Jesus was reaching the completion of his three-year-long earthly ministry. Scholars estimate that in the three years he was teaching through the region of Galilee and Judea, he covered 3,125 miles … by foot. In fact, by sandal-clad foot!
Can you even imagine that? If you were determined to set out and walk over a thousand miles a year for three years, would you select leather sandals to do the job? (I realize Jesus didn’t have the option of going to the local Fleet Feet store and purchasing a new pair of Hokas, but still …)
Jesus knew that his time was coming. He had already predicted his death to his disciples three times, in straightforward language – not parables which they would have to interpret.
He had performed a great number of miracles in these final days – feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish – walking on water to reach his disciples in a boat – lots of healings. He knew exactly what was coming, and when it had to happen.
A full week before the Passover feast in Jerusalem, Mark 11:1 – 3 tells us, As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
I love the specificity of this plan. Jesus knows that an unbroken colt will be exactly where he tells them to look. And as Mark 11:4 tells us, They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.
Just like Jesus said. He’s the Lord not only of the big and majestic, but also of the details.
I couldn’t help but wonder … was there some reason why Jesus chose an unbroken, or untrained colt on which to ride into Jerusalem? I figured there must be. So, I did some research.
The website, Enduring Word says, “Jesus established that He would enter Jerusalem riding on a colt. He deliberately chose a young donkey, not a stallion, not a horse, and not coming on foot. This is because in that day, to come riding a colt – as opposed to a mighty war-horse – was to come as a man of peace. Jesus didn’t come to Jerusalem as a conquering general, but as a suffering (though triumphant) servant.”
The Old Testament is filled with the stories of the prophets God sent to the people of Israel to teach them and prepare them for what would eventually come in the form of his son, Jesus. This exact plan that Jesus was putting into action with the young colt, is a manifestation of what the prophet Zechariah said in his book, chapter 9 verses 9 and 10: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
What a joyous and welcome message! And what a joyous parade into the city it was for Jesus! A cloak was draped on the colt’s back, Jesus climbed on and made his way into Jerusalem. The people along the road threw their own cloaks on the ground for the colt to step on, and as Mark 11:8 says, “others spread branches they had cut in the fields.”
What branches? Over the centuries this was interpreted as palm branches, because in the Christian church this celebration has come to be known as Palm Sunday. The people are singing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11: 9 – 10)
Such a happy and festive time. I wish I’d been there, don’t you? I love this slice from the life of Jesus because it simply feels right. For much of Jesus’ ministry, He was despised and rejected by those he came to teach. Often the adoring crowds followed Him only for what they could get from Him, and most of His audience rejected any kind of personal commitment to Jesus. All of that was different on this day.
On this day, they lavished attention and honor on Jesus. They used their clothes as a saddle for Jesus and as a red carpet for the colt He rode on. Considering the expense and value of clothing in that day, this was generous praise.
But … it didn’t last. The violent and brutal end is coming quickly, and we all know it, don’t we?
Why, if it was so clear in the book of the Jewish prophet Zechariah that described exactly as Jesus would be approaching, and when so many people welcomed him with praise, was there even a doubt of Jesus’s purpose?
Because … there were other prophecies that contradicted Zechariah’s. Let’s take a look at this prophecy in the Book of Daniel, chapter 7: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his king is one that will never be destroyed.
So many Jews of the time (and indeed, to the current day), felt that the Messiah would be coming as a mighty fighting conqueror, a triumphant general of a strong army.
Enduring Word shows us what the victory parade of a triumphant general looked like back then: “We call this event the “Triumphal Entry,” but it was a strange kind of triumph. If you spoke of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry to a Roman, they would have laughed at you. For them, a Triumphal Entry was an honor granted to a Roman general who won a complete and decisive victory and had killed at least 5,000 enemy soldiers. When the general returned to Rome, they had an elaborate parade.
First came the treasures captured from the enemy, then the prisoners. His armies marched unit by unit, and finally the general rode in a golden chariot pulled by magnificent horses. Priests burned incense in his honor and the crowds shouted his name and praised him. The procession ended at the arena, where some of the prisoners were thrown to wild animals for the entertainment of the crowd. That was a Triumphal Entry, not a Galilean Peasant sitting on a few coats set out on a pony.”
But that was never God’s plan.
Jesus’s own words in the Sermon of the Mount, those that have come to be known as The Beatitudes say … “Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)
Jesus never says, “Blessed are the strong for they will fight their enemies and win.” He says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
It was a revolutionary change in thinking back then when he said it, and guess what: it still is. This is one of the hardest to understand practices in Jesus’ teaching and certainly to put into practice. It goes against our human nature and our cultural practices.
But Jesus demonstrated it himself when he chose to ride in on the humble untrained colt.
Let’s pray: Dear God: please help us be like Jesus. Let us approach the events in our life with humility and help us always to come to you when we need a reminder. Keep our eyes always focused on you, dear Lord. Amen.
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