Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, entered the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The worship Jesus received at His triumphal entry into the city was astounding. He had been building a strong following throughout the previous three years of ministry and healing, but the intensity of the worship seems to have crescendoed. It was almost as if they knew that this trip to Jerusalem was special. Yes, even infants and nursing babies would have cried out in praise at the arrival of the true King.
The fact that Jesus was riding on a donkey was rather special. Solomon did this in a humble way when he became the king of Israel (I Kings 1:38). It symbolized a time of peace where the temple would finally be built and the wars would cease. It seemed to contrast with what was about to unfold as Jesus was heading to the cross, but it serves as the bookend of the Temple’s usefulness in worship. The veil is about to be torn in two. Jesus brought the crushing blow to Satan and the power of sin. A new temple, the living priesthood, would usher in a new kind of peace.
Mark tells us that when Jesus got to the temple, He looked around and left rather anticlimactically (Mark 11:11). This speaks volumes. There was nothing significant happening in the temple. The true worship had already taken place in the streets. In fact, the worship of the temple had been corrupted and turned into a den of robbers. The glory of God had left the temple hundreds of years prior, and it had returned in the person of Jesus to restore true worship once again.
Throughout the Gospel of Matthew we are reminded of the humility of Christ. He came into His own creation as a baby, born into a low class family in a tiny town. He worked as a tradesman before beginning His ministry and surrounded Himself with fishermen and tax collectors. All of this to demonstrate that the Kingdom of Heaven was not gilded by the treasures of this world. He came to serve and He calls us to serve as well.
Today is a day marked by worship. We celebrate the triumphal victory of Jesus entering into the city of Jerusalem to accomplish His greatest mission. Give praise to God. Let others see our good works and join with us in giving glory to our Father in Heaven.