Ackowledge Your King Series

In a typical year about 3.5 million people visit Jerusalem. It’s one of the most historic cities in the world. It has been continuously inhabited since about 1,800 B.C. So it’s been worth visiting for a VERY long time!

But in the time of Jesus, there were certain times of the year when Jews had a special reason to visit Jerusalem. They were the feasts. There was, for example, the Feast of Weeks, to celebrate the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. There was the Feast of Tabernacles, to remember when the people of Israel lived in tents. There was the Feast of Passover, to remember when God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt. There were other feasts too.

During the feasts, lots of Jews came to Jerusalem. Historians think that perhaps a hundred or two hundred thousand people would come for the feasts, doubling or tripling the population of the city.

This year, Jerusalem had a very special visitor.

John tells us at the start of chapter 12 that ‘six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany.’ Bethany was a village just outside Jerusalem. That year, Passover was on a Thursday. So on approximately the Friday before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany.

Jesus was no casual tourist, there to see the sights. He was there to observe a festival.

At the Feast of Passover the Jews had to sacrifice an animal. It would remind them that on the very first Passover in Egypt, their ancestors sacrificed lambs. The blood of the lamb covered their sins and the angel of death ‘passed over’ them. Jesus had also come to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice.

In Jesus’ time, Judea was ruled by the Romans. They were an occupying power. The Jews, very understandably, wanted them gone. They were hoping for a messiah who would lead them to overthrow the Romans.

In our passage, we read that the people took palm branches and went out to meet Jesus, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’

The commentators tell us that palm branches were a very nationalistic symbol. ‘Hosanna’ comes from two Hebrew words which mean, ‘deliver please’.

So it seems that the people of Jerusalem hoped that Jesus would be a king who would liberate them from the Romans.

But that wasn’t Jesus’ mission and he intended to make that clear. He was going to make a statement.

Jesus had a good deal of scripture – passages from the Old Testament – to guide him.

Way back in Genesis, Jacob made a mysterious prophecy. He prophesies about his 12 sons, anticipating what the future held for each of them. He comes to Judah and declares:

'The sceptre will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until he to whom it belongs shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his.'

Jacob anticipates the coming of one who would rule over all nations, who would be from the tribe of Judah – which Jesus was.

But then Jacob continues:

'He will tether his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch…'

[Genesis 49:10-11a]

What’s Jacob on about here?! Why does he suddenly talk about a donkey and a colt? It seems very random!

Arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus tells his disciples, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey TIED THERE, with her colt by her’ [Matthew 21:2]. Jesus emphasises the fact that the donkey is TIED THERE to draw attention to the fulfilment of Jacob’s prophecy.

There are other prophecies too. Malachi prophesies, ‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come TO HIS TEMPLE’ [Malachi 3:1]. So Jesus would certainly have to come to the temple – which was, of course, in Jerusalem.

But the clearest prophecy comes in Zechariah. Zechariah proclaims:

'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' [Zechariah 9:9].

Zechariah has returned to the colt and donkey which Jacob spoke about. And now, we see where they fit. Jerusalem should rejoice! Her king is coming, ‘lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

Jesus knows from prophecy what he has to do. He has to get on a donkey. That’s what he wants to do in any case. He certainly doesn’t want anyone thinking that he’s going to lead a glorious uprising and rid the country of the Romans.

So, Jesus gets on a donkey and rides into Jerusalem. He fulfils Zechariah’s prophecy. The people of Jerusalem knew the Old Testament. Jesus’ sign was unmistakeable. He was declaring himself KING.