Matthew 21:1-11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Immediately you will find a donkey tied there along with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
6The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their outer clothing on them, and he sat on it. 8A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road. Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road. 9The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, asking, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9). Amen.
Katherine Koonce took her final steps on Monday morning. As she rushed down the hallway, she probably realized they could be her last steps.
Katherine was the headmaster at The Covenant School in Nashville. She was on a Zoom call in her office when she heard the first shot. She immediately ended the call, got up, and headed straight for the shooter.
As headmaster, her preparation with her staff on active shooter protocol saved numerous lives that day as the children and classrooms were locked down. Katherine also personally saved lives as she did what parents, principals, and headmaster do – she protected the children in her care.
Jesus took his final steps toward his death by heading into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus taking his final steps to Jerusalem while riding on a donkey was fulfillment of prophecy. That’s exactly what Matthew tells us in his Gospel. “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
It appears that Matthew is giving us a two-for-one prophecy fulfillment special with his careful observation. He hints at Isaiah’s prophecy 700 years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem: “Tell the daughter of Zion: ‘Look, your salvation is coming’” (Isaiah 62:11). Then he adds the second prophecy by Zechariah 500 years before Christ would ride the foal of a donkey into God’s holy city: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
Jesus rode into Jerusalem like a king who had been victorious in battle with a crowd shouting his praise. Jesus clearly intended to send a message with his chosen and prophesied mode of transportation. In the Ancient Middle East, kings rode horses into war. But those same leaders would ride donkeys in times of peace. The donkey visually announced that every enemy had been defeated and every threat put down. A war horse was no longer needed because there was now peace.
Consider Absalom’s conspiracy to make himself king: “After this, Absalom acquired for himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run in front of him” (2 Samuel 15:1) Compare that with David’s appointment of Solomon as king: “The king said to [Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada], “Take your lord’s servants with you. Have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to the Gihon Spring” (1 Kings 1:32).
Zechariah prophecies this peace: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be taken away, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His kingdom will extend from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth” Zechariah 9:10).
“See your king comes to you …” Notice you don’t come to your King. You won’t come. You are unworthy. You know your sins have separated you from your God. You are afraid. You know your sins deserve punishment now and forever. You are filled with pride. You know you’re wrong but are too stubborn to admit it. You are unwilling. You know how much damage your sins are doing to you but you enjoy them too much to part from them.
You won’t come. But you also can’t come. You are dead in your sins. Corpses don’t come on their own. You are enemy of God by nature. You don’t want anything to do with God.
So your King comes to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. You don’t make yourself righteous. You don’t make Jesus your Savior. He does those things without any help from you. You don’t make Jesus your Lord. He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Yet, he humbles himself to ride into his holy city on a beast of burden. Five days later he will take on his final steps out of the city to bear the burden of the world’s sins. The world that ran away from him in unbelief, that scorned his love, that persecuted his prophets, that created false gods to worship and serve. Still, Jesus will bear the burden of the world’s sins because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
The great King comes to his city. He could have come with almighty power and awesome glory as the Son of God. He could have ridden a fiery chariot escorted by legions of angels in the Palm Sunday procession. But look how he comes. He comes as the Son of Man. Not in a fiery chariot but a lowly donkey. He comes not accompanied by the heavenly host by disciples with a spotty record of faith. He comes not with the praise of creation but the praise of the Jerusalem Passover pilgrims.
Why does he come so humbly? St. Paul tells us, “He emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7, 8). Jesus comes not to rule us but to save us. He comes not to command us but to invite us. He comes not to demand anything from us but to give everything to us. He comes to us because we cannot and would not come to him. He comes in the name of the Lord to save us.
Jesus also takes his final steps to Jerusalem to receive praise. We like to praise people. In a few weeks, we will have our WLS Grandparents’ Day. The grandparents will enjoy praising their grandchildren for their achievements in school. We praise the Brewers for being in first place after they won their opening day ballgame. But we also praise our little T-ball players, too.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, we witness an enthusiastic crowd whose voices were filled with praise. They aimed their adoration in the right direction. It ascended to God and his Son. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
They praised the King with their cut palms, removed coats, and loud voices. Matthew reports, “A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road. Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road. The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
“Hosanna” is a Hebrew word which means “save us now.” Hosanna was a word that should rightly have been on their lips. They needed a fervent plea as sinners to admit they had no way to save themselves.
What about you? What is your praise of the King like? Is your praise a dirge instead of a shout? Are you excited to follow your Savior through the long, difficult Holy Week? Or is worship on Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then again on Easter Sunday just too much to ask?
Is your praise silent? Are you afraid of talking about Jesus in public because of the vile, vitriol, and violence you will face as an outspoken Christian?
Is your praise absent? Are you infrequent in worship, at the Lord’s Table, in God’s house?
Hosannas should daily and weekly be on our lips. We need to cry out, “Hosanna! Lord, save us!” Save us from our dirge-like praises. Save us from our silence. Save us from our absent worship.
Katherine Koonce, the headmaster at The Covenant School, was a hero. Evelyn Dieckhaus, a nine-year-old girl who was killed as she desperately tried pulling the fire alarm to stop the massacre was a hero. Nashville police officers, Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo who both ran into the school to take down the mass shooter were heroes. They all deserve praise for their heroism.
Jesus came as a conquering hero. He came to secure a victory not over any earthly prince, king, or government. His battle was against Satan, the prince of this world. His battle was against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Jesus took his final steps to Jerusalem so he could go to war with the devil and crush his serpent head under his bloody heel. He took his final steps to Jerusalem so he could go to war against sin by taking his Father’s wrath over sin upon his holy back. He took his final steps to Jerusalem so he could go to war against death by dying at the Place of the Skull, being buried in a borrowed tomb, … and then taking his first steps away from that tomb.
Jesus came as a hero to take down the mass murderer of the devil. He walked headlong into Herod’s hatred, the devil’s desert temptations, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, the Pharisees’ mockery, Pilate’s cowardice, and humanity’s crimes. He fought off every one of our hellish enemies that desired our eternal destruction. Jesus wrestled the victory away from the devil. He took the sting of sin upon himself. He turned death into nothing more than a nap for his saints.
Jesus deserves a hero’s welcome for what he accomplished. A hero’s welcome that Palm Sunday, this Palm Sunday, every Sunday in God’s house, and every day in your house. He deserves your Hosannas, Alleluias, and Amens.
This week we follow Jesus these last few final steps. These final steps that led him into Jerusalem. These final steps will end at the Place of the Skull. Then Jesus will walk once again with his first steps away from the tomb. Amen.
At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10, 11). Amen.