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Jesus' View on "Back to the Bible" |
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Jesus' View on "Back to the Bible" |
During his ministry, Jesus moved from one place to another on foot. When he entered Jerusalem he did the same. But on the day of Palm Sunday, he rode on a donkey. He had many choices. He could have ridden on a horse, chariot, an elephant, or even a tiger. But he chose the donkey because of Zechariah’s prophesy. In doing so, he demonstrated that he was the king as prophesied by Zechariah and kept the claim to the end.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, .. (Mt. 21: 1a). Bethpage, being located on the Mount of Olives, had a commanding view of Jerusalem. Many things passed through Jesus' mind as he watched over Jerusalem from the town of Bethpage. Every year Jesus' parents had a tradition of traveling to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. The Passover law required that a paschal lamb should be taken up and set apart for that service on this very day (Ex. 12:3). At the age of twelve, Jesus followed his parents to Jerusalem and ate the Passover with them (Lk. 1:42). Jesus continued to do so each year, never missing one. After Jesus set out on his ministry, Jesus spent most of his time in Galilee. Yet he travelled to Jerusalem at least once a year to participate in the Passover. He no longer followed his parents. Rather, he was the leader and his disciples followed him. He healed and taught people in Jerusalem, especially at the temple. He was the source of joy and happiness to many in the city. As the trail of the pleasant memories subsided he woke up to the reality; This visit of Jerusalem would be the last, since religious leaders decided to kill him (Lk. 19:47). Jesus was fully aware of his upcoming death, but was determined to enter Jerusalem. He only waited for the right time to enter Jerusalem. He chose the tenth day of the month, five days before his death and seven days before his resurrection. His day of entry is now widely known as Palm Sunday among Christians and even some non-Christians. A night before the entry to Jerusalem Mary anointed his feet (Jn. 12:3). Despite the protests from his disciples, Jesus blessed her action as the preparation for his burial. Jesus was ready to enter Jerusalem.
Jesus had prayed about how to enter Jerusalem. All these years he had entered Jerusalem on foot. Walking on foot was his chief means of transportation. He had never ridden any horse or carts, not to mention chariots. Despite the inconvenience, he moved on foot from one place to another. He could have entered Jerusalem on foot as usual. Instead, he chose to ride on a donkey. Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her..' (Mt. 21:2). All four gospels mentioned this event, but there is an ambiguity: a donkey, a colt or both. Mark and Luke mentioned only a colt, the foal of a donkey (Mk. 11:2, Lk. 19:30). Matthew mentioned both the donkey and the colt. John mentioned a young donkey (Jn. 12:14). When he quoted Zechariah, he cited only a donkey's colt (Jn. 12:15) as opposed to the donkey and the colt (Zec. 9:9). It is likely that Zechariah saw a donkey in his vision and then realized that it was young. So he added the phrase "on a colt" not as an addition, but as an emphasis. Considering the fact that the John's Gospel was written latest, he settled the matter this way. In any case, there is no mistake that Jesus chose a young donkey. There were many other animals Jesus could have chosen such as a horse, an elephant, and even a lion. Entering Jerusalem riding on an elephant would have given people a lasting impression. It would have given people an impression that he came from a far and exotic place and that he held special honors and privileges. He could have prepared a golden chariot with four white horses like those in the movie Ben-Hur. It would have given people an impression that he came from a high class society or even a palace.
Jesus' choice was based on Zechariah. Yet getting even a donkey was not without difficulty. None of his disciples owned a donkey. Nonetheless Jesus had conviction that God would provide. “If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away” (Mt. 21:3). Jesus ordered his two disciples to bring one from the village. What if the owner would object? The disciples were not sure, but obeyed anyhow. To their surprise the owner agreed and loaned it to them for Jesus. It was such a memorable event. It forced his disciples to think about the implication. Matthew lost no time to quote Zechariah. This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey' (Mt. 21:4,5).” The donkey was the key to help Matthew to relate the whole event to the prophecy.
Entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey was the mark of the king. Most Jews were aware of this. In preparation for his entry to Jerusalem, Jesus had meditated on the book of Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah was a man of dreams. He was the contemporary of Nehemiah and Ezra. While the latter two were involved in restoring Jerusalem—its temple and walls— Zechariah mainly shared his visions from God to his people and inspired them to prepare their hearts. His prophecy began from the second year of Darius, BC 523 (Zec. 1:1). His immediate concern was the restoration of the temple and the installation of Joshua as a high priest (Zec. 3). His vision came true. The temple was completed in BC 515, eight years later and Joshua became the high priest. Throughout his visions, however, Zechariah also shared a vision of someone beyond Joshua. In chapter 9, he mentioned the coming of Zion's King. The King was not Joshua, since Joshua did not enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Most of all, he did not rule the world. So people understood the prophecy as the coming Messiah like the King David. Zechariah described in detail how the king would enter Jerusalem and what he would do afterwards. "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth (Zec. 9: 9-10)." He would be lowly, but victorious. He would proclaim peace to the nations. He would rule over the whole world. Jesus claimed all for himself. By choosing the donkey, he claimed to be the king that Zechariah had envisioned.
