JESUS GETS ON A DONKEY AT BETHPAGE

MATTHEW 21:1–11; JOHN 12:12–19

After raising Lazarus, Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Ephraim for a few days before continuing on to the Jordan Valley (John 11:54–57). He did not return to the Jerusalem area again until six days before Passover, when he had dinner in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (John 12:1–2). The next morning generated a tremendously popular response as he rode into the city on his triumphal entry.5 Throngs of people went out to meet Jesus—so many that it appeared the “whole world” had gone after him (John 12:19). Some in the large crowd spread their cloaks on the ground before him, as one would before a king (2 Kings 9:13). Still others spread palm branches before him, symbolic of the freedom this king might bring to them.6 And they joined in singing the words of Psalm 118, revealing their hope that this son of David was the long-awaited Messiah.7 All this happened because Jesus got on a donkey’s colt at Bethpage for a reason.

Jesus had left the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany and begun the ascent along the eastern road of the Mount of Olives en route to Jerusalem. Before he arrived at the village of Bethpage, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to secure a colt of a donkey.

Jesus had just walked for twenty minutes up the steep path from Bethany toward Bethpage. If he intended to make this trip to Jerusalem easier on himself, he would have secured the donkey at Bethany. But he walked from Bethany nearly to the top of the Mount of Olives to get on an animal at Bethpage so he could ride downhill into Jerusalem. The village of Bethpage, just one-half mile east of the summit of the Mount of Olives, was recognized as the city limits of Jerusalem.8

Jesus continued his ride down the western saddle of the Mount of Olives on a road that overlooked the Kidron Valley and the City of David.9 As the crowd saw Jesus’s silhouette superimposed on the City of David and the Gihon Spring, they made a powerful connection. It was in the City of David that the Lord had promised King David that one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:1, 11–16). When David’s immediate heir, Solomon, took his father’s throne, he did so by riding a mule to the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley, where he was anointed king (1 Kings 1:32–35). In a scene filled with meaning in light of past events, Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives that overlooked the setting in which David received the promise and Solomon received his crown. The crowd understood this and celebrated the coming of the one who would sit on the throne of David forever as they cried out: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matt. 21:9).

Jerusalem with the Mount of Olives (top right).

The crowds waved palm branches during the triumphal entry as a symbol of Jewish nationalism. The “Judea Captive” coin, depicting a Jewish captive under a palm tree, was minted by the Romans to commemorate the destruction of Jewish nationalism and the Temple in AD 70.
© Dr. James C. Martin. The Eretz Israel Museum.

Jesus had gotten on the donkey colt at Bethpage not to make his travel easier but for a more important reason. By doing this he announced the beginning of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The welcoming masses understood exactly what Jesus was doing. He was presenting himself to the holy city of Jerusalem as the Messiah prophesied by Zechariah (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:4–5). But Jesus cautiously used a form of communication that would not arouse the anger and suspicions of the Roman authorities. As he fulfilled scriptural promises about the Messiah, he used symbolic actions that were linked to his entry. In doing so, his Jewish audience received the message while bypassing the Roman authorities who kept a close watch on all the affairs of the city from the Antonia Fortress that overlooked the Temple Mount. Clearly the throng of people came out to meet Jesus on his triumphal entry (i.e., Palm Sunday) because he got on a donkey’s colt at Bethpage.

Triumphal entry

Jesus rode a young donkey into Jerusalem during his triumphal entry.

Jesus’s route into Jerusalem