This prophecy written 487 years before the birth of Christ was fulfilled upon what is now referred to as Palm Sunday, or the Triumphant Entry of Jesus. He was on His way to Jerusalem to observe the last Passover before His death on the Cross. When they had come near the city,to the villages of Bethany and Bethpage, Jesus gave the disciples a COMMAND.(Matthew 21:6).
Two of them were sent by the Lord (Luke 19:29) to enter into the village "over against you," and told, "and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, AND A COLT with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them.." (Matthew 21:2&3). Many times you only hear of one donkey, but in fact there were two! This is NOT a discrepancy in Scripture! All four of the Gospels accounts have to be compared to "rightly divide the Word of Truth." (II Timothy 2:15) For whatever reason that the Lord had, Matthew was the only one that recorded the fact that there were two. There was the mother and her baby donkey. A colt, or foal, of a donkey, is under a year old. This would have meant that the donkey was not weaned from his mother yet. I believe this showed the Lord's tender care for the animal's need that he had created. He knew the animal would need his mother nearby for comfort, especially since it had never been ridden on, (Mark 11:2), and also its milk for nourishment. This in itself is testimony to us that "where God guides, He provides." He will never call us to do something in service for Him, without providing the means to do so. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also WILL DO it." II Thess. 5:24. If the Lord did so for this lowly animal, how much more will He do so for US?
Just as the Lord gave the command to bring the donkeys, there was also a CONSENT to His command.The Lord had also prepared the heart of the owner to give them to the disciples. Mark 10:4 says the "colt was tied by the door without in a place where TWO WAYS MET;". This brings out the fact that the owner had a decision to make. He could either obey the Lord's command, or he could choose the other road and take his donkeys with him. But, the Lord knew the man's heart, and knew he would give them to Him for His service. Psalm 50:10 says, " For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills." The Lord who owns all of creation could have gotten a donkey from anywhere in the world, but He wanted this person's for His own reason. It very well could have been to reward a faithful servant with the honor of using them. We may not know why the Lord works in the ways that He does, but we should ALWAYS trust and obey. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thy own understanding. In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him, and HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS." Proverbs 3:5&6. The two disciples were instructed to tell anyone that asked what they were doing, "that the Lord had need of them." The Bible says that the owner "let them go." John 11:6. This may have been the only mode of transportation besides walking to get them home, making it an inconvenience. It may have been the only animals they owned, thus resulting in a financial burden to them to let them go. But, despite of the PROBLEMS they COULD HAVE FACED, they consented to the Lord's command. What is it that we are holding on to? Relationships, jobs, money, and even our children? If the Lord "has need" of anything , we need to LET IT GO! NOTHING could ever outweigh the blessing the Lord has in store for those who obey and follow Him."Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, what , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hat prepared for them that love him." I Corinthians 2:9.
Once the disciples returned with the donkeys, there was His COMING. They cast their garments on them, and Jesus sat on the colt, and entered the city. He sat on the animal that had never been ridden on before, because He was the Lord of Glory. He deserved an undefiled animal, just as He had an undefiled tomb, (Luke 24:53). The text verse from Zechariah says, "He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass." The great Kings in the Middle East either ride great horses or chariots, or carriages, but THE KING OF ALL THE EARTH, came the first time, riding on a donkey.
The multitudes cast their garments in the way ,and cut down palm tree branches. Then, we see their CRIES. They waved them and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Matthew. 21 9. These people thought that Jesus would be their King then, and wanted a ruler to rule them instead of Rome. He indeed is the Son of David, and is King, but it was not His time for that. He will be King over all the Earth at His Second Return, (Revelation 17:14). These same people who cried, "Hosanna" would by the end of the week cry "Crucify Him! " Mark 15:13. Their cries were without conviction. Had they known and really believed He was the Messiah, they would not have crucified Him, (I Corinthians 2:8). What is your CONVICTION today? What do you cry when the Lord is placed in front of you? Can you say, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," as Peter did? (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus' entry started with a COMMAND, a CONSENT, His COMING, and then the CRIES. EACH ONE OF US is faced with the entry of Jesus into our lives at one time or another. How will YOU respond when HE IS before you? "Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." I Corinthians 6:2. "Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah." Psalm 24:10.
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