Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
Zechariah 9:9
Just read that verse in Zechariah, friend, and marvel. Our Jesus knew the scriptures and He fulfilled them. Right down to riding on a donkey’s colt. Don’t you want to know more? How did he meet the owners of this unridden donkey? How long had they waited for the mysterious day when the disciples would show up and ask for the donkey? Who returned it afterward? Whatever the answers are to those largely irrelevant questions … Jesus fulfilled what Zechariah was allowed to see in advance. Wow. As He rode in to Jerusalem and the crowd went wild, He knew already what would happen very soon. He was never swayed by man’s opinion of Him. I wonder what He thought of this display? Did it help set the scene for His arrest as the religious leaders saw His popular support mount? Most likely.
I found it interesting that Jesus had a careful look at the temple, but did nothing that day of His entry to the city. He returned to Bethany, but set things up for the next day with the cursing of the fig tree, part of a physical parable about the eventual destruction of Jerusalem on His way into the city on the morrow.
My recorded verse: “Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.”
My response: What acts of worship and honoring, Lord! They cried, “Lord, save now – Hosanna” and they took off their own coats and laid them on the path to make a sort of runway for You. They were wild with joy that You were entering Jerusalem, but they had no idea You came not to conquer the Romans, but to conquer far great enemies: death, sin, Satan. And through this You would pave the way for eternal life. It was far more triumphant than anyone could imagine or realize. Thank You for conquering the far greater enemies!!
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Vs 11- “So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, He left because it was late in the afternoon.”
We know that He was angry about what was going on in the Temple, but I love the example He sets here for us. Be angry, but do not sin. He took everything in and went away to process it all. Only then did He come back and deal with it the next day.
Thank You Lord for being the ultimate example for us. I pray that when I am angry about something I wouldn’t just react immediately but take a look at all the facts first, take a break, and come back later to deal with it.
I really loved that, too, Jenny. When He overturned those tables, it wasn’t in a fit of rage. It was a deliberate act after careful thought. It put the incident in a whole new light for me.