The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 21 Part 1 Jesus Enters Jerusalem When The Passover Lamb Is Separated

Matthew continues his gospel narrative by picking up where the last paragraph ended in the previous chapter.

Jesus was traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem and had stopped to heal two blind men.

The next paragraph in chapter twenty one, is known as Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and this is connected with His title as the Son of David.

The distance from Jericho to Jerusalem is about nineteen miles that track through a hot, dusty desert, and tree lined places with rocky outcroppings and caves.

The Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and Bethphage are all in close proximity to the holy city Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:1-3  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 

All four gospel records contain Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem five days before His crucifixion. 

Remember, at this point in time, Jesus had spoken to His disciples three times of His sufferings, death, burial and resurrection (See Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19).

The law demanded that Passover be kept on the fifteenth day of this particular month. 

God further specified that the Passover lamb must be selected four days prior, on the tenth day of that month (See Exodus 12:1-6).

This corresponds with the exact day Jesus came to Jerusalem.

Why does this matter? 

Because John the Baptist introduced Jesus saying: "Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world" (See John 1:29; 36).

The Passover lamb was to be closely watched for four days, to ensure that it had no illness, no physical defects or deformities.

Thus, this narrative pictures Christ, our Passover Lamb, being put on display for all to see in accord with the law.

Jesus stayed overnight at Bethphage and John's gospel tells us this is when Mary anointed Christ's feet with expensive ointment (See John 12).

What happened next?

Jesus sent two of His disciples into the nearby village to find an ass and a colt tied together. 

He told His disciples to loose the animals and bring them back to Him.

Jesus also told the disciples what to say if anyone questioned why they were untying the ass and colt.

Matthew 21:4-5  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 

Matthew included these details because they show that more Old Testament prophecies about Messiah were being fulfilled.

Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass

Zechariah prophesied about 520 years before the birth of Christ. 

He ministered alongside Haggai to encourage all of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem after enduring seventy years of captivity in Babylon.

Messiah's arrival in Jerusalem was to be an event of joy for the people and He will ride upon an ass and a colt.

The circumstances of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem were very much like the humble circumstances of His birth in a lowly stable (See Philippians 2:5-11).

There was no grand procession, no chorus of trumpets sounding, and no heralds sent ahead to announce Christ coming as their King.

The pattern of Jesus' life is that suffering precedes glory and His entry to Jerusalem is the beginning of His suffering for us.

All of the glory and majesty of Jesus were revealed at His resurrection and are reserved for His return. 

Jesus will return for His church at the day of resurrection.

After seven years of tribulation on earth, Jesus will return with all power and glory, at the resurrection of damnation.

He will come in flaming fire to judge the wicked (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Matthew 21:6-7  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 

Mark 11:4-6  And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. 5  And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6  And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 

Jesus disciples obeyed their Lord and brought back the animals He requested.

Mark's gospel tells us that those who owned the animals asked Christ's disciples why they were untying them, and they replied with the words Jesus told them to say.

The owners then complied and allowed the disciples to take the two animals.

This narrative shows the omniscient knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus knew that there was an ass and a colt tied together. 

He knew that they were tied up and that they needed to be loosed and brought back to Him.

Thus, Jesus gave the perfect and complete instruction to His disciples and all things unfolded just as Jesus said.

Psalm 24:1  A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 

King David was the sweet Psalmist of Israel and a man after God's own heart.

David reminds us that all the earth and all its contents belong to Jehovah. 

He created it all and He is the rightful owner of it all.

This includes all mankind, all forms of animal life and plant life. It all belongs to God.

Psalm 50:10-12  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11  I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 

Again, God speaking through the Psalmist tells us that every beast is His. 

All the cattle, all the fowls, and all the wild beasts.

God says "The world is mine and the fulness thereof."

Thus, Jesus whose name means "Jehovah saves" and who is God manifest in the flesh, sent His disciples to obtain two animals, because the Lord needed them and they belong to Him.

We see Jesus power over the spirits of men. 

When the owners asked why Jesus' disciples untied the ass and colt, they spoke the words Jesus gave them to say.

The men allowed Jesus' disciples to take the ass and colt, just as Jesus foretold.

Proverbs 16:9  A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Proverbs 21:1  The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

With those words, Jesus showed that the hearts of common people as well as the hearts of kings are in His hand, to turn them in His desired direction.

