The ride to Jerusalem on a donkey was a deliberate fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, a passage which the Jewish teachers interpreted as referring to the Messiah. Some people suggest that Matthew tried to make the fulfilment more obvious by inventing two donkeys, a mother with her foal, and saying that Jesus rode them both. All the other gospels mention only one donkey – the young one, which had never been ridden before, and was therefore ‘pure’ enough for such an occasion. I wonder whether the mother was brought along to reassure the colt, and maybe Jesus rode the mother at first to show that it was OK! (The other gospel writers probably thought the mother donkey was not relevant to the story.)
The prophecy is of Jerusalem’s king coming to the city in peace; if the king came as a conqueror he would have ridden a war horse. When the carpenter’s son from Nazareth rode a donkey into town, no-one but the Romans would mistake the symbolism: he was claiming to be the King, the Messiah. His disciples realized this and rejoiced; the Jewish leaders realized this and complained.
Both the Jewish leaders and the disciples anticipated that the Messiah would lead the nation to Freedom. They were under the yoke of the Romans, and bitterly resented it; their thoughts went back to the good old days when Judas Maccabaeus was around, a freedom fighter who successfully freed the nation from the colonial masters of his day (the successors to Alexander the Great). That was the sort of Messiah they were looking for. Not everyone looked forward to that, however; certain Jewish leaders in the ruling council were happy enough with their position not to want any change to the status quo.
The disciples, who had seen the miracles Jesus did, were sufficiently impressed to believe he had the power to do anything. He whom wind and waves obeyed could surely deal with a Roman army! Jesus’ teaching about love also impressed them – surely one who taught such things would bring in a reign of peace and prosperity.
The crowds caught on to the symbolism immediately, and rushed to honour the newly acclaimed Messiah. Some might not have known enough about Jesus to believe he really was the Messiah; but if this disturbance embarrassed the Romans, it was worth joining in. And maybe something interesting would happen… At least he was a prophet – that was the common opinion – so there was a chance that this was a significant occasion.
The Jewish leaders would not have been impressed with Jesus. His claims were too much for any mortal to make; he took to himself the kind of authority which was due to God alone. He broke their traditions, claimed authority over what took place on the Sabbath, and accused them of hypocrisy. Such a man must not be allowed political power. His disciples must be stopped from seeing him as the Messiah. So the scene was set for Holy Week.
Disciples, crowds, leaders, all were mistaken. Jesus was neither the Messiah one group hoped for, nor the Messiah the others feared. His way was the way of the cross. We are called to follow him, not the Messiah of our dreams or nightmares.
1) In what ways does Jesus disappoint or fulfil peoples’ hopes today? How can we help people to be more realistic about who Jesus is and what he has done and can do?
2) As we begin Holy Week, what can we do to grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done?