Many know the account of Jesus the Messiah riding upon a young donkey into Jerusalem days before He went to the cross. Many realize that not only was it a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, but His rejection by the religious leaders of that day placed the nation of Israel on a collision course with God’s judgment that would be definitely felt in 70 AD, forty years or nearly forty years after His death, resurrection, and ascension.
But what many do not see is how Matthew 21:5 applies directly to us if we let it. Part of the problem lies in many
of today’s languages. The one I speak is American English which is very bankrupt when it comes to the ancient languages the Holy Word of God was written in. The other part of the problem is that many refuse to let the light of Christ into their lives and so be enlightened by the Holy Scriptures.There is a great truth in Matthew 21:5 of God’s merciful loving kindnesses offered to each of us through His Son. It is a wonderful truth that will enable us to be released from various types of burdens and be lovingly strengthened by Him. We are to remember that though humans were certainly used, God through the Holy Spirit moved upon them to use certain words in a certain order to convey, in this case, a very powerful and touching message.
Matthew 21 begins by describing Christ’s entry into Jerusalem before He went to the cross. He enters Jerusalem riding a young ass (Or many in our time prefer to say “donkey” since, sadly, ass has been used as vulgarity.). By the Holy Spirit Matthew notes this is a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 and quotes that passage in Matthew 21:5 as follows (NASB): “Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'”
While this was prophecy fulfilled, there is a deep devotional aspect for us. Christ, indeed, offered Himself to the Jews as their King, but He also makes the same offer to us. He brings with Him four blessings which are ours, if we are truly His, as follows.
I. Majesty
“Behold your King . . .”
Jesus Christ is the King that will lovingly and properly rule us if we let Him. He is the King that will spiritually protect us if we let Him (Matthew 23:37). He is the King that makes us kings (Revelation 1:6) when we surrender to Him, and we will reign with Him if we remain in Him (2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 2:26).
Most importantly, we need to be under His rule and not our own or anyone else’s. Making Christ the King of our life is the only sure way for us to receive the other blessings in this passage. It is also the only way to Eternal Life.
II. Mercy
“. . . is coming to you, . . .”
Ever since the fall of Adam into sin mankind has been in dire need to be rescued from self, sin, and eternal punishment. Titus 3:5 and an abundance of other Holy Scriptures indicate there is nothing we can do of ourselves to make things right between God and us. God’s requirement is perfection and no one attains to that on their own. In order to save us, the King came to us. That is, God the King, became like us through Christ.
God the King still reaches out to the lost world. He will continue to reach out even during the Great Tribulation. Each person needs to be careful to not reject His reaching. Such mercy is only available before physical death (Ecclesiastes 11:3). Judgment comes after that (Hebrews 9:27).
III. Meekness
“. . . Gentle, . . ."
The NASB’s “gentle” is meekness. Albert Barnes {1} writes, “He came in the manner in which kings were accustomed to ride, but with none of their pride and ambitious feeling.” The Word of God indicates that meekness was a main quality of Jesus. James Strong notes {2}, “Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them against injustice.”
Strong continues, “Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will.”
Such meekness, often translated as “gentleness," is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23). The fruits of the Holy Spirit are resident within each true Christian because of the indwelling of Christ. Each true Christian must learn to yield to the King in order to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit blossom in their life.
IV. Mastery
“. . . and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'”
At this point Christ has entered Jerusalem as God’s spotless one. Christ had been tempted in all points but remained sinless (Hebrews 4:15). He was victorious over every temptation and was about to die and rise again for the entire human race so that those who would put their complete trust in Him would be given Eternal Life.
He also had mastery over the Jewish Biblical law. This is why no one who is truly surrendered to Him has to keep the Jewish Biblical Law. However, He did not destroy the Law, but by His resurrected life has activated (we might say) the principles of the Law. True Christians live those principles through the law of spirit of life in Christ.
Most Tender Blessings
At this point
let us now consider ourselves as this “donkey, a colt, a foal of a donkey." Though God used humans to write the Biblical text, they did so by being moved upon by God Whose Spirit chose the wording. Each of these words in the last part of verse 5 carry slightly different means and we shall find a special loving treasure, if we would have it.Ass / donkey: We, naturally, are lower than God. God is sovereign and knows what He is doing. We should not try to “manage” or second guess Him. Additionally it may be said that we are designed to need and serve God.
Colt: Strong indicates a young creature and Luke 19:30 points out this colt was never ridden upon. Yet, there is no record of this creature giving Jesus a difficult time. Each of us needs to be like this colt. Because of sin nature we need governing and direction, Think of some pets you or someone else might have.
Foal Of An Ass / Donkey / Beast Of Burden
“Foal” occurs only four times in the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible. For the first two times (Genesis 32:15 and 49:11) the ancient language means “he-ass, male ass” and is related to a word that means rising, which would imply to me “young and growing.” However, highly significant for the last two times, Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew 21:5, the word translated as “foal” is literally “son.” The very last word, “ass” or “donkey” is precisely what the NASB has, “a beast of burden.” So the very last phrase can be read literally as “a son of a beast of burden.”
And does not EVERY person have some type of a burden whether they know it or not, or admit it or not? One reason we have burdens is because our parents had burdens, and their parents had burdens, and this goes back to the first man and woman.
We might classify our burdens as three main groups, viz., dealing with others, dealing with problems (sickness, car problems, etc.), and conquering sin (and I hope we are concerned with that). But these can be brought into one foundational burden: We need God.
God through Jesus Christ became man and dealt with others, dealt with problems, and always said “no” to temptation. And as the Son in our flesh, the Son always chose to be dependent upon the Father.
A true Christian has received Jesus and has made Him their King and their very life. So we may look at Matthew 21:5 in the following way: The victorious Christ, having victory over temptation and things of this world, is the King that mercifully comes to us, to subdue us, to rule us, to ride (direct) us so that we too have meekness toward God, so that we have a disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In so doing, we take His yoke upon us, learn Him, and are relieved of burdens.
This is how we become more than conquerors in Him Who loved us so (Romans 8:37). Be released from being a son or daughter of burdens and become a child of the King. Hearken to the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Notes:
{1} From an electronic version of Barnes’ Notes, by Albert Barnes, incorporated into the Online Bible computer program.
{2} From an electronic version of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong incorporated in the Online Bible program, and so throughout the article whenever the ancient language is referred to and no other authority is cited.
This article was written in the form of a sermon (message) outline with comments. God willing by May 12, 2017 (hopefully much sooner), you should be able to hear the actual message (sermon) by selecting a link at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html#M446 .
Unless otherwise noted all Holy Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates. * = For other versions the spelling of some words is updated for our time in addition to changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates.
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