“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.” (Matthew 21:1–7 (ESV)
We will glorify the King of Kings
We will glorify the Lamb
We will glorify the Lord of lords
Who is the great I am. – Twila Paris
Jesus and His disciples came to Bethpage as they approached Jerusalem on what is referred to as Palm Sunday. It was a small village, east of the capital city, located on the Mount of Olives. Bethpage means house of unripe figs.
Matthew’s Gospel is the only one mentioning the donkey, the colt’s mother. All three Synoptic Gospels refer to the colt, but only Mark and Luke say the colt was a foal no one had ever ridden (Mark 11:1-2; Luke 19:30). John says it was a young donkey (John 12:14).
This act was a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 which says, ““Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
Humble (πραῢς; praus) means gentle, meek and mild. It is an attribute and quality of gracious forbearance. It is quality of Christ believers in Christ are to emulate (Phil.2:1-11).
The Apostle Paul acknowledged the grace of Christ in his writings (Rom.1:7; I Cor. 1 :3; 16:23; 2 Cor. 1:2; 13;14; Gal.1:3; 6:18; Eph. 1:2; 6:24; Phil. 1:2; 4:23; I Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 1:2; 3:18; I Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3, 25). So too did the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:18) as did the Apostle John (John 1:14; 2 John 3; Rev. 1:4-5).
“Colts that had not yet been ridden sometimes accompanied their mothers. Following a common Jewish practice of reading the Hebrew text for all one can get from it, Matthew reads Zechariah 9:9 as referring to two animals instead of referring to the same animal in two ways. The text is messianic, as ancient interpreters generally acknowledged, but applying this part to himself redefines Jesus’ messiahship: officials used donkeys for civil, not military, processions (e.g., 1 Kings 1:33). Thus this text is not a “triumphal entry” in the sense of Roman triumphal processions; it is Jerusalem’s reception of a meek and peaceful king,” explains commentator Craig Keener.
“Just how it was that Jesus knew about this colt and its dam—whether through union of his divine and human nature, or simply through information which he had received in a very natural way from the owners—we do not know. One thing we do know, namely, that when he orders the two disciples to untie the animals and to bring them to him, he is exercising his right of requisitioning whatever he needs for the fulfilment of his mediatorial task,” states Dr. William Hendriksen.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 