1 As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers 2 and said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once.”
4 This was to bring about what the prophet had said:
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.’” ;
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them.
Read Matthew 21:1-7 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Sometimes I wonder if there was anything Jesus did that did not fulfill an Old Testament prophecy in some way. Scattered throughout Matthew’s gospel are dozens of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled and one of the most Messianic prophecies for Jesus to fulfill comes about one week before His crucifixion.
Matthew draws our attention to the importance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt by connecting this event with one of Zechariah’s prophecies which says,
“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey,
on the colt of a donkey.’” (v. 5 [Zechariah 9:9])
Of all the prophecies included in the Old Testament, this one is among the most connected to the Messiah, and the significance of it would have been clear to almost everyone present. It probably was also noticed by the religious leaders, who may have taken it to mean that Jesus wanted to claim the role of Messiah even if they didn’t believe Him to be worthy of the title.
But if we look at this prophecy a little more closely, it perfectly describes Jesus. This prophecy says that Jesus is a king who is gentle. In that culture, and really in most cultures throughout history, the role of king has not been connected or associated with the characteristic of gentleness. Typically when we think of king, we think bold, dominant, formal, official, and perhaps even unapproachable.
But Jesus, while representing God, chose to come onto the scene in a way that was not bold, not dominant, not formal or official, and in about the most approachable way possible. Jesus came to demonstrate what the King of the universe truly is like and specifically that He is a different sort of King than what we might expect.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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