2001-04-03 - The Triumphal Entry

The Prophecy Fulfilled Series, Part 23
The Prophecy

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The Fulfillment

Mark 11: 7-10 "And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat upon it. And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!'"

See also Matthew 21:1-11.

Easter is approaching quickly. In fact, this coming Sunday is traditionally known as Palm Sunday when we remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. One of the reasons it is interesting that Christ entered Jerusalem on a donkey is because the donkey, under the law of Moses, was an unclean animal. The donkey is known as a beast of burden and was commonly used for carrying large loads or people, Genesis 22:3, 2 Samuel 16:2. A donkey is also an interesting choice because the donkey was an animal that the Israelites stopped using in warfare after the reign of King Solomon.

One of the popular Bible stories in the Old Testament is the story of Balaam, his donkey, and the angel. A donkey is not considered to be the smartest of the animal kingdom, but God used Balaam's donkey to save his life. He did this by opening the mouth of the donkey and giving it speech. Numbers 22:28-30 The donkey is also used as a comparative to man or Israel in several passages in the Old Testament. For example, "An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand." Isaiah 1:3

The real reason I have focused on the donkey today is because of the similarity between a donkey and Christ. Because the donkey was an unclean animal Jewish law required that the first born of each donkey had to be redeemed with a lamb being sacrificed or by simply breaking their necks. I think it is significant that Christ rode into Jerusalem to accomplish our redemption on an animal that itself had to have been redeemed. We know Christ as, "The Lamb of God," and He entered into His work of atonement on a donkey which may have been redeemed by a lamb itself.

"This precious Lamb of God gave up His golden fleece for us." Christopher Nesse

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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