Hello, I’m Becky, I lead the Eden team over in Fir Vale, and I have been having loads of fun thinking about this passage, so thanks for joining me! Today we’re onto the first bit of Matthew 21, which is the story of when Jesus sends a couple of disciples to fetch him a donkey, and finishes his journey to Jerusalem by riding through the gates on it.He’s not just got sore feet, he’s actually acting out an old Jewish prophecy from the writings of Zechariah, that says when their King comes to save them he’ll be riding on a donkey, and so everybody gets very excited. They could really use a promised Saviour-King at the moment, someone to overthrow the Romans and reclaim the land for them.

REFLECTION:

So – Jesus is on a road outside Jerusalem, surrounded by his disciples and the crowds who’ve followed him from other towns, and he climbs onto the back of a donkeyand starts heading for the city. It’s a couple of sizes too small for him, and he’s presumably wearing the clothes he’s been trekking in for days, but by acting out the prophecy from Zechariah, he’s making a pretty bold statement that he is the promised King. This is the response of the crowds in Matthew 21 v 8-9:

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

How much of a celebrity do you have to be to get a street parade? What about to get people waving things as you go past, or laying their coats on the floor, not even for you to walk on, but so your donkey doesn’t get dirty feet? This is a huge symbol of honour for Jesus, and more than that. This is the response of people who believe their promised king has come – they’re calling him the Son of David, King David being Israel’s legendary king who led them through the glory days, whose help they could really use at the moment. And they believe he’s come to save them – that’s what ‘Hosanna’ means, ‘save us now!’ But, as an onlooker to this scene, I’m kind of surprised by their enthusiasm. Because – Jesus might be dressing up as a king here, but he doesn’t look like the real thing, he looks like a low budget attempt at one. Plodding along on a donkey, he looks a bit silly, and if they go along with it, they’re in danger of looking like fools.

But Jesus seemed to have got himself a fairly wise crowd that day. They could have chosen to see a man on an undersized donkey and his overexcited fan club… but instead they saw their future king. Not only did they recognise it, but they had the faith to act on it right then and there, to get on board and side with Jesus publicly, even when he didn’t look like the real thing.

I don’t know whether you’ve ever sensed Jesus calling you to embrace the awkwardness of following him in a world where he does not look like the real thing to everyone. Whether you’ve sensed him nudging you to side with him, and do or say things that you know are going to look odd to those who don’t see him the way you do. I don’t know if you’ve ever wished Jesus would show his glory a bit more obviously, when you tell people you follow him. That day in the crowds of Jerusalem, it would have been easier to honour Jesus as the king if he had been a bit more slick about it – after all, as the Son of David, and the son of God, he really did have every right to do the whole thing properly, all the authority to ride in on a proper-sized horse and command the people, all the resources to produce a miraculous crown and some fancy clothes, all the power to make the Romans kneel at his feet. He could have validated the worshipping crowds and silenced the Pharisees who objected later to their praises. Why does he settle for this understated, entry to the city of his people?