Luke 19:28-4028And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. 31And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. 32And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (Luke 19:28‑40)
The city of Jerusalem was built on the tops of two mountains, which are close together,—Mr. Zion and Mt. Moriah. and Mt. of Olives is on the east. When Jesus and the disciples came to the foot of Mt. of Olives. He sent two disciples to a village near, 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 Hielf to the people as their promised Holy King (Zech. 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 for Israel was to bring peace, not war, and to help them in trouble as a servant to God, not as a conqueror (1 Kings 1:38-4038So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon. 39And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. 40And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. (1 Kings 1:38‑40)).
The disciples found the colt, as Jesus said, and brought it to Him. It is told (Matt. 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.
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 the promised Messiah and King, and they all began to sing psalms of praise to God.
Some went before 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 a custom to show honor and joy. As they came nearer the city, people, already there, who believed Jesus 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” (Psa. 118:24,2624This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
26Blessed 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 uo 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 (Mark 11:1111And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. (Mark 11:11); Matt. 21). 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 the king, hut they did not.
ML 11/11/1945