Matthew 21:1-11 (Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-38, John 12:12-16) is the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem.[1] I will describe the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a symbolic act, contrasting the humility of Jesus with the grandeur of political and military leaders. I will suggest that Jesus performed this act as fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 and the disciples recognized its significance. I give emphasis to the symbolic gestures (cloaks, branches, crowd’s acclamations). I note parallels with Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions, and explore the possibility of interpreting the event as a political protest contrasting Jesus’ procession with Pilate’, leading to the theological implications of Jesus as a humble, peaceful king.
Introduction
There are two stories. The scene becomes a parody of the entry of the great ones with political and military power as Jesus enters the city by symbolically highlighting humble service (18:1-5, 20:20-28). The question behind the historical reliability of this event is whether Jesus intended to fulfill the prophecy of Zech 9:9, which I think is possible, and the disciples recognizing this event as fulfilling this prophecy, for they were full of joy and expectation of the coming rule of God. Thus, this story may have some historical basis, but as the text stands, it is more like a revelatory event that anticipates the end of the story, removing the ambiguity contained in the life and message of Jesus. Yet the insights of scholars Crossan and Borg suggest to me that there is significant history in this text, even if embellished in ways we might expect.
Verse-by-verse study
One story is about the sending for the colt in v. 1-6. The journey toward the Holy City of Jerusalem and all the events to unfold here are nearing an end, and they reached Bethphage, about one mile from the summit at the Mount of Olives, a place significant for Jewish prophesy. Zechariah 14 specifically recalls that the coronation march for the divine warrior‑king begins at the Mount of Olives. In Jewish tradition, this is the place where the triumphal entry of the new messianic ruler of the city will start. Before Jesus enters the city, he sends his disciples ahead of him on a special mission with instructions in verses 2-3, Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find, in a difference that Matthew has from Mark, a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord (Ὁ κύριος) needs them.’ And he will send them immediately. Some scholars insist that the information Jesus relays to his disciples about the waiting colt is not necessarily a demonstration of any special foreknowledge about the animal, its condition or its location. They argue that Jesus could have made prior arrangements with the colt's owner and is now simply passing along to two disciples the details of the deal he had already worked out. However, the detail Jesus knows about his animal and his use of the phrase "The Lord needs it. . ." certainly seems to identify this as another wonder story. Jesus intuitively "knows" a colt meeting all his requirements is located on a certain street. He also can pass along to his disciples the words that will act as a kind of "open sesame" for them. We should also see their response of "The Lord needs it. . ." a reference to Jesus as "the Lord"‑‑not, as some suggest, as "the Lord" or master of the colt. In verses 4-5 (unique to Matthew) this took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, Isaiah 62:11, saying, 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, (a term of affection for Jerusalem), and from Zechariah 9:9, Look, your king is coming to you, humble (meek), depicting the entry of Jesus as that of a non-violent, non-warlike king of salvation and peace, opposed to the political action urged by zealots,[2] and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” For the prophet, the suffering of Zion is ending. This part of the story ends with the disciples doing as Jesus directed them.
The second story is about the entry proper in verses 7-11. The two disciples brought the donkey and the colt, like he will ride both, and the company around Jesus put their cloaks on the donkey and the colt, and he sat on them, an odd image of Jesus riding on both animals. Matthew seems to think of this event as a literal fulfillment of the prophecy. However, we now think of this as a form of parallelism, signifying emphasis rather than quantity. Although donkeys once bore persons of influence and position in Old Testament times, and even earlier, as attested in the Ugaritic mythology, by Jesus' time, the donkey had been supplanted by the horse as a means of conveyance by all who could afford it. The point understood by Matthew is that the messianic King's humility extends beyond the simple beast of burden scorned by the Roman overlords of Judea, reaching even to the innocent, immature offspring of such an unassuming beast. Jesus' gesture of self-effacement is a repudiation of the faster-greater-better spirit of his age. True kingship, the King of Kings quietly proclaims, is humility.[3] A large crowd spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road (I Macc 13:49-51, II Macc 10, Psa 118:25). This symbolizes the portrayal of Jesus as the Savior of the common and ordinary people. The actions next taken by the disciples and the people are symbolic of the authority of Jesus. In II Kings 9:13, the people perform a similar gesture just before they proclaim Jehu king. In Zechariah 9:9, the divine warrior‑king mounts up and rides into the city‑‑just as Jesus himself now prepares to do. Symbolizing the portrayal of Jesus as the Savior of the common and ordinary people, a large crowd assembles and spreads their cloaks on the road. Other people cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. We might contrast this account with the reception of the Queen of Sheba by Solomon in I Kings 10:1-13 and the acclamation of Jehu as king of Israel in II Kings 9:13. The text clearly intends to draw a parallel between the actions of the messianic warrior‑king Zechariah prophesies and the actions of Jesus, the still‑secret, messianic, Prince‑of‑Peace king. Scholars have also noted that these details would have given a visual message familiar to Gentile readers as well. There are elements here that are equally at home among the traditional victory processions of Greco‑Roman warrior‑kings. The large citizen escort, accompanying hymns or chants, symbolic acquiescence in the new ruler's authority, and a concluding temple ritual: All were part of pagan‑political events familiar to the Greco‑Roman world. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, in the words of Psalm 118:25-26, Hosanna (a prayer for salvation, "Save, now" or "Save, I pray."). This liturgically oriented cry of Judaism and using it to confess their faith in Jesus as the Son of David who would come as the crucified Servant of God who has come in the name of the Lord, and in the name of the Lord will come to make a triumphal entry as the anointed one.[4] Matthew uniquely having, to the Son of David (τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ)! We might see such significance in Jesus' epithet "son of David" (applied also to Jerimoth, II Chronicles 11:18, Solomon II Chronicles 1:1, 13:6, 35:3; Proverbs 1:1, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes (1:1), and Jesus' relatives, Joseph, Matthew 1:20) and Nathan (Luke 3:31). “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” This refers to the highest part of a multilayered heaven or to God. An ancient hymn from the 600s by Theodulph of Orleans and translated by John Mason Neale in the 1800s refers to the lips of children singing sweet hosannas to the King of Israel and the royal Son of David, who comes in the name of the Lord, the King and Blessed One. “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The text is emphasizing that Jesus is a worthy fulfillment of the expectations regarding the descendants of David.
