Matthew 21 β Jesus Comes to Jerusalem. Loose them and bring them to Me. When they drew near Jerusalem : Jesus knew that the religious leaders were going to arrest Him and condemn Him and mock Him and scourge Him and deliver Him to the Romans for crucifixion Matthew Yet He had the courage to not only enter Jerusalem, but to enter in as public a way as possible.
This contrasts to His previous pattern of suppressing publicity. If Jesus had not deliberately suppressed the popular enthusiasm over Him and His credentials as Messiah β if Jesus had wanted it , this would have happened long ago and many times.
But the ride on a colt, because it was planned, could only be an acted parable, a deliberate act of self-disclosureβ¦Secrecy was being lifted. You will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her : Jesus would ride upon the younger of these animals, the colt. He told the disciples how they would find these animals, and instructed them to bring both animals. The Hebrew text of Zechariah 9 mentions one animal, not two.
Mark and Luke say the animal was so young that it had never been ridden. In the midst, then, of this excited crowd, an unbroken animal remains calm under the hands of the Messiah who controls nature. Your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey : Jesus came to Jerusalem in humility, yet with appropriate dignity.
Instead of coming on a horse as a conquering general, He came on a colt , as was customary for royalty. He came to Jerusalem as the Prince of Peace. It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride and worldly grandeur; of poverty over affluence ; and of meekness and gentleness over rage and malice. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
