MATTHEW 21:1

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethfage at the Hill of Olives, Jesus then sent two pupils, telling them, “Go to the settlement ahead of you and straight off you’ll find a donkey tied up with a foal. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you should say that “the Master needs them”” and he will let them go at once. This happened to fulfil the word spoken through the prophet:

Say to the daughter of Zion

Behold your king is coming to you

Gentle and mounted on a donkey

On a foal the son of a beast of burden.

So the pupils went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the foal, and put their cloaks upon them and he took his seat upon them. A very big crowd spread out their cloaks on the way and others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the way. The crowds that led forward and those that followed behind, shouted out:

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the Lord’s name!

Hosanna in the highest places!

When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken, and the people were saying, “Who is this?”

But the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

A casual reader might think that this is not very different from Matthew’s source, the Gospel of Mark, but in fact the intentions of the two writers are very different. Mark provides an event which is a rough parody of a Roman Triumph, emphasising the peacefulness and wildness of Jesus and his retinue. Mark of course knows the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, but he does not quote it. Only the person who knows his Hebrew Bible will know that Jesus was using that passage as his secret script.

Matthew quotes the passage making clear that Jesus has planned this event as a fulfilment. The prophecy states that the one who is coming is the king. Jesus’ entry, planned in advance with the donkey owners, is therefore publicly messianic. His procession is calm and orderly, The chants of the people are part of popular liturgy, but in their use of “son of David” they point to a messiah king, although the title they give him is “prophet.”

For Matthew, this is a crucial turning point in Jesus’ ministry. In Galilee and its surrounding areas, he has been able be the compassionate magician who brings victorious life to the people of the land. Will this magic work in Jerusalem, the city of religious and imperial power?

Bibles tend to call the event, “The Triumphal Entry” which is a poor way to introduce the distinctively crafted narratives of the gospels.