TEXT [Commentary]

6. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (21:1-11; cf. Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19)

1 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,[*]

‘Look, your King is coming to you.

He is humble, riding on a donkey—

riding on a donkey’s colt.’”[*]

6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.[*]

8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God[*] for the Son of David!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!

Praise God in highest heaven!”[*]

10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

NOTES

21:1 Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem. Jesus finally approached the ultimate destination of his trip from Galilee, the city where he had predicted he would be crucified (16:21; 19:1; 20:18-19; cf. Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19). Getting to Jerusalem from Jericho involved an arduous uphill hike of about 15 miles in distance and about 3500 feet in altitude.

they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a ridge, about two and a half miles long, lying just east of Jerusalem and running roughly north and south (cf. 24:3; Zech 14:4). Bethphage is mentioned only here and in the Synoptic parallels (Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29). It was evidently located on the east slope of the Mount of Olives near Bethany. When one comes from the east to the top of the Mount of Olives, the panorama of Jerusalem just across the Kidron Valley to the west is magnificent.

21:2-3 a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. For his entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus told two disciples to acquire a donkey and its colt from a village near Bethphage. Perhaps this nearby village was Bethany (Mark 11:1). The disciples only needed to tell anyone who asked about their use of the donkeys that the Lord needed them. Jesus’ plan to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey is hardly the picture of a conquering general mounted on a stallion.

21:4-5 Matthew cited Zech 9:9, with introductory words from Isa 62:11, to underline Jesus’ humility (cf. John 12:14-15).

the people of Jerusalem. Lit., “the daughter of Zion” (NLT mg), a common OT expression that refers to Jerusalem and its inhabitants (cf. 2 Kgs 19:21; Isa 37:22; Jer 4:31; Lam 1:6; Mic 4:8; Zeph 3:14).

Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble. Zechariah 9:9 mentions that the coming King will be just, have salvation, and be humble, but Matthew includes only the last characteristic, humility. The prophecies of Zechariah frequently concern the troubles of Jerusalem and God’s concern for it (Zech 1:12-17; 2:2-5; 3:2; 8:3-8; 12:3,10; 13:1; 14:4-9). Particularly noteworthy are texts that speak of God’s coming or return to Zion (Zech 1:16; 8:3; 14:4, 16), the joining of Gentiles to the people of God (Zech 2:11; 8:22-23; 9:9), and the eschatological worship of the King (Zech 14:9, 16-17).

riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt. In Zech 9:9 the words “donkey” and “donkey’s colt” are arranged in synonymous parallelism and do not refer to two animals.

21:6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. In some unknown way, God’s providence had prepared those in charge of the donkeys to permit Jesus to use them (Luke 19:32-34).

21:7 They . . . threw their garments over the colt and he sat on it. The Gr. text says the disciples put their garments on both donkeys and that Jesus sat on them. Grammatically the pronoun “them” may refer either to the donkeys or to the garments thrown on the donkeys. It seems doubtful that Matthew is affirming that Jesus somehow straddled both animals, although some scholars argue that Matthew did intend this due to a misunderstanding of the Heb. parallelism in Zech 9:9 (Meier 1978:21-22, 144). Hagner (1995:594) thinks Matthew understood the parallelism but maximized the details of the correspondence with Zech 9:9 with a typically rabbinic hermeneutic. Instead, the idea is probably that Jesus rode on the garments spread on the colt (cf. Mark 11:2; Luke 19:35; John 12:14). Only Matthew mentions two donkeys; Mark and Luke state that Jesus rode a colt that had never been previously ridden. Matthew’s mention of the colt’s mother highlights its youth and the fact that it had not been ridden before. For further discussion see Davies and Allison (1997:120-123).

21:8 spread their garments on the road . . . others cut branches. The crowd’s spreading garments and palm branches on the road is a festive acknowledgement of Jesus’ kingship (cf. 1 Kgs 1:32-40; 2 Kgs 9:13; 1 Macc 5:45-54; 13:51; 2 Macc 10:7).

21:9 praise God for the Son of David! Lit., “Hosanna to the Son of David” (see NLT mg). Hosanna is a cry for help (“Save!”), but was used idiomatically as an expression of jubilant praise. Jesus is frequently called “the Son of David” in Matthew (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; cf. 12:3; 22:41-46; 2 Sam 7:8, 12-16). Another messianic title is “the one who comes” (3:11; 11:3; 23:39; Ps 118:26). “Praise God in highest heaven” probably echoes Ps 148:1 (cf. Luke 2:14; 19:38). Psalms 113–118 were known as the Hallel and were frequently sung during Israel’s major feasts. Sadly, the excitement of the crowd was not in the end matched by faithful commitment to Jesus (27:20). Their confession that Jesus was a prophet turned out to be inadequate (21:11).

21:10-11 It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. Even though Jerusalem was accustomed to large crowds of pilgrims during major festivals, Jesus’ entrance into the city resulted in a major uproar. All over the city, people were asking about the identity of the one who had clamorously entered the city (cf. 2:3). The answer of the exultant crowds here did not echo the messianic terms used in 21:9. Instead, Jesus was described merely as the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee (2:23; 13:54; see also 16:13-14). This was accurate but fell short of fully describing Jesus. Hagner’s suggestion (1995:596) that the crowds in 21:11 were Jerusalem residents, not the crowd of pilgrims as in 20:29; 21:8, 9, is doubtful.

COMMENTARY [Text]

The scene played out at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a familiar one. A conquering king parades triumphantly into a city with all the trappings of glory and power (Davies and Allison 1997:112-113). But there is something very strange about this Triumphal Entry. The king was clothed plainly, not in royal robes or in full military splendor. He rode an unpretentious young donkey, not a dashing war horse. He was meek, not militaristic. His entry sent mixed signals, and it is no wonder that all Jerusalem was perplexed about his identity. Paradoxically, Jesus’ entry combined the trappings of power and glory with the imagery of humility. Throughout his ministry, his teaching and example had exalted humility and downplayed pride (5:5; 8:20; 11:25; 12:18-21; 16:24-25; 18:4; 19:14; 20:26-28; 21:5; 23:12). The “Triumphal” Entry epitomizes the upside-down values of the Kingdom. Jesus radically shifted the world’s paradigm of greatness, showing greatness to be found in humble service, not arrogant rule. For a very different picture, one of Jesus’ return in judgment, see Revelation 19:11-16.

There is much irony in the shouts of the crowd. They were at the same time correct and incorrect. They were correct in ascribing messianic language to Jesus, but incorrect in their understanding of the meaning of that language. They rightly quoted messianic texts, but they wrongly thought of their Messiah as a conquering military hero. And this is not surprising, since even the disciples still struggled to grasp Jesus’ words, “among you it will be different” (20:26). For this reason the Triumphal Entry was also a tragic entry.