There is an old saying "Man proposes but God disposes."

We tend to make our own plans without thinking about what God may have in mind for us.

Yet, even when we are seeking to carry out our own agenda, God is still working to direct our steps.

When Jesus commanded the ass and colt into His service, He showed that He is Lord of all. 

When Jesus moved in the owners heart to send the ass and colt,  showed that He is the God of the spirits of all flesh, who can turn men's hearts (See Numbers 16:22; 27:16).

2 Corinthians 8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 

Jesus gave up His glory shared with His Father in heaven, in order to be made a little lower than the angels.

Jesus is blessed with all the infinite riches and glory of heaven but He became poor for our sakes, that we might receive an inheritance with the saints in heaven.

The ass and colt were borrowed for a short time as Jesus was not wealthy, having no home, land or cattle.

Therefore, He borrowed these two animals but He had  legal right to claim them as the Lord who Created all things.

The law of God makes it clear that whatever things we borrow from a friend or neighbor, we must restore in due time and in good order.

Psalm 37:21  The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.  

Exodus 22:14  And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.

God's Word tells us that wicked people borrow things with no intention of returning the borrowed items.

They are guilty of stealing if they deliberately do not return borrowed items.

Not only must we return borrowed things in a timely manner, but we must make it right if we damage the item. 

In like manner, the animals were returned to their rightful owner in the same condition that they were in before they carried Jesus on their backs.

Matthew 21:6-9  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 

Jesus sat upon the ass and colt and rode into Jerusalem accompanied by a multitude.

What happened next may seem inexplicable.

It seems clear that the Spirit of God was moving in the hearts of people concerning Zechariah's prophecy being literally fulfilled by Christ.

There was a tradition of a new king riding on an ass. King David commanded that Solomon ride the king's ass to show that he was going to reign when David died (See 1 Kings 1:33-34).

There was also a tradition of people laying down their garments for a newly coronated king to ride over when entering Jerusalem (See 2 Kings 9:13).

Zechariah's prophecy declared that people in Jerusalem when Messiah came would say:  "behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

A multitude came behind Jesus following Him and a multitude went on before Him as Jesus entered Jerusalem.

The city was filled with loudest shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."

"Hosanna" means save now, or help now! This is recognition that a deliverer has come to Israel.

They called Jesus the Son of David and this is right because both Joseph and Mary's ancestry proves they are in the royal line of David.

Jesus is called "Son of David" sixteen times in the gospels. What does this title mean?

The answer is that Christ (the Messiah) was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seed of David (See 2 Samuel 7:12–16). 

Jesus is the promised Messiah, which means He had to be of the lineage of David. 

Matthew 1 gives the genealogical proof that Jesus was a direct descendant of Abraham and David through Joseph, Jesus’ legal father. 

The genealogy in Luke 3 traces Jesus’ lineage through His mother, Mary. 

Jesus is a descendant of David by adoption through Joseph and by blood through Mary (See Romans 1:3). 

Thus we see more prophecies literally fulfilled by Jesus. Jerusalem was filled with joy and hope. They people cried out to Jesus the Son of David, seeking help and salvation from their Messiah.

First, we see God at work in the timing of Jesus arrival in Jerusalem, on the same day that the Passover lamb would be separated out.

Second, we see God at work in the circumstances, such as the disciples receiving permission to take the ass and colt, or the multitude cutting down palm branches and spreading them on the road along with garments.

Thus the historical ceremonies of anointing a king over Israel were observed.

Third, we see God at work in the hearts of people who were shouting Hosanna to the Son of David. They understood Messiah would bring salvation and deliverance.

What does this mean for us?

First, we can trust God to work out the timing of what happens to us in this life. 

He promises to work all things for good to them that love Him (Romans 8:28).

We may be diagnosed with a serious illness, suffer a job loss or experience family problems, but God is never caught off guard. 

We know that He will love and care for us and bring us through our troubles just like He did for Job.

Second, we can trust the unexpected circumstances of life to God. 

If we unexpectedly lose our income or health, or a loved one, God already knew what would happen and He will comfort us. 

He will help us process the loss and the heartache and open new doors for us to walk through with Him.

Third, we must trust that God is always at work in our heart even when life is most challenging.

God uses trials, troubles and afflictions to turn us toward Himself, so that we may grow in our dependency upon Him as our faith matures.

Bob