I find it difficult to read these words in this setting without my mind going to a hymn by Jeanette Threlfall, (1821-1880) that opens with “Hosanna, loud hosanna,” referring to little children singing through the court and temple. The anthem is lovely, as they sing to Jesus, who blessed them. It refers to arriving from Olivet, with the victor palm branch waving as the Lord of earth and heaven rode in a humble state.
In verses 10-11, upon entering Jerusalem, the city was in turmoil as it wondered who this is, and the response of the crowd was that this is the prophet (ὁ προφήτης) Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. As the gospel story unfolds, however, we as readers know that he is far more than that.
From anything we can tell in this story, it was a regular workday that this event occurred. A processional entry of a personage like Jesus into the capital city would also recall the Roman triumph of a victorious general surrounded by his conquering troops. The troops would sing songs in praise of their leader, just as do the disciples. Like the returning hero, Jesus heads for the temple of his God. However, there are also notable differences that the first-century listener would notice. Unlike the returning hero, Jesus wears no crown. Jesus’ crown comes later. Yet we can see here in this welcome a fulfillment of the heavenly situation of the will of God being done on earth, as it is heaven.[5]
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, in their book The Last Week, say that on that Sunday people in Jerusalem would have witnessed two processions, not one — the Pilate Procession and the Jesus Procession. The Pilate procession for the Roman governor and his accompanying military force coming into the city from the west provided that military deterrent during the festival. According to the contemporary historian Josephus, when Pilate first brought Roman troops to Jerusalem from Caesarea some time earlier, he committed an unprecedented violation of Jewish sensibilities by allowing the troops to bring their military standards and busts of the emperor into Jerusalem by night and set them up in the temple. A massive protest demonstration in Caesarea’s stadium forced the removal of the standards, but only after the Jews used tactics of nonviolent mass resistance, lying down and baring their necks when Pilate’s soldiers, swords in hand, surrounded and attempted to disperse them. Josephus also speaks of protests that broke out on another occasion when Pilate appropriated temple funds to build an aqueduct for Jerusalem. On this occasion, Pilate had Roman soldiers, dressed as Jewish civilians and armed with hidden clubs, mingle with the shouting crowd and attack the people at a prearranged signal. The soldiers killed or hurt many. The Jesus procession was on the east side of the city. Jesus sent his disciples to get a colt, which we assume was a small donkey. When the disciples secured the colt, Jesus rides it down the steep road from the Mount of Olives to the Golden Gate of the city, with a crowd of his supporters shouting “Hosanna!” — a Hebrew word that mixes praise to God with a prayer that God will save his people and do it soon. They spread their cloaks on the colt and cut branches from the surrounding fields — actions that they did only in the presence of royalty. Borg and Crossan see the Palm Sunday parade as a kind of pre-planned political protest, and a look at the context seems to back that up. The symbolism of a ruler riding on a donkey would not be lost on those putting their cloaks in the road, for they would have remembered the words of the prophet Zechariah: an image of a king coming into Jerusalem with shouts of joy from the people. He is “triumphant” and “victorious” — words that Romans and other imperial leaders would have embraced — but he is “humble” and rides on a donkey instead of a war horse (Zechariah 9:9). In fact, continues the prophet, “He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem.” This king is not a conquering hero who uses weapons of mass destruction, but one who will break the power of military might with humility, justice and a “peace” for all the nations (Zechariah 9:10). Jesus’ parade is thus an intentional parable and statement of contrast. If Pilate’s procession embodied power, violence and the glory of the empire that ruled the world, Jesus’ procession embodied the kind of rule that God was ushering in through Jesus’ ministry of healing, his message of good news and his sacrificial death on a Roman cross. Pilate and the empire he represented were the most powerful force in the region on that Sunday. Jesus provided a puzzling contrast. In one sense, and in many ways, the church on Palm Sunday is asking people to join the right parade.
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[2] F. Hauck/S. Schulz, TDNT, VI, 649.
[3](see David R. Bauer, "Matthew," in the Asbury Bible Commentary [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992]).
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