jesus continues to show proof of His calling and deity. He even has the power to empower His disciples, but then there's the Pharisees.
Children crying out in the temple - There would be many 12 year old boys there for their first Passover. It was a rite of passage, similar to baptism or the Lord's Supper, the participants should be able to comprehend the serious nature of what they are partaking in. Let Nadab and Abihu stand for all time as the example of not taking God seriously, the approach is sacred, it is only and ever by faith in the acceptable sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Do you hear what these are saying - They were calling Him the Messiah, and the Pharisee's want Jesus to correct them on this, but it's the truth, and He is also God so He can't lie. The Pharisees and Scribes have seen the same evidence, and yet in seeing they did not perceive. They reject Him as the Messiah, just like the prophets said they would.
…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.… Isaiah 53: 2-4
…39But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it… Luke 19: 39-41
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