1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them on immediately.” 4 Now this [ a ] took place so that what was spoken through [ b ] the prophet would be fulfilled:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
Matthew 21:1-5 (NASB)
‘Behold your King is coming to you,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Headed to Jerusalem
This section (21:1–11) is Jesus’, “final, ‘triumphal’ entry into Jerusalem. He rides on a donkey for the final mile or so to intentionally fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah [9:9] about the king arriving in Jerusalem. The crowds praise Him as the Messiah, lining His path with branches and their cloaks. They shout out, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ and ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ as seen in Psalm 118. The event we now call Palm Sunday stirs up Jerusalem with many people asking who Jesus is.” (bibleref.com)
As we noted earlier, Jesus was on His way to crucifixion. “Yet He had the courage to not only enter Jerusalem, but to enter in as public a way as possible.” (enduringword.com)
The Lord needs them
Is Jesus condoning stealing? To just take the animals would be stealing. Does this mean we can commandeer anything “in the Lord’s name”? The army and police are given these rights in certain emergency situations (dramatized by Hollywood). But, Jesus never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). So I prefer to see it as: these animals were (even miraculously) prepared for this purpose to fulfill prophecy. Maybe they had no owner. And Jesus gave the instructions to the disciples to allay their fears of stealing.
Prophecy fulfilled
Why would Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, even the colt? Because many years earlier, Zachariah had, under inspiration of the Word of God, prophesied in writing (the Word of God) that Jesus (the Word of God – John 1:1) would do this. Prophecy is fulfilled in this act. Just like so many other prophecies about the Messiah. The first line comes from Isaiah 62:11.
The second reason is, “In the ancient Middle Eastern world, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they came in peace. First Kings 1:33 mentions Solomon riding a donkey on the day he was recognized as the new king of Israel. Other instances of leaders riding donkeys are Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; and 2 Samuel 16:2.” (gotquestions.org) Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
RЯeflection
- What came to your mind when you read, “The Lord needs them”? How about your possessions, your talents, and abilities? What about you yourself?
Doug, the account in Luke of this same event explains some extra things.
Luke 19:29-38
…He sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. 37And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38shouting:
“BLESSED IS the King, THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
You said “maybe the Colt has no owner”. But verse 33 says “And as they were untying the colt, its owners…”. So the colt had an owner. Honestly to even mention “stealing” sounds absurd. When the owners let them take the colt after they replied “the LORD has need of it” makes it sound like the owners had been prepared ahead of time in their hearts and minds for the the LORD to borrow the colt. Notice I say “borrow”. Were you thinking the colt was never returned? The LORD had need of it for a short ride into Jerusalem. I always thought right after the LORD used the colt it went right back to it’s owners. Would we have to be told how it got back? Not really. Why wouldn’t it be returned?
The phrase ” a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat” is an important phrase. You can’t normally just jump on a colt that has never had anyone on it, they have to be trained. But the disciples just threw their clothes in it and Jesus got up in the colt. To me that means when Jesus comes as King He will be able to “ride” wild Israel and Israel will then allow Jesus to fully guide her. Israel then will fully submit to the LORD in the Kingdom.
Thanks Brother David for the input and feedback. You are right to reference the other accounts which give the greater detail and provide clarity. Good to have you reviewing! I like your interpretation of the owner – that they had possibly already prepared the donkey and colt and willingly gave them up – per the Luke account.
Thank you Doug. LORD bless you brother.