The city of Jerusalem was built on the tops of two mountains, which are close together — Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, and the Mount of Olives is on the east. When Jesus and the disciples came to the foot of the Mount of Olives, He sent two disciples to a village where He said they would find a colt tied, which they were to untie and bring to Him. If any asked why they did this, they were to say, “The Lord hath need of him.”
Was it because it was hard to walk up the long, rough roads into the city that Jesus needed the colt to ride? No, it was because it was written in the Scriptures that the people of Jerusalem should see their King coming, riding on such a colt, or what we call a donkey. And the Lord Jesus knew the time had come for Him to offer Himself to the people as their promised Holy King (See Zechariah 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)).
We would expect a great King to ride on a horse, but that was for war, and the King of Israel was to bring peace, not war, and to help them in trouble as a servant to God, not as a conqueror (1 Kings 1:38-40).
The disciples found the colt as Jesus said and brought it to Him. It is told, in Matthew 21, that the colt’s mother was also brought, showing the Lord’s kindness to have them together. The disciples put their cloaks on the colt, as a blanket, and Jesus rode upon him up the road to the city, showing His power over an animal, as a colt, “whereon yet never man sat” would not have been obedient to a stranger.
The Reception From the Crowd
Crowds of people followed Jesus and the disciples; it was a time when many were going to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Many had come from Galilee and other parts who had seen Jesus’ power; many had been healed by Him, and all believed Him to be the promised Messiah and King, and they all began to sing psalms of praise to God.
Some went ahead and cut the flat branches of palm trees to lay over the rough road, others laid down their own cloaks, and palm branches were waved as they sang, for those things were the customary way of showing honor and joy. As they came nearer the city, people who believed Jesus to be the Messiah came out to meet them, also singing and shouting words of the Psalms: “Hosanna,” [Lord, save!], and “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:2626Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:26); John 12:1313Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. (John 12:13)).
It was a great procession, not as a wild celebration, but in true joy and thanks that the long-looked-for King had come, and they fulfilled the words: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter [people] of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: He is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass” (Zechariah 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)).
So they went through the city up to the temple singing praise there. All their words were from God’s Word, yet the chief of the priests and the scribes, who had the writings of the prophets and should have known they were then fulfilled, wanted Jesus to silence the people. They were the men to proclaim Jesus to be the king, but they did not.
Further Meditation
1. How would an unbroken colt normally behave for a stranger?
2. How could the people switch from the shouts of “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!” so quickly? There are several other examples of this happening in Scripture. Can you name them? What causes us to do the same thing?
3. A great way to “see” the city in this chapter would be with the large chart Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus Map by H. Claycombe.