Page 70 - Life of Christ w videos

in the Bible they are almost always in relation to kings and war, while donkeys are mentioned in relation
to common people. The donkey’s purpose was to work in agriculture as well as in trade. Jesus was not
entering Jerusalem as a conqueror, but as a servant of the people. The donkey symbolized the common
people.

Smaller than horses and gifted with cautiousness that can sometimes be mistaken for stubbornness,
donkeys were not usually used during times of war. Zechariah 9:9 prophesied the coming of a king
“righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey”. This prophecy
was fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-11 when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and it was, considered
triumphant because he had done so without bloodshed on the side of the people.

Secondly, in the ancient Biblical world, a leader rode on a horse if he was coming in war, but on a
donkey to signify peace.

Thirdly, Jesus used the donkey to connect with the common people. Life was also not easy for a Jew
living under Roman rule in the 1st century—more so for the poor. But Jesus embraced the poor and sick
people during his time here on earth. His choice of a donkey instead of a horse was God’s way of saying
that he came as a king who will serve and save the oppressed.

The crowd had heard Jesus was coming from Bethany. They gathered at the Mount of Olives to receive
Him. He was to travel down the Mount to the Kidron Valley, then up to the Temple Mount through the
Eastern gate. The people shouted a refrain from the Psalms, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the
name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25-26).

This was the Passover, the most significant feast of the year. The population of Jerusalem swelled to
between 100,000 and 125,000 people for this event. In fact, the Temple mount was so large (33 acres)
that more than 100,000 pilgrims could occupy the court of the Gentiles on the mount all at one time.

The Gospel writers capture the full significance of Jesus’ climatic arrival in Jerusalem. Both Matthew and
John interpret the Triumphal Entry according to the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. He was greeted by the
hailing of countless thousands, and the response, John reports, like the raising of Lazarus before,
aroused fears of a popular uprising in the minds of the religious leaders who opposed Him.

In the coming days, Jesus wept over the city. Luke presents Jesus as totally aware that He would be
rejected by the people, and that destruction lay ahead for Christ’s followers. Such destruction tragically
occurred at the hands of the Roman General Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and many of its people in
70 A.D.

The amazing thing to contemplate is that these same people in less than a week would be crying out for
Jesus’ crucifixion.

Due to overcrowding in the city, perhaps, Jesus and the disciples stayed with a friend in Bethany just a
40-minute walk to the east of Jerusalem.

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