Matthew 21:1-11
The true King comes gently, fulfills Scripture openly, and confronts every shallow answer to the question, 'Who is this?'
1 When they came near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went, and did just as Jesus commanded them,
7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their clothes on them; and he sat on them.
8 A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut branches from the trees, and spread them on the road.
9 The multitudes 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!”
10 When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
11 The multitudes said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The true King comes gently, fulfills Scripture openly, and confronts every shallow answer to the question, 'Who is this?'
Matthew presents Jesus' public entry into Jerusalem as the Scripture-fulfilling arrival of Zion's humble Davidic King whose identity is praised by the crowds yet still imperfectly understood by the city.
Bethphage and the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, as Jesus approaches the city during the final week before the crucifixion.
The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership
Jesus enters Jerusalem as the promised King who judges fruitless worship, receives the praise and need of the lowly, exposes unbelieving leadership, and reveals himself as the rejected Son and cornerstone through whom the kingdom is given to a fruit-bearing people.