Matthew 21:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a] Mon. August 24 - Matthew 21:1-5 At the end of Matthew 20 Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem. Travel like this was done on foot in a relatively large crowd for defensive purposes. Bandits would rather attack a lone traveler over a crowd of 30! In Matt. 20:29-34 blind men cried out to Jesus for mercy. The crowd essentially told them to “shut up.” Jesus, however, stopped, listened to their request and healed them. Here, Jesus is continuing that journey. He sends his disciples to get a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem. We often refer to this as “Palm Sunday.” The prophecy that Matthew quotes from Isaiah clues us in to something Jesus already showed by stopping and healing the two blind men. He is a humble king who has come to serve all people, especially the least, the last and the lost. Jesus did not come to impose a top-down, do-it-my-way style of leadership. He is not riding a victorious warhorse. No, “your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”