After Initial Preparations Jesus Rides Into Jerusalem In Triumph On A Colt (19:29-40).
Jesus here deliberately fulfils the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (Matthew 21:4) by riding into Jerusalem on an ass's colt, and there He is greeted by the crowds. Contrary to what at first sight seems to be the case He is welcomed as the wonder-working prophet of Galilee (Luke 19:37-38), for none are at the time completely aware of the full significance of it (John 12:16), and the cries of the people are those which normally greeted pilgrims entering Jerusalem and approaching the Temple for the Feast. although no doubt all the louder because of Who He was. But there is certainly a significance there, which is rightly read into it by the Pharisees who are concerned about its implications. When, however, they expostulate at what is happening Jesus assures them that His entry is so significant that if His followers were silent, the very stones would cry out.
Why then was His entry so significant? Firstly it was because it was a declaration to Jerusalem, and to the whole world that He was here as the One promised in the Old Testament, the One Who had come from God, and was God's chosen One. He was revealing Himself as the promised Messiah, the promised King, but making it clear that He was not One Who had come in order to enforce His rule on men by force of arms, but One Who, as in Zechariah 9:9, had come in gentleness and humility in order to win men to Himself. And yet at the same time it was a quiet demand for recognition. It was one of those moments when all are challenged as to what their response will be. Had the eyes of Jerusalem been open they would have fully welcomed Him in these terms (even the stones recognised it).
Secondly it was because to His followers He was making clear that while He was the Messiah, He would not take up His position by force of arms. He wanted them to recognise that He was here to conquer through His words. Thus when His assault on Jerusalem began it was by preaching in the Temple, not by raising an insurrection. And it was an indication that once He was gone, they too must go forward with His word. It was a dampening down of wrong expectations about the Kingly Rule of God (see Luke 19:11).
The supreme courage of what Jesus did should not be overlooked. He knew that the Jewish leaders were waiting in Jerusalem for Him to arrive so that they could arrest Him and seal His fate. And yet He entered Jerusalem in as public a way as possible, so that none could doubt that He was there. And He did it as a last acted out prophecy in which He proclaimed His kingship, and His fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy (Zechariah 9:9), plain for all to see. He was proclaiming Who He was and why He had come, even though He knew that He would have to die for it. And yet in spite of the cries that welcomed Him even His own disciples did not fully recognise what He had done until after His resurrection (John 12:16). Nevertheless it caused a huge stir, and produced a sense of expectation, even though there was divided opinion as to what that expectation was.
It is noteworthy that in the Section chiasmus above this coming of Jesus into Jerusalem is in parallel with the coming of the Son of Man in glory (Luke 21:28). Both were to be declarations as to Who He was, the first in an appeal of compassionate love, the second in a revelation of total power. And central to both is that He is God's only beloved Son (Luke 20:9-18).
Analysis of the passage:
a When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples (Luke 19:29).
b Saying, “Go your way into the village over against you, in which as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no man ever yet sat. Loose him, and bring him” (Luke 19:30).
c “And if any one ask you, ‘Why do you loose him?', thus shall you say, ‘The Lord has need of him' ” (Luke 19:31).
d And those who were sent went away, and found even as He had said to them (Luke 19:32).
c And as they were loosing the colt, its owners said to them, “Why do you loose the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him” (Luke 19:33-34).
b And they brought him to Jesus, and they threw their garments on the colt, and set Jesus on it. And as He went, they spread their garments in the way (Luke 19:35-36).
a As He was now drawing near, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” ' (Luke 19:37-38).
Note that in ‘a' they draw near to the Mount of Olives, and in the parallel the same occurs. In ‘b' they are told to go and bring the colt, and in the parallel they bring it. In ‘c' they are asked why they are loosing the colt and told what they reply, and in the parallel they do as they are told. In ‘d' they discover it to be exactly as the Lord has said.