This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 21:1-7, Mk. 11:1-6, Lk. 19:28-35
The life of Jesus is marked by the unexpected. For all the assumptions Israel made about their future Savior, the perfect God who came as a man rarely did what they thought He should. As He sets His sights on Jerusalem, the location of His impending death, He arrives in an expectedly unexpected way.
And when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” (Matthew 21:1-3)
Jesus, the King of Kings, was Israel’s promised Messiah. He was their God in the flesh. He came to the earth to save His people from their sins. Beginning at the Mount of Olives, He was preparing to enter the most important city in all of Israel. And for all the options available to Him, the perfect God of the universe chose to ride on a donkey so young and untrained that its mother had to accompany it.
But, as with many things about Jesus Christ, just because He defied expectations didn’t mean the things He did were outside God’s perfect plan. Matthew 21:4-5 tells us that Jesus did this to fulfill a prophecy made long ago. A prophecy that already told them their King would do exactly what Jesus was doing.
In Zechariah 9:2-8, God told Israel that He would judge the wicked nations around them. This judgment eventually happened through Alexander the Great, a king and warrior known for a brief rule filled with conquest. Although a pagan king, Israel still saw God fulfill His promise to them. However, the next verse gives a picture quite different from that of a conquering king.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal. (Zechariah 9:9)
Israel is told to shout for joy at their coming king. Yet this king wasn’t coming on a majestic stallion or riding a mighty chariot. Their king would be humble and unimpressive, riding on an animal often associated with peace.
Jesus Christ was the King and Messiah that Israel had waited for. He was coming into Jerusalem precisely as God said He would. Yet, as we’ll see, very few who saw Him were excited for the right reasons.
Stop and think: Despite waiting for their promised Messiah, Israel was often disappointed when Jesus acted in ways they didn’t expect. They had the truth in the Old Testament, yet their disappointment came when He didn’t match their ideas of how He should act. How can our biblical expectations for God’s actions help our relationship with Him, and how can unbiblical opinions hurt it?
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