Jesus' entry to Jerusalem was sensational. His riding on a donkey made his progression toward Jerusalem exciting or maybe even comedic to the people. The response of the crowd along the way was fantastic and had not happened in any previous years when Jesus entered Jerusalem. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road (Mt. 21:8). Spreading cloaks and branches would not make riding any easier. Rather it would make the ride cumbersome. But it was their expression of respect and joy toward Jesus. As they remembered what he had done, they wholeheartedly welcomed him. Their expectations for Jesus reached the sky. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven! (Mt. 21:9)” They called Jesus the Son of David. They recognized that Jesus came in the name of the Lord. They hoped that Jesus would do something for them as the king David had done for his people. They enjoyed most prosperity and largest territory under his rule.
The progression had a great impact even after it was over. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” (Mt. 21:10). Everyone in the city was involved. Around this time so many prestigious people gathered from all over the world. Many exciting events went on. So it would be rather difficult to draw attention of people unless the event was something very meaningful and exciting to them. Jesus' entry was the most sensational event on this week of Passover. When someone who had never heard about Jesus wished to know who he was, there was a general statement on Jesus by the crowds. The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. (Mt. 21:11)” Now all of the people in Jerusalem recognized Jesus as the prophet. Furthermore they overcame the prejudice against his background. When Philip introduced Jesus to Nathanael, his first response was, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? (Jn. 1:46)" Many Jews, especially those who lived in Jerusalem, despised the people of Galilee and especially despised an obscure town like Nazareth. Now people recognized that Jesus came from God and he spoke the word of God like any other prophets in the past.
When Jesus chose the donkey, he based his decision on Zechariah, not out of his imagination or people's opinion. By doing so he intentionally claimed that he was the Zion's King. He also demonstrated that he would be a humble and gentle king, yet commanding his people to obey him. At the same time he faced a dilemma, since it could mislead people to anticipate him to do something as the king David had done. At that time many Jews had great expectation for Jesus. In fact, Jesus' popularity reached its climax as he approached Jerusalem. It was the third time for the national festival after he set out his ministry. His ministry had grown remarkably. Many began to recognize his power and wisdom. They expected that Jesus would do something nobody had been able to do in the past. They thought that Jesus would call upon a multitude of angels and drive out all Romans soldiers and Gentiles from Jerusalem. From there Jesus would launch major offense against the Roman Empire and establish a new kingdom for the Jews that would last forever. Their dreams and expectations had no limits. This was further corroborated by the prophecy of Zechariah that the king would rule the world.
But Jesus had no intention to establish an earthly kingdom. He never wavered on his position on this. He was determined to establish the kingdom of God. When the crowd realized that their expectation was not met, they became angry, turned their back against him, joined the rally with the religious leaders, and even shouted, "Crucify him." The religious leaders lost no time in framing him as an insurrectionist to the Roman Empire by using his claim as the king of the Jews. When Pilate examined Jesus, he consulted his subjects and found no basis for a charge against him (Jn. 19:4). There was no evidence that Jesus rallied his own army. Jesus never commanded any of his disciples to attack Roman soldiers, not to mention Roman posts. None of his disciples was with him by the time he was arrested. So Pilate was anxious to know if Jesus would keep the claim as the king of the Jews that would cost his life. Jesus never backed down. Jesus kept the title the king of the Jews during his trial (Jn. 18:37). Because Pilate was at least a reasonable man, Jesus explained the nature of his kingdom and his kingship. Whether Pilate understood it or not remains as a mystery. One thing is clear. Pilate knew the truth that Jesus was innocent, but he could not adhere to the truth. Sadly he yielded to the demand of the crowd. On the other hand, Pilate ordered his soldiers to put a post on Jesus’ cross that read “King of the Jews,” in the three major languages of the time so that everyone would be able to see and understand it. When the chief priest protested to change it, Pilate overruled their protest (Jn. 19: 21, 22). Knowingly or unknowingly he publicly honored Jesus' title as the King. However which way the people interpreted the sign, Jesus' kingship was crystal clear when he rode on a donkey. He would rule the world with love and peace.
On a modest scale many among us have claimed our identity from the Bible. There are largely three popular verses that had shaped our identity: Genesis 12:2, Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 2:9. Expounding all may require another article. Let me share briefly one from Genesis 12:2. When God called Abraham God promised him to be a blessing. In addition to blessing him, he made him to be a source of blessing to all peoples. Abraham took it to his heart. In a foreign country he was a stranger. He could be considered an annoyance or even a threat. Nonetheless he believed God's promise, acted like a blessing and became a blessing. Abraham planted this in the heart of Isaac. Isaac took it to his heart and passed it to his son Jacob. In this way, all his descendants had conviction that they were a blessing. Wherever they went and however people treated them, they treasured this in their hearts. This was their identity. When their country was destroyed by Babylon, all the remnants were deported (2 Ki. 25). They lost everything, but kept this identity in their hearts despite their poor condition in foreign country. Esther was one of them (Esther). Daniel was another (Daniel). There are numerous examples among us as well. They lived a miserable life before they came to the Bible study. When they studied Genesis, despite their past, they picked this verse, treasured it and passed it to their descendants.
Jesus entered Jerusalem as the king of the Jews. For his demonstration of his kingship, he chose to ride on a young donkey based on Zechariah’s prophesy. People largely misunderstood his kingship. When their expectation was unmet, they walked away from Jesus and even shouted with the religious leaders, "Crucify him." Regardless of the consequence Jesus never gave up his title even before Pilate. By riding on a young donkey he proclaimed his kingship, clarified its nature and let people follow him out of love